Why Panoramas?
Why would you ever create a panorama? It sure looks nice, but how much
work is it to make one? Apart from it not being that much work, there are
a few reasons why you would want to create panoramas:
- The scene is too wide to be taken in one shot
- Rather than using a wide angle lens you want to zoom in to preserve more
details
- You want the ability to print the image in a very big format, so you need
better resolution
- It's just fun!
What type of Panoramas?
In general, there are two different types of panoramas:
- single row panoramas 
- multi row or matrix panoramas 
Personally, I mostly shoot single-row panoramas, but all modern panorama software supports allows you to stitch either of the two
How to Photograph Panoramas
There are a few things you have to watch out for. Since the light throughout the scene will not be uniform, you have to set your camera to manual. Measure the brightest part of the scene by using a light meter or taking a few test shots and checking the histogram in your camera. Then set your desired aperture and exposure time in manual mode. Focus manually, since your camera might change focus in autofocus modes for some of your shots. You should also switch to either one of the camera's outdoor white balance settings, such as sunny or cloudy, or use a white color card to custom set the white balance (most DSLRs and some of the high-end point-and-shoot cameras support setting custom white balance directly in your camera). If your camera supports Mirror Lock Up, turn it on to avoid shutter-induced vibrations. And lastly, do not use polarizer filters!
Mount your camera on a tripod and make sure that it is level. Use a remote or a tethered release to take the shots. While taking the shots, make sure that you do not change any settings on your camera or your lens (esp. when you use a zoom!) and that you overlap your shost by at least 25%. Using a special panorama head or base on your tripod will greatly help; otherwise, use the viewfinder to determine the correct overlap. If you are unsure about correct exposure or any of the settings, you should take multiple shots.
What Equipment?
For shooting my panoramas I use the following equipment:
- Manfrotto 3021
BN tripod
- Manfrotto 3502
levelling head
- Nodal Ninja
panoramic tripod head
How to Create the Panorama on your Computer
Once you shot your panorama, upload the images to your computer. If you shoot in RAW, you will have to convert them to TIF (not JPEG!) first, unless your stitching software supports converting and stitching in one step (Adobe Photoshop CS3 does). During the conversion, ensure that all the settings are the same for all of the shots comprising your panorama. Programs such as Adobe Photoshop CS3 or PhaseOne's Capture One are typically used for RAW conversion.
After converting your shots, you can use Adobe Photoshop CS, CS2 or CS3 (earlier versions of Photoshop do not support stitching panoramas) or a third-party product, such as Panavue or RealVIZ, to stitch the pictures together. Personally, I used to use PTgui, since it produces very good renderings of skies and water, but in Adobe Photoshop CS3, stitching is much improved, so it's now my "stitcher" of choice. Based on the complexity of the panorama you want to stitch, you might try multiple programs for optimal results.
Once it is stitched, save it either in TIF or Photoshop (PSD) file format, then open it in your favorite image editor to make adjustments. At that time, you might have to also correct some imperfections that resulted from stitching the panorama.
Additional Resources
In addition to resources listed on my resource
page at irtenkauf.com, the following resources are highly recommended
- Max
Lyons' PTAssembler tutorial on manual stitching of panoramas
- The Panorama
Forum at Digital
Outback Photo
Panorama Heads:
Manfrotto / Panosaurus
/ Really
Right Stuff / Nodal Ninja / Jasper
Pano Head
Preferred Pano Tools (Software): PT GUI, Panorama Factory, PT Assembler or Adobe Photoshop
CS3
More Education: PT
Assembler Tutorial /
PT GUI Tutorial / Panoguide
Additional pano tools: RealVIZ
/ Panavue
/ Photovista
/ Arcsoft
Panorama Maker