Taking Panoramic Images

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Kennett

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Barry
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Is there a "correct" way to take panoramic images?

I read one tutorial where it said the images must be taken in a left to right direction, I've also read a large number of others where the direction is not mentioned. The one that mentioned left to right said this was due to the requirements of the stitching software.
 
I believe that by taking them left to right they are easier to identify in your editing programme,
One tip is to take a picture of your finger pointing left too right at the start and another pointing from right to left at the end
 
Manual exposure, manual focus, normal or longer lens, overlap 40-60% on each shot, work smoothly but quickly. I've never found that the sequence makes much of a difference, if I'm shooting multi-row panoramas I'll usually go left-to-right on the first row and then back along the next row right-to-left.

I use MS ICE for the actual stitching (quick, accurate, free), but I'm interested to see if the LR6 rumours are correct.
 
I only overlap 20-25% and normally go left to right but it's fine going the opposite way

The most important thing is to have your camera and tripod absolutely level for optimum results
 
Big Nick said:
The most important thing is to have your camera and tripod absolutely level for optimum results
Click to expand...
The tripod becomes more critical the further into the foreground you being the composition. If there is no foreground and you're careful you can shoot handheld with practice.

Using a ballhead on a tripod use the framing guidelines to keep the camera as close to level as you can - having the camera absolutely level is not critical in my experience.

Remember that you'll usually get a bow tie effect after stitching, so give yourself plenty of space vertically and horizontally to crop down to the composition you want.
 
I don't think it matters which order you use. I think it is more the order in which you add then to the stitching software (though I have never tested this). A tripod will help but the vast majority of my panoramas have been handheld. I work left to right and find it easier to get in a comfortable position for the last shot. I then turn to get the first shot and work from there. This way as I move around to the final shot I am always moving towards a more comfortable position. Not sure if this really helps but it feels more comfortable.

Dave
 
Using a level tripod and levelling your camera will consistently give good results and is far more precise than handheld for panoramas in my experience, you might get a decent shot handheld with practice but I wouldn't recommend it
 
Kennett said:
Is there a "correct" way to take panoramic images?

I read one tutorial where it said the images must be taken in a left to right direction, I've also read a large number of others where the direction is not mentioned. The one that mentioned left to right said this was due to the requirements of the stitching software.
Click to expand...

Get this months Outdoor Photography Magazine :)
Cracking feature in there.
 
Thanks Jake, is that the April or May edition? I know how early these mags come out.
 
Any good stitching software does not care what order you take them in, you can even mix landscape and portrat shots in the mix.
Programs like PTGui or PTAssembler can even do focus and exposure fusion at the same time.
 
There seem to be a lot of myths perpetuated about panorama shooting, possibly from people who try to make it seem more difficult than it actually is.

I have taken loads of panoramas and normally use PTGui or MS ICE to stitch them, usually with excellent results.
I have NEVER used a tripod to shoot a panorama, although I always hold the camera close to my face (using an OVF), keep my feet planted, and just rotate my body around my waist.
Ideally the less the camera is moved during shooting, the more likely you are to have a successful result - technically the ideal method is to rotate the camera around the lens "nodal point" which is particularly important if you have a subject close to the camera.
NEVER use the "At arms length" mobile phone technique, since the change in perspective between shots will make the stitching process more difficult.
I have never "locked" exposure & WB whilst taking a panorama, normally just leave the camera on Aperture priority and auto exposure.
Any decent stitching program will not care what order the shots are taken in, and will sort them out automatically, and also correct exposure and White Balance variations.
My preference is to pan L to R, although sometimes I go R to L, but as I said, your stitching software should take care of sorting out the sequence.
I usually overlap frames between about 30% & 50%, although I have successfully joined frames with less overlap.
It's often regarded as better practice to shoot in "portrait" format to give more latitude when stitching.

The best thing to do is go out and give it a try and get some experience.
Apart from the image stitching software, you don't need any special equipment to shoot most panoramas.
 
Brian G said:
I have never "locked" exposure & WB whilst taking a panorama, normally just leave the camera on Aperture priority and auto exposure.
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I agree with most of what you say Brian, but I do believe that manual exposure and focus are both important - but this may be a workflow difference. Allowing the stitching software to adjust exposure and white balance is fine if you're using stitching software that will work with the raw files and has access to all the available image data. I prefer MS ICE for stitching and this only works with JPGs and TIFs.

My workflow is roughly as follows:
  1. Lock exposure and focus manually
  2. Shoot the frames for the panorama
  3. Import raw files to Lightroom
  4. Standardise white balance across all frames
  5. If I feel I need to shift the exposure I'll apply this to all the frames as well
  6. Export frames to JPG (maximum size, maximum quality) or TIF
  7. Import frames to MS ICE
  8. Assemble panorama in MS ICE
  9. Export finished panorama to TIF
  10. Review the TIF, if there's problems or clipping I've missed I'll go back to step 4 with the original raw files and make changes
  11. Import TIF to Lightroom and make any further tweaks
  12. Export and resize to JPG for sharing/printing

I'm intrigued to see how the new LR stitching feature performs and whether this can stitch a raw or DNG format panorama without the initial JPG/TIF conversion and maintain raw/DNG processing integrity all the way through the process.
 
A large majority af my pans are taken hand held or using a monopod.
I set the camera to manual every thing, focus, white balance and exposure. This gives the blender the best chance of making an excellent job of things.

I have a full kit, heavy tripod, Nodal Ninja pano head, and leveller, but rarely use them outdoors. Unless I want multiple exposure blending, Or close foreground features.
For interior shots , I use the full kit much of the time as close objects and exposure blending is usually the order of the day.

For happy snaps the Sweep option on many compacts is quite sufficient. And fun to use.
virtually all my pans are taken with the camera in the portrait orientation.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
A large majority af my pans are taken hand held or using a monopod.
I set the camera to manual every thing, focus, white balance and exposure. This gives the blender the best chance of making an excellent job of things.

I have a full kit, heavy tripod, Nodal Ninja pano head, and leveller, but rarely use them outdoors. Unless I want multiple exposure blending, Or close foreground features.
For interior shots , I use the full kit much of the time as close objects and exposure blending is usually the order of the day.

For happy snaps the Sweep option on many compacts is quite sufficient. And fun to use.
virtually all my pans are taken with the camera in the portrait orientation.
Click to expand...
I can see that using a monopod is a great idea, since the camera will nearly be rotating about the "nodal point" of the lens in landscape orientation, but surely turning the camera into "portrait" orientation moves the centre of rotation way off the lens axis?
 
Brian G said:
I can see that using a monopod is a great idea, since the camera will nearly be rotating about the "nodal point" of the lens in landscape orientation, but surely turning the camera into "portrait" orientation moves the centre of rotation way off the lens axis?
Click to expand...
I would think not if you use an l-plate
Also I understand LR6 outputs dng - but could be wishful thinking
 
Brian G said:
I can see that using a monopod is a great idea, since the camera will nearly be rotating about the "nodal point" of the lens in landscape orientation, but surely turning the camera into "portrait" orientation moves the centre of rotation way off the lens axis?
Click to expand...

If I am out walking I always have a Brasher convertable walking pole with me. I also have a 10 inch pole extender that I made out of a mini slick centre column and ball head, with mini quick release. I keep a plate on the bottom of my x20, so it is just a moment to set up.
It probably brings the nodal point about and inch out of alignment in the vertical position. But both PTAssembler and PTGui
can automatically compensate for this in stitching, so it is no problem with distance work outdoors.
 
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Ah yes, I get it. Thank you.
I was thinking about an SLR, which would shift the axis a bit further away from the nodal centre, but as you say, PTGui seems to cope with such things, provided there are no significant objects close to the camera.
 
Brian G said:
Ah yes, I get it. Thank you.
I was thinking about an SLR, which would shift the axis a bit further away from the nodal centre, but as you say, PTGui seems to cope with such things, provided there are no significant objects close to the camera.
Click to expand...

I rarely use my Dslr for pans these days. The size of the finished file and pixel dimensons even from the raw file of a modest compact can be quite astronomical. Especially for a double row, six or more frame wide pan. If you get serious and triple that for an exposure fusion, the computation time can be somewhat frustrating even working 64bit.
 
I've been trying some astral photography panos recently and the downside of taking pictures in the pitch dark is often a tripod that isn't level. So usually my middle frame is level but the others are off to varying degrees. When I try stitching I often end up with a distinctly curved horizon. I've ordered a cheap nodal slide with a big spirit level built-in to see if that helps and will be paying more attention in future to getting as level as I can when setting up. Happy to hear of any other tips though. Also, does anyone level the individual images before stitching? Havent tried that myself, but it might help my horizons...
 
From my understanding it's mainly in regards to editing. For example if I edit it a video it could effect the position it comes out when in the editor. That' just what I have noticed anyway.
 
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