Panoramic Photography: How to Do It

What is a Panorama?

Panorama photography is a method of increasing the field of view over and above the capabilities of a wide angle lens and, therefore, increasing the aspect ratio of the finished product. 

The purpose of the panorama is to better express the sense of space and the expansiveness in any given scene we wish to photograph. A panorama more closely represents how we view the world and communicates the physical world with detail and authenticity 

The Best Digital Camera for Panorama Photography?

There are numerous methods available to create panoramic photographs, ranging from a simple collage of the printed medium through to APS, medium format and clockwork, slit-scan cameras. Panorama cameras are often expensive: A Linhof Technorama 617 III - Medium Format Panoramic Camera, for example, will generally cost in the region of $4000 to $10000. These cameras often have a fixed aspect ratio of 3:1 and use 220 rollfilm, but fortunately, whatever type of camera you have, there will be some method of creating a panorama (even if it means sellotaping polaroids together.) 

Many compact cameras (and some mobile phone cameras), now have a panorama mode which allows you to create a wide format image without the need for any third-party software.

For our purposes I will concentrate on the creation of landscape panoramas using a DSLR; in particular, stitched or segmented panoramas. By far, the combination of a DSLR, the right panorama equipment, and good panorama software can yield stunning results. And, quite a few people have this camera setup already.

Panoramas: The Simple Guide

Panoramas are basically a composition stich of many different pictures that overlap. The simple steps to creating a panorama are this:

  1. Take two or more completely level pictures that overlap by 20%
  2. Use software to combine the images into a single image with the overlap points exactly matched up

And that's basically How to create (and make) a panorama photo. However, the devil is in the details and there's a lot more you need to know.

So let's get to it...

Panoramas Made Simple: The Basics of Taking a Panoramic Photo

Ok, we are going to go into a lot of detail about taking the perfect panorama, but here's all you need to know about how to take a perfect panorama photo.

Keep the Camera Level

This is essential to taking a good panorama. Keeping the camera level ensures the vertical and horizontal alignment of all objects is maintained. If you use a tripod ballhead (and most tripod users do!) that means you will need to level in two SEPERATE places: the tripod clamp and the tripod legs. Levelling the tripod legs ensure your ballhead panning base is completely level as you pan the camera for the different panorama shots. Levelling the tripod clamp endures the camera itself stays parallel to the panning axis (of your tripod panning base) as you pan.

Simply slapping on a spirit level on top of your camera and levelling it WILL only ensure the camera / tripod clamp is level to the tripod panning base. You will also need to level the tripod legs.

The easy solution to avoid having to level both the tripod clamp and tripod legs is to use the Really Right Stuff PCL-1 Panning clamp. You simply adjust for level using the build in panning-clamp level, and your entire setup is level.

Eliminate Parallax

Parallax can ruin your panorama image. This has to do with the positioning of your optical centre of the lends over the point of rotation. You can eliminate Parallax with a nodal slide.

Parallax is big issue when it comes to Panorama photography. It’s essential that you find the No-Parallax Point to eliminate or reduce Parrallax.

NPP (No-Parallax Point)

Whilst it is the photographer her/himself who objectifies, a camera or the basic biology of the human eye can only subjectify. Everything presented to us in the 'scene' (in this case a landscape), sits entirely in relation to our subjective viewpoint. Stand, for example, in your garden and take a step left, right, forwards or back and you will see foreground and background objects shift in relation to both yourself and each other. A piece of wall hidden behind a leaf can, for instance, suddenly become apparent or what you can see reflected in a puddle will change. The same holds true for how a camera sees.

This 'parallax' is most evident when you hold a finger up at arm’s length. If you look through and beyond the finger, first with one eye and then with both, you will see that distant objects obscured by your finger will change. This is because the parallax has changed as the steropsis of the eyes kicks in and out. It is also the reason why passengers in a car sometimes think you are speeding: how they see the numbers on the speedometer in relation to the needle is different from the point of view of the driver.

However, if we can fix this point on the camera; create a No-Parallax Point, in three dimensional space then little or no shifting in the relationship of distant objects will occur when the camera moves to take the different composite images of the panorama. Without fixing this point there will often be a 'ghosting' or 'tracing' within the final image. Here is an example of a panorama taken without using a fixed No Parallax Point

image image image

Although some software (particularly Autostitch) can compensate for this effect, there is never any guarantee that you will not be left with mismatched elements and aberrations that can ruin the final panorama. So where exactly is the No Parallax Point on your camera? 

Unfortunately the NPP it is not quite on the axis that the tripod rotates upon but is further forward than this: the iris or entrance pupil. On most DSLR's this would be located away from the sensor towards the centre of the lens barrel. This NPP or Nodal Point is visible if you open the aperture to around f6.3 and, with the back of the camera facing a light source such as a window, look in through the front of the lens whilst holding the depth of field preview button. Just forward of the white dot you'll see is the No Parallax Point.

In order to save any frustration later, this is the point that needs to be fixed in 3 dimensional space and the point around which the camera should revolve. In most cases, and for distant landscapes taken across the horizontal axis, the tripod head is a sufficient point on which to rotate the camera. The need to control the NPP becomes more critical when either:

a. intend to stitch both horizontally AND vertically, or
b. when close foreground objects are involved.

Of course all of this assumes that the camera's orientation is landscape, but for greater detail and image height the best results are achieved by flipping the camera to a portrait orientation. However, using this method means there is a small problem to overcome. Not only will flipping the camera's orientation on a traditional tripod head mean that the tripod's balance is off-centre, but the camera now also swings in a more dramatic arc around the tripod head, meaning that for the vast majority of composite panoramas, the NPP will shift to an unworkable level.

If this is all mumbo jumbo to you still, then here's a simple breakdown of the Parallax problem. Image parallax occurs when both near and far objects don't match up when you overlap the images. So if you are shooting a landscape scene with a fence with multiple shots, the same fence post in the first image you take must align exactly with the same fence post in the second image.

This parallax effect can be eliminated if you place the optical centre of the lens on the camera right over the point of your rotation. However, if you look at most camera setups, you'll notice a problem here. If you place your camera on the tripod, the lens sticks out -- thus you cannot position the optical centre of the lens over the point of rotation (the centre of the tripod).

There is a simple piece of equipment to help deal with this issue: a nodal slider. This is basically a rectangular piece that you attach your camera to one of the end points. The slider connects your tripod to your camera and allows you to slide the camera back, allowing you to reposition it so that the optical centre sites over the point of rotation -- i.e. the NPP.

Use The Right Panorama Camera Equipment

Panorama Hardware comes down to a few key pieces. Some are NOT required, but if you want to take the perfect landscape shot or you want to do so more easily without fiddling around as much, some of these pieces can help tremendously. Some of the pieces will help to reduce the Parrallax error.

Tripod

A Tripod is pretty much required for any decent panorama shot. Yes, you can take a panorama without one, but the quality won't be very good. So, consider a tripod a must. You can use any tripod, just as long as you use a tripod.

L-Plate

This is not necessary to take panoramas, but it can make taking pictures (including panoramas) MUCH easier. This is basically a L shaped plate that is screwed directly onto your DSLR. It allows you to rotate your camera in either vertical and landscape mode without changing the composition of your image. If you have a camera attached directly to a ballhead, what happens when you move the camera from landscape to portrait composition? You've got to physically recompose everything because you have to move the tripod and camera to a different angle. The L-Plate helps you avoid that by simply repositioning the camera itself (rather than the tripod ballhead + camera) to landscape or portraite mode in a couple seconds.

Nodal Slider

Simply put, this L-shaped plate is fitted to the camera so that the tripod QR plate is positioned at the end of the camera as opposed to beneath. With this fitted, the camera's NPP remains, more or less, centred effectively; i.e., directly above the tripod. This will eliminate parralax errors.

Spirit Level / Tripod Level

To make certain that the tripod and camera are completely level try to use use a spirit level. This will help you to attain straight horizons and so reduce the amount of cropping required later. The type that fits into the hot-shoe of the camera such as the Adorama Double Bubble Level or more inexpensive Hama versions are good and, in the case of Hama, relatively cheap (under £10) This will make a huge difference and give you improved stitching quality, helping to prevent the image from appearing wavy or bent out of shape.

If you don't have a special tripod head like the PCL1, then you need this to help level the camera. You will also need to level the tripod legs too, if you want a completely level picture. Personally, I just use a Panning Tripod Head to avoid having to fuss around with leveling both the legs and tripod plate.

Panning Tripod Head

If absolute precision is required then slightly more complex and expensive panoramic tripod heads are available such as the Nodal Ninja or Manfrotto 3025 panoramic attachment, or the Really Right Stuff PCL1. These heads provide 360 degree vertical and horizontal arc around the NPP and can step up in 3.75 degree increments, which takes the guesswork out of whether or not you have left sufficient overlap for post-production.

A very time-saving peice of equipment to have if you want to take panoramas on the fly. It's basically a panning-base with a built in spirit level. You can install it as the actual clamp or you can use a dovetail attachment so you can add the panning tripod head to the ballhead quick realease clamp and remove it too.

DSLR

While we are assuming you own a DSLR for the purpose of this panorama photography tutorial, it's imporant to note that DSLR's give you the most flexibility for panoramas because you can adjust a host of settings and you have the ability to choose the right lens. DSLR's also can utilize specialized panorama equipment (i.e. tripod stuff which attaches to DSLR bodies).

That's not to say you can't use a point and shoot to take a panorama -- you can -- but, it's just much easier to use a DSLR and you are likely to get a better picture, especially since you can utilize a tripod and all the panorama equipment that fits onto the tripod.

 

Think About the Environment

As with any landscape photography, the range and depth of colour are best brought out by photographing the panorama during the 'golden hours', which happen just before sunrise and just after sunset. 

We have looked briefly at the movement of the camera but, whichever landscape you decide to photograph, it is also worth considering any movement on the scene, before you get to the process of taking the images. Remember that the movement of clouds and the sun's arc through the sky means that the individual images will differ if too much time elapses between shots. Changing the exposure settings to compensate for this is not really an option as this will cause discontinuity in post-processing.

Architecture can be particularly problematic as shadows are more clearly defined in straight lines. Wind will cause trees to bend or leaves to shake. Stray objects may get blown into the frame and rain may cause changes to surface colours. You could compensate for all of this in post-processing, but ideally stillness in the scene will make life a little easier, making the final result a little better.
Under any circumstances, working at a sedate pace will cause complications, just as working too hastily with insufficient preparation. Being prepared for nature's little eventualities means that you should allow very little time to elapse between the taking of the first photograph and the last. This will make it less likely that atmospheric or lighting conditions will compromise the continuity of the images.

I cannot begin to tell you how many panoramas I have attempted (and ruined) in the past, containing doppelgänger dogs and floating torsos. Therefore, also try to consider how people and animals will affect your panorama, particularly if they are moving through the desired frame. They may end up occupying a position that will place them where you intend to overlap the images for stitching or they will appear in two of the images rather than just one. Try to wait for a quiet period when the scene is least populated.

A function of the PTGui software allows you to highlight objects that you would like erased during the stitching process and, though it takes a little practice, it works well for the majority of the time. Of course it is best to avoid this in the first place wherever possible.

In short, decide in advance the elements of the scene that you feel are integral to the final panorama and run through, in your mind, how you will work through the shots.

Keep a Consistent Overlap Between Images

Make sure that you overlap the individual shots by between 25 and 30 percent. If you are shooting left to right across the landscape then identify an object or landmark in the right hand third of the frame and make sure this appears in the left hand third of the next frame.

 

Choosing the Best Lens for Panorama Photography

Although a wide angle lens means fewer shots are needed to complete the panorama, it is best not to think in these terms. Eight good shots with the right lens are better than three shots with an inappropriate lens.

A 14mm lens would typically encompass a field of view of 114 degrees; a 24mm would cover approximately 67 degrees. Panorama photography can allow up to a 360 degree field of view, although more typically a panoramic composite will aim for a field of view of somewhere between 80 and 180 degrees over the horizontal field of view. The aspect ratio, (for it to be considered a true panorama,) would be 2:1 right up to 10:1 or more.

This is where some experimentation helps. There are no real hard and fast rules but some lenses will produce significantly better results than others. Nobody, however, wants to produce a run-of-the-mill panorama and perhaps it's worth seeing what interesting visual effects can be had from unusual lenses. Using an M42 adapter, you could try out panoramas with some old Zeiss, Holga or Pentax glass to achieve some variety, especially if you want the final image to have an unusual quality or patina

As a personal preference, when taking a panorama, I tend not to use a telephoto lens or, conversely, a wide angle lens. I must stress this is my own preference and has more to do with not trusting myself to be a little clumsy on occasion. With a telephoto there is always the possibility that I could nudge the lens to a different focal length without noticing. Some people prefer telephoto lenses, as you can put together a high resolution many-image panorama.

With a wide angle, particularly a fish-eye, the curvature can create problems in the software later: stitching two squares together is far more efficient than two circles. You could use a rectilinear, wide angle lens but I prefer to use a prime 50mm or 35mm. For landscapes where you are pressed up close to the scene such as a forest, I have used a 20mm f2.8, which was fine but the curvature of the lens will become more apparent on close architectural shots.

Further to this, once you move beyond a 180 degree horizontal field of view you are out of simple panorama territory: where the eye is capable of taking in the scene as a single unified image. The images often become fussy, containing too much information and might be better viewed by being animated or scrolled through. For print purposes I would suggest a 170 degree field of view as a maximum across both the horizontal and vertical plane.

Should You Use Filters with Panoramas?

Grad Filters

In terms GRADUATED FILTERS, any graduated filters are a judgement call. If the lighting is such that your picture would benefit, then judicious use of grad filters are a go. Panoramas always work best if the lighting is completely even as you don't run any risk of uneven lighthing in the foreground or sky. However, there are times when such conditions are not possible and in that case, grad filters may be useful.

Some photographers would argue that grad filters are best avoided with panorama phorography and added in the software later as you can get an uneven sky (one area of the sky darker than the other area). However, I personally DO use grad filters with panoramas -- it's too useful of a tool to throw away. However, you need to be careful how you use them.

Polarizers

Polarizing filters may create uneven skies -- if the sky is blue and not cloudy. Again, it's a judgment call here -- if the polarizer will bring out a much more dramatic sky, then do so. I say if there are fluffy clouds and blue skies then use it.

The price you pay for using a polarizing filter in a panorama image is that polarizers will change the sky coloration depending on the position of the sun. However, with a multi-stitch panorama, the colour of SOME of the images will show slightly different "blue" colors which, when the final panorama image is created, will have part of the sky darker than other parts.

Note this can be fixed in post processing, however.

Other Lens Filters

Full neutral density and UV are OK and shouldn't cause any real problems.

 

Camera Settings Panoramas (Ideal Focus and Exposure Settings)

The focus for a scenic landscape should be set about one third in to the vertical axis, particularly over water where soft focussing will achieve more consistent stitching because of the constant movement and rippling. 

In order to attain perfect continuity set both the exposure metering and the focus to manual. Take an exposure reading and keep this the same for all the frames. Allowing the camera to do it's own metering or auto-focus will result in discrepancies. As with any composition you should decide where the focus will lead the eye in the final picture. Set auto-focus to this point and once done switch straight back to manual before you take the first shot. Keep this focus throughout. Using focus intelligently can create some interesting effects. Although we often think of a panorama in relation to landscape photography, panoramas can be used anywhere you want to increase the field of view, so setting the focus centrally on the vertical plane for example, can create a pseudo tilt-shift effect or a sense of movement as though the viewer is being pulled into the centre of the picture.

Similarly, white balance set to manual.

A special mention must be made here of stars and the moon. If you want to have deep, starry night skies, try to photograph somewhere with a low level of light pollution. Keep the exposure time as low as you can manage because stars move very quickly across the frame. An exposure of 10 seconds or so will begin to trail. Because the position of the stars will change in relation to the landscape below you need to be as quick as possible. Similarly make sure that the moon does not appear in one of the overlapping thirds because it too will move relative to the landscape.

NB Generally I shoot in high quality JPEG but software such as PTGui now offer RAW support and functionality across the range of image formats is improving all the time. If your images are RAW then covert them to TIFF before stitching to eradicate JPEG compression artefacts. Also, don't sharpen or compress the images prior to stitching. This would better be left to perform on the final image.

Stitching the Images Together with Panorama Software

Although images can be stitched together manually in image software such as Photoshop or Gimp, specialist software is widely available and fairly user-friendly. The best known, and most extensively used of these are:

  • PTGui
  • AutoStitch
  • CleVR (free)
  • Registax (more useful for processing astro-photographic images prior to stitching)

My personal recommendation here as the best panorma software is PTGui as it's easy to use, has a ton of features, and seems to produce the best panorama images.

It's quite easy to create a panorama once you have the individual images. You simply load the images into the software, tinker with a few settings, and hit a button. After a minute or so, you've got a panorama from a series of stitched images.

We'll have a tutorial on how to use PTGui or Photoshop for panorama photgraphy in the future.

HDR with Panoramas?

You may or may not to use the increasingly popular HDR effect on the final panorama. HDR or (High Dynamic Range) is often overdone as a photographic effect but used with some subtlety it can be a useful weapon in the software arsenal. Further, you may one day decide to see how HDR sits with an image you took in the past, and so bracketing the exposures is always worth considering as a matter of habit.

To do this set the camera to continuous shooting mode and set the bracketing levels at +2 and -2. When you press the shutter, hold only for the time it takes to fire off three shots before you move the camera to its next position.

As I have said, the effect can be grungy and over-used but it will give you some control over the dynamic range in the photograph, giving the final image a little more depth and realism. Personally I enjoy the freedom that software such as Photomatrix Pro 4 allows.

I have attempted 2 methods of employing HDR with panoramas. The first is to render the effect on one image, then duplicate these levels (as saved pre-sets) across the other images prior to stitching. As I have mentioned though, it is usually best not to compress the image prior to stitching, but experimenting with this won't hurt.

If you do only have a single image then you can use tonemapping in Photomatix Pro 4.0. This approximates a high dynamic range but while it gives limited options, it solves the problem mentioned above.

There is method, however, of forcing HDR from a single image:
Take the panorama into CS3 or whatever version you are using and increase the exposure and gamma correction. Save this. Then repeat but this time decrease exposure and gamma correction. When you open these three images in Photomatix, set values for them of +3, 0, and -3. This is more effective than tonemapping but not quite as good as using bracketed shots. There are issues with any method you employ but you'll find the web full tricks and tips on how to use the software, too numerous to go through here. Like I have said, it is worth experimenting and with practice some amazing results can be achieved.

A Note About ICC Profiles

Many photographers don’t know too much about ICC profiles, but these are actually quite important. Basically, an ICC profile is like a specific color template that you can use to guarantee the picture is displayed on another screen or printed out with EXACTLY the same original colors. If you don’t keep the same ICC profile, the reproduced image (either the printed image or the same image displayed on another computer) might not look the same as the original one.

Conclusion

Taking a good panorama is not difficult -- the best way to go about it is to get out there and start trying. You don't have to opt for an expensive setup to take a panorama. This article has listed the IDEA equipement for a landscape photgrapher who wants to get into some serious panorama landscape photography.

The basic requirements to take a good panoram are:

  • DSLR Camera
  • Tripod + Ballhead with Panning
  • Software to stich individual images togther (Panorama Software)

If you have the above, you can start taking panoramas without much fuss. If you find you enjoy taking panoramas, then you might look at getting a dedicated panoram equipment (panorama panning clamp, nodal slider, L-Plate). But you certainly don't need to spend the money on this specialized equipment to get started with Panorama photography.

Here are some important notes about taking panoramas:

Camera Settings For Panoramas

  • Use auto-focus to determine a focal point then lock to manual
  • Don't use flash!
  • Keep exposure times and aperture the same for each image
  • Do not let the camera auto white balance, auto expose, or auto-focus

Composition for Panoramas

  • Level the tripod and camera using a bubble level for the legs and the plate OR just use a specialized panning tripod clamp such as the Really Right Stuff PCL1.
  • Leave an overlap of one quarter to one third on each shot (look at the degree marks on the panning base of your tripod or panning clamp, take the picture, then move the camera a specified number of degrees to the right, take the picture, and repeat).

Panorama Equipment

  • Ensure you are using a tripod and ballhead with a panning base
  • Use a Panning Clamp (OPTIONAL)
  • Don't use a polariser or graduated filter unless you have special reason to
  • Use a Nodal Slider to eliminate parallax (OPTIONAL)

                                

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