Creating a beautiful panoramic photo can be a rewarding and exciting experience, but how does one shoot a panorama and how do you stitch together each of those individual shots? Well if you are using a newer version of Photoshop, it may be much easier than you think. This post will walk you through the process of how I create panoramic photos using Photoshop CS5.
Getting the shot
As you probably know, a panoramic photo is created by “Stitching” or merging several photographs to create a wide angle photo that defies the limits of your camera. With today’s high tech software, this process can be seamless. To create the best set of photos for a panorama, it helps to have a steady hand or preferably a tripod. When panning between shots, it is important to pivot the camera side to side rather than pivoting your entire body. This allows for seamless perspective between the frames. It is also important to meter off the same light source to keep the overall exposure consistent.
Prepping the shots
If you work with RAW files and would like to do some processing to the files before moving into Photoshop, be sure that the edits are consistent across all the photos of the panorama. If you use Adobe Lightroom, I find the best way to keep consistent is to edit one photo from the panorama, then create a preset encompassing all the settings you changed, that way you can apply it to the rest of the photos in the panorama. It saves time and keeps your shots looking consistent. Lastly, if you are using RAW, export the files out to Tiff or Jpeg so that you can open them in Photomerge.
Photoshop Time
Now that you have your photos ready, it’s time to open Photoshop and merge some photos. The beautiful thing about the newer versions of Photoshop is that you don’t need to go through the trouble of lining up and warping photos on your own, with Photomerge this is all done for you.
Once you have Photoshop open, Click File > Automate > Photomerge to launch the Photomerge software. A box will pop up with some choices. For a typical panorama, I have had fantastic results with Auto. After you choose your layout, Select your source files. You can either add the individual files, or select a folder containing the files for the panorama. Keep in mind that the folder must only contain the files for the panorama and nothing else. Once you have the files selected, click ok and Photoshop will begin to work its magic. After the process has run, you will be provided with a raw panorama. The next step is to grab the rectangular marquee tool and crop the panorama into a proper four sided shape. Typically what I do is copy my selection (Shift + Command + C on Mac) then create a new photoshop document to paste the cropped panorama into, this way you preserve the raw panorama while you perfect the cropped panorama.
Finishing Up
Now that you have the panorama cropped to your liking, you are free to save it and open it in your favorite editor. At this point, I personally would add an Unsharp Mask, then import it into Lightroom for processing.
So there you have it, Creating a stunning panorama with Photoshop has never been easier. Now you are no longer limited by the focal length of your camera’s lens. Enjoy!
Daily Photo – Colossus Blues
This was one of those places I had never thought to visit. It was a friend who turned me on to this magnificent place, and for that I am grateful. Crater Lake was formed when Mount Mazama collapsed on itself about 7700 years ago. The beautiful blue water you see in this Panorama is all rain and meltwater, that’s right, this lake is not fed by an outside source. It is also the deepest lake in the United States and the Second deepest in North America at around 1900 feet deep. I spent only a few hours here, but easily could have spent a week here.
(Most of my images are Creative Commons – Noncommercial so feel free to use them and share as you’d like)
Leave A Comment