Tillie Doyle
Shooting panoramic photographs is a great way to showcase landscapes. While it may seem daunting, it is a relatively simple process that can be done with any camera that has a manual mode setting. The key to shooting panos is to ensure there is an overlap between each frame, usually between 15-30%, so that the images can be stitched together successfully. It is also important to keep the camera level and steady, and to shoot in RAW format to allow for more options when editing. While tripods and panoramic heads are not necessary, they can help to eliminate parallax and make it easier to stitch images together.
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What You'll Learn
Use a tripod and pano head to eliminate parallax
Shooting panoramic photographs is a great way to showcase landscapes. While it is possible to shoot excellent panoramas handheld, using a tripod and a pano head can help you eliminate parallax errors.
Parallax errors occur when there is a shift in the position of objects in the foreground between shots. These errors are caused by the fact that the camera's tripod socket is almost always behind the entrance pupil. This means that the camera rotates in front of the rotation axis of the tripod, causing the relationship between objects in the frame to change as you move the camera for each frame. The result is that the images cannot be stitched together without noticeable errors.
To eliminate parallax, you need to make sure that each axis of rotation goes through the NPP (no-parallax point, also known as the nodal point). The NPP is the centre of the lens's entrance pupil, or the apparent centre of the aperture when viewed from the front of the lens. For the panning axis, this means moving the camera backwards, away from the scene. For the tilt axis, you need to ensure the lens's NPP doesn't shift forward or backward when you tilt the camera.
A pano gimbal head can help you avoid parallax errors, as it allows you to adjust the camera backward and forward to take care of parallax. The Really Right Stuff PG-01 Compact Pano-Gimbal Head is a compact and lightweight option that can easily fit into your camera bag. When setting up the gimbal head, make sure the tripod is level, then fit the horizontal arm and check that it is level using the built-in spirit level. Next, fit the vertical arm and nodal slide.
While a tripod and pano head can help you eliminate parallax errors, it is important to note that this setup may not be necessary for all panoramic shots. If you are shooting far-off landscapes, you can easily shoot handheld without worrying about the parallax issue.
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Shoot in RAW for more post-editing options
Shooting in RAW gives you more options when it comes to post-editing your panoramic images. RAW images are the equivalent of negatives in film photography. They are uncompressed and unprocessed, without any adjustments such as sharpening or changes to colour saturation. This means you can make these adjustments yourself in post-production, giving you more control over the final image.
Shooting in RAW is especially useful if your panoramic scene has extremes of dynamic range. For example, if you are shooting a landscape with a bright sky and a dark foreground, shooting in RAW will allow you to capture more detail in both the highlights and shadows. This will give you more flexibility when editing, as you can adjust the exposure, white balance, and other settings to achieve the desired result.
Another benefit of shooting in RAW is that it allows you to fine-tune the white balance. This is important when shooting panoramas, as you want to ensure that the colour temperature remains consistent across all of the images that make up the final panorama. By shooting in RAW, you can adjust the white balance for each individual image, ensuring that they all match up seamlessly in the final panorama.
Additionally, shooting in RAW can be helpful if you plan to crop or make other adjustments to your panoramic images. Since RAW files contain more data than JPEGs, you have more flexibility to crop, rotate, or otherwise manipulate the image without sacrificing image quality. This can be especially useful if you need to make selective adjustments to certain parts of the panorama.
Finally, shooting in RAW can also help you to correct any issues that may arise during the stitching process. If there are any alignment issues or distortions in your panorama, having the RAW files will allow you to go back and make adjustments to the individual images before stitching them together again. This can save you time and effort in the editing process, ensuring that you end up with a high-quality panoramic image.
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Use a standard lens to minimise lens distortion
When shooting panoramic photographs, lens distortion is a common issue that arises due to imperfections in the optical system. This results in unnatural curves or warped lines in the image, which can be especially noticeable and undesirable in genres of photography such as architecture.
To minimise lens distortion, it is recommended to use a standard lens with a focal length of around 50mm. This is because anything below 50mm is considered a wide-angle lens, which can cause distortion by bending vertical lines inwards and making closer objects appear larger in the frame. While a wide-angle lens is typically used for panoramic shots to capture a wider field of view, it is important to use a lens that is not so wide as to cause excessive distortion.
By using a standard lens, you can reduce the amount of distortion in your panoramic images. However, it is worth noting that creating a panorama with a tighter lens will require more time and shots to capture the same scene. Additionally, it is important to be mindful of the parallax issue when shooting with a standard lens. To reduce parallax, ensure that the axis of rotation falls through the no-parallax point of the lens.
Furthermore, when shooting with a standard lens, it is recommended to hold your camera vertically in the portrait format to maximise vertical coverage. Each photo should overlap with the previous one by about 15% to 30%, depending on the number of shots you plan to take. Continue shooting in this manner until you have covered the entire scene.
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Shoot vertically for more vertical coverage
Shooting vertical panoramas, or panos, can be a great way to capture a tall subject like a tower, waterfall, or mountain. It also gives you more vertical coverage of the scene.
To shoot vertical panos, you'll need a camera that has a manual mode setting. It's best to shoot in RAW format, as this will give you more options for editing your images later on. Set your camera to manual focus and manual exposure, as these can shift between shots, causing issues when stitching the images together. You'll also want to set your white balance manually.
Once you've dialled in your settings, start shooting your pano by capturing the first frame. Make sure to focus on your primary subject and turn off the autofocus after the first shot so that it doesn't hunt for focus between shots. Each subsequent shot should overlap the previous one by about 15-30%. Keep shooting until you've covered the entire scene.
When shooting vertical panos, it's important to keep the camera level and steady. This will make it easier to stitch the images together later. If you're using a tripod, make sure to level it before shooting.
Finally, when it comes to stitching your images together, you can use software like Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, or the built-in photo merge feature in some cameras. Select the images you want to stitch together, then experiment with the different checkboxes and pano profiles until you get the desired result.
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Use manual focus to avoid shifting
When shooting panoramic photographs, it is important to ensure that the focus remains consistent across the sequence of images. This is because the final image is created by stitching together multiple shots, and any variation in focus will result in a disjointed appearance.
Manual focus is a useful tool to achieve this consistency. By using manual focus, you can select a specific point of focus and ensure that the lens remains focused on that spot, regardless of how the scene changes as you rotate your camera. This is particularly important if there are objects in the foreground, as autofocus may shift its focus to these objects as you move your camera, resulting in a loss of sharpness in the desired area.
To use manual focus, locate the focusing mode switch on your camera or lens, typically labelled "AF/MF," and switch to MF. You can then use the focus ring, usually found near the middle or end of the lens barrel, to adjust the focus until your subject is sharp. It is important to note that some lenses cannot focus manually, so be sure to check your lens manual if you are unsure.
While autofocus has improved significantly over the years and is often accurate and quick, it is not infallible. By learning to use manual focus, you can take control of the focusing process and ensure that you get the shot you want, even in challenging conditions or with fast-moving subjects. Additionally, some manual-focus lenses offer markings for infrared photography, which can be advantageous if you use an IR-adapted camera.
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Frequently asked questions
Any camera with a manual mode setting will work, but a mirrorless camera or DSLR is ideal. A tripod is not necessary, but it will help you achieve sharper photos.
Use manual exposure, white balance, and focus. Set your camera to aperture priority, with an aperture of around f/11 to f/16. Shoot in RAW, not JPEG, to give yourself more options in post-editing.
Shoot a series of images of a scene, with each image overlapping the previous one by 15-30%. Start with a shot of your feet, and end with another shot of your feet to "bookend" the series.
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