Panoramas

1) PANORAMA SHOOTING TECHNIQUE

2) HOW TO STITCH TOGETHER IMAGES INTO A PANORAMA IN PHOTOSHOP

3) PRACTICE SHOTS

4) PROJECT: PANORAMAS

1) PANORAMA SHOOTING TECHNIQUE

- Shoot VERTICALLY, even though the panorama will end up horizontal. (or vice versa for a vertical panorama)

- Establish focus once, then leave your camera in manual focus to avoid changing focus throughout the panorama

- Shoot with approximately 30-40% overlap (Photoshop can't process the panorama if there's not enough overlap).

For this project, you will want to take anywhere from 5-12 images (depending on how much overlap you have between shots. High overlap = take more images). Your ultimate goal will be to create a panorama with a 3:1 ratio (3x wider than tall).

1) Identify your six photos (in order)

2) Open Photoshop. Go to File > Automate > Photomerge

3) Select your six files, ensure that “Auto” is selected, as is the “Blend images together” box, hit “OK”. Photoshop will attempt to render your panorama. It may take a couple of minutes.

4) Combine all your layers together by going to Layer > Flatten Image.

5) (OPTIONAL) Check to see that the overall horizon is level. If not, select the Crop tool (shortcut: C) and rotate the image to the right angle. You can do this by clicking-and-dragging outside the image. Press Enter or select the check mark to accept the change. Press ESC to cancel.

6) (OPTIONAL) If your panorama is missing large pieces of the image (because of how the original photos were shot), you may choose to have Photoshop synthesize those areas (i.e. "fake it"). To do this, select the Magic Wand tool (shortcut: W, but it shares a menu with the Quick Select tool so ensure you have the right tool selected). Along the top of the image you'll see a check box next to "Contiguous". Un-check that box. Now click anywhere in the white area outside your visible image. That should select all of the white pixels. Go to Select > Modify > Expand and input 5 pixels. This will add the edge of your visible image into the selection. Now to go Edit > Fill, and choose Content-Aware from the dialog box. This will allow Photoshop to fill the selection with what it thinks should be there. It often works quite well!

6) Select the Crop tool (shortcut: C).

3) PRACTICE SHOTS

In Manual (M) mode, try shooting (and merging) the following panoramas:

(Note: in all shots, orient the camera the OPPOSITE from how the final panorama will be oriented)

a. 3-image panorama (horizontal) of the school building, taken from 20-30 yards back.

b. 3-image panorama (vertical) of a lamppost or flagpole, taken from less then 10 yards away.

c. 4-image panorama (vertical) of a tall tree

d. 7+ image panorama of the field, taken from the edge of the parking lot.

4) PROJECT: PANORAMA

You will stitch together a horizontal panorama of the trees behind the school or the field across from the parking lot. Keep your distance and try to have the treeline at a consistent distance from the camera (i.e. nothing in the immediate foreground).

Please take a minimum of six images to get the shot. Depending on how much you overlap, you might want a couple more. Regardless of the number of images you take, though, The panorama must have a 3:1 Width/Height crop ratio. Review the steps above to learn how to do this.

CAMERA SETTINGS:

Shooting Mode: M

Aperture: F/8 - F/11 is best for sharpness and having everything in focus.

Orientation: You will take vertical images that will then be stitched into a horizontal panorama.

TO HAND IN:

1) Create your panorama in Photoshop and save it as a .jpg.

2) Upload your panorama to Classroom.

3) Complete the self-evaluation rubric and TURN IN this project in CLASSROOM!

STUDENT EXAMPLE: