Panoramas and More, continued
When processing is done you will have an image with the same number of layers as photos taken. Each layer will have a layer mask associated with it. If you have leveled your camera and found the nodal point, the resulting composite image will mostly fill a rectangular box. Otherwise, the individual layers will either bow out or in at the top of the frames leaving blank space. This means losing some of the image to crop it to a rectangular shape. Initially you may be disappointed with the stitching process because there appear to be jagged lines, like pieces to a puzzle, where each layer mask butts up against its neighbors. Some claim this is a flaw in the software, however, I think Adobe left it in the software to show you where each stitch is so that you can assess the quality of the compositing process. I’ve created over a dozen panoramas and have not found a matching problem yet. Once you flatten the layers (Layer > Flatten Image) the lines disappear and you will likely never be able to find the seams again. After that, crop the image to suit your goal for the panorama and finish with any additional work-up in Photoshop.

Three panoramas are provided as examples, however, more can be found on my Panoramics page. These images don’t do justice to the actual prints, however. Kathleen Lake is a composite of ten photos, Archangel Valley six photos, and Fords Terror seven photos. The prints, ranging in size from 58”x20” to 37”x20”, reveal detail and three-dimensionality that exceeds what can be achieved with one DSLR photo. You get the sense of being able to walk into the landscape, enhancing the ability to convey to the viewer what inspired you about the subject. Isn’t that what photography is all about - telling a story, conveying an emotion, or inspiring others to action?

Finally, there are other stitching programs available, most notably GigaPan Stitcher (comes with GigaPan Epic) and Autopano Giga 2.0. The camera manufacturers provide their own versions, and there is even a stitching app for the iPhone’s built-in camera. I can’t vouch for their ease of use or flexibility, but as you have seen with Photoshop, there is no hurdle to overcome in using it.

Tips and Hints

The following is a list of tips and hints that will make it easier for you to create flawless panoramas from the start. Some of these I’ve learned from the “school of hard knocks.”

  • If your scene encompasses a wide field of view, avoid using a polarizer since its effect will be uneven across the resulting panorama. For example, if you are shooting with the sun 90 degrees to your right or left and create a panorama spanning 180 degrees, then the polarizer will be most effective in the middle of the panorama and non-existent at the left and right edges.

  • Create your sequence of images fairly quickly, especially when there is movement in the scene like clouds, shadows, wildlife, people, or water. For example, I created a panorama of a tarn and was not mindful of the effect the wind was having on the surface of the water. As a result, the water was flat and reflective in some areas and choppy and non-reflective in others.

  • Generally you will find that normal (50 mm) to moderate telephoto (100 mm) focal lengths are easiest to work with. Most of my panoramas have been shot at 40-70 mm. Remember, the wider the individual shot the less detail and information you are recording. Compare, for example, detail in a 20 mm shot with that for a 600 mm shot. The idea in a panorama is to capture a wide-angle composite view with a narrower angle-of-view lens.

  • Even the best laid out panoramas require cropping which is a subtractive process. Be mindful of that by leaving enough room at the top and bottom of your sequence of photos to crop out some foreground and background in Photoshop. Furthermore, since the camera must be level, balancing foreground and background may require moving up or down in elevation. Sometimes this is possible. At other times you may find yourself walking away from a panoramic scene or deleting it after seeing it on the computer screen. This can be solved by using an omni-directional setup which requires an additional equipment expense.

  • Having the sun directly behind you creates fairly even skies. Watch out for your shadow, however.

  • If you capture an object that is moving, make sure it is in the middle of only one frame where there is no overlap with the other frames.

  • Because the nodal slide is graduated, make note of the position and keep a list of nodal points for each lens/focal length so that you don’t have to repeat this time-consuming step.

  • Panorama images can get quite large, so you may need more RAM in your computer. RAM is the cheapest way to increase the performance of your computer.

  • Be creative and have fun. Try combining photo stitching with macros, extreme telephotos, high dynamic range, and even extended depth of field (e.g., the Helicon Focus approach).

  • Above all, learn how/when to break the conventional wisdom including all of the aforementioned tips and hints.

Resources

1. “Get 4x5 Quality with a DSLR,” Dennis Frates, Outdoor Photographer, August 2009.

2. “The GigaScape,” George Lepp and Kathryn Lepp, Outdoor Photographer, November 2009.

3. This website provides a technical discussion about nodal points:
http://www.vrphotography.com/data/pages/techtutorials/technotes/nodalptalign-tn.html.

4. To view equipment setup using the Pano Elements Package, visit Really Right Stuff’s website, http://reallyrightstuff.com/index.html, or request/download their free 20th anniversary catalog.
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