Nature Photography Photo Workshop

6.6. PANORAMIC IMAGES

A panoramic photo is a single image made of multiple frames stitched together on the computer to form one long photograph. A "pano" is often the ideal representation of a grand scenic landscape, and you can make it yourself.

You need to have your camera mounted on a tripod to make a good pano, and regardless of the type of head you use, one key to capturing a good sequence of shots is to keep the camera level. Using a tripod head with a built-in spirit level makes this much easier.

Capturing the individual images in portrait orientation provides more image data to work with.

Use Manual exposure mode. Take a meter reading and/or a test shot from the part of the frame that contains the midrange of tones and use those settings to use for the full sequence of captures. You should use manual focus to avoid problems caused when the lens automatically focuses on different parts of the scene. Take all the shots with exactly the same settings; this makes stitching more accurate.

Start at one side and create your sequence of images by overlapping each frame 30-50 percent over the area covered by the last one. It's always better to have too much overlap rather than not enough. Instructions for stitching together a pano are provided in Chapter 9. 6-18 shows an example panoramic photo.

Figure 6-18. ABOUT THIS PHOTO Image 6-18 of Oxbow Bend, Grand Teton National Park, ...