How to Create Panoramic Photos

Panoramic photographs have always been interesting not only to look at but also to create. Panoramic photography has been around since the early days of photography. In the early days, photographers would line images side by side to create the panoramic images. Now with digital photography, we can produce these images with much more ease. Photoshop has made this form easier with the introduction of Creative Suite 3. You will need the following items to create panoramics.

• a digital camera



• a tripod



• CS3 Photoshop (you can use CS2, but it will be a bit more difficult)

To create these images, you will need to find an interesting scene. You will do the following.

• Set your camera on the tripod. You can have your camera either in the vertical or horizontal. You need your camera on the tripod to keep it on the same horizon and in the same perspective.



• If you're using a camera with manual exposure, I reccomend you meter for the scene with medium tones and then use that meter reading for the entire group. This will give you a true representation of the light.



• Aim your camera either at the far right or left position. I advise you to use your view finder rather than the LCD screen. Take your shot and slightly move the camera to where the edge of the previous shot is still in your view screen. Continue this method until you have made it to the far opposite of your screen.



• Scroll through the images and make sure you do not have a gap in your scene.

Once you have all the images you want to make, return to your computer and download the images. Using CS3, open the images you want to use for this composition and follow these step.

• Go to file > automate > photomerge.



• When the dialog box pops up, select the auto function in the upper left corner. (play around with some of the other options for interesting effects)



• Next, select the add open files option. This will add all the images you have opened for this scene.



• Then, click OK.

It will take your computer a few minutes to merge the images together. It is worth noting these images will be large. CS3 keeps each photo as an individual layers so you can adjust the color or lighting for each frame. CS3 does a great job correcting for color and exposure differences from frame to frame.

If you are using CS2, you will need to follow the same procedure, but be sure to select the option which allows you to keep each photo as a layer. CS2 is much more difficult to stitch together the individual frames. You will spend a lot of time working with each layer trying to get it look like a solid piece.

Once CS3 has created your panoramic, look at each frame to make sure it is lined up with the frames next to it. Also, make sure the color and exposures all match. In the type of panoramic, I'm creating, you want it to be as seamless as possible. We will discuss other types of panoramic photos in an upcoming blog.

Now that your panoramic is complete, flatten your images. I do recommend saving your images with the layers as well. Once you've flattened your images, you are ready to print. Follow your printer's users guide to print correctly.

And there you have it. With CS3 along with your camera you can create some awesome panoramic images. Explore and experiment with what you can do.

The first two panoramic photos are from the Library of Congress at http://www.loc.gov/ and the remaining images are some I created from the Lubbock, Texas area. Copyright rules apply.