In this article, you’ll get some tips for taking images to merge into a stunning panorama as well as some pitfalls and issues to watch out for along the way. Finally, you’ll learn about software options for panorama stitching and a demonstration tutorial video to get you started.
Let’s take a look at each of the following things one by one:
- Photography tips for success
- Common issues
- Merging or stitching your panorama (software)
Panorama photography tips
There are a few things you can do in the field when you’re capturing the scene that will lead to a more successful final panoramic image.
#1 – Take a sufficient number of images
The first and most important thing is to make sure that you take enough images and have enough overlap between frames. Notice how the seven images above overlap quite a bit. This is a good thing.
More is better! So take lots of images, you can also choose not to use all of them later. But if you get to the computer and discover they won’t merge or you missed a part of the scene – then it’s too late.
The software you use to stitch your panorama needs to be able to identify similar parts of the overlapping images so it knows how to merge them correctly. If the images do not have enough overlap it can cause the merge to fail or not have the images aligned correctly (like the Lightroom error message seen here).
Below you see the final stitched panoramic image, merged using Lightroom Classic and then Luminar Neo. They both have pros and cons. (We’ll look closer at software options a bit later in the article.)
#2 – Take your images vertically
As seen in the example above, the images I took to capture the scene were framed vertically not horizontally. That was done on purpose to capture more and have the final stitched image take advantage of the camera’s longest side – which then becomes the height of the panorama.
For example, the images above are each 2912 x 4368 pixels. So the 4368 is the height. The final merged panorama is 13,801 x 3713 pixels after cropping. So can you see how much smaller it would have been if I had taken horizontal images? It would have been a maximum 2912 high, but likely less after cropping so that’s about 33% smaller.
Let’s look at another example. Below, you see a total of eight images and the resulting stitched pano.
Each of the original files is 6240 x 4160 pixels and the final panorama is 31,688 x 4,240. You’ll notice that it’s slightly larger height-wise than the original files – that is due to the content-aware edge fill done by Lightroom to fill in any missing information.
BUT, if the images had been taken vertically (make note you’d need to take more than eight then!) the final panorama would be over 6000 pixels high or 50% larger. So it’s pretty significant.
#3 – Keep the camera level vertically for each frame
This should go without saying, but I’ll mention it anyway. If you do not take the time to level the camera and the tripod head vertically, as you rotate the camera, the position of the horizon in the frame will move.
Using a tripod is essential to success here – don’t shortcut this step!
If you’re really serious about it you can get tools made especially for doing panoramas that take the parallax issues into account. You’ll need a leveling base, a panning base, and an L-bracket. You could also opt for slider (nodal) rails to take it to the next level.
Read more on the advanced gear you need if you want to do really precise panoramas here: Tools of the Trade for Panoramic Photographers
#4 – Keep the exposure and white balance consistent
Use Manual shooting mode to set the exposure and keep it the same from one image to the next. The exception here is if you want to also do HDR and make an HDR panorama. Then you’ll need a bracketed set of images from each one of the different frames you capture for the panorama.
For basic panorama stitching, keep everything consistent. That means turning off all auto or semi-automatic exposure options and choosing a set White Balance like one of the camera presets.
The image above is what happens when your exposures are all over the place. Here is the set of images that were used.
#5 – Have a clear subject and make sure your image is balanced
While you’re doing all this fancy panorama making, don’t forget about all the regular rules of photography like composition and lighting. They will matter. In fact, I’d argue that they matter even more in a panorama because it’s too easy to just capture an entire vast scene and not have a clear subject.
For example, in the image above your eye clearly lands on the church towers about a third of the way into the scene. The tall building on the right keeps it balanced and keeps the viewer’s eye inside the image.
But in the panoramic view that I took of Fez, Morocco below, I felt the tower on the left made the image feel a bit unbalanced.
So I did a sky replacement and changed the color of the overall image to match (see below). Now the sky brightness on the right balances out the brightness of the tower. I find this color more pleasing as well.
This panorama was merged and edited using Luminar Neo.
#6 – Tips for making a pano from a video
A really cool feature of the new Luminar Neo Panorama Stitching extension is that you can make a panorama from a video! I did some tests using my phone and have a couple of tips for you if you want to try this.
First, keep the camera steady and the horizon at the same spot when doing a video for a panorama. If the horizon dips down or goes up and down during the video your final panorama will be a lot skinnier because Luminar Neo will just be able to use the middle parts. So pay attention to that when you’re filming.
Next, keep your movement from side to side slow and steady for video panning, don’t move too fast. Shoot from side-to-side (either way if fine, left to right, or right to left, or even up and down), but just do it slowly. Moving the camera too fast causes the resulting pano to have areas that are not sharp (see below).
Above you can see one I did using my phone at a powwow I attended recently. It’s sharp from edge to edge. So just take your time and don’t rush.
Common panorama issues
There is a lot that can and often does go wrong when shooting and merging a panorama. Here are a few things to watch out for (in addition to the stuff mentioned above):
- Distortion issues – avoid using a wide lens to take your images because the edge of each image will have distortion and the pano may look odd. Choose 35mm or longer and just take more images.
- Gaps of image or information – just take more images.
- Parallax errors – try to keep your panoramas to subjects that are in the distance. If you try and do a pano of something close and include the background you’ll run into issues of the objects not lining up right. Panoramas are usually reserved for landscapes or cityscapes for this reason.
This is not a complete list by any means. You’ll find other things pop up as you start your journey into panorama photography.
If you want more help with gear and capturing your images to make a panorama read this: How to Do Panoramic Landscape Photography with the Gear You Have.
Stitching your panorama
Once you have your lovely, well-exposed images you’re ready to stitch them together into a full panorama. You’ll need some kind of software that can do this. There are several on the market including:
- NEW: Luminar Neo (If you have the Pro plan already you get the new panorama extension included with your package. If you have a lifetime license you’ll either need to upgrade to Pro and get an annual plan or buy the extension – it’s $49 USD but you can use my code DPM10 to get a 10% discount when you checkout, that’s good for any purchase).
- Lightroom Classic
- Photoshop
- Affinity Photo
- GIMP (free)
- Capture One
- ON1 Photo Raw
- Hugin (free)
- PTGui (this one has lots of great reviews and I may try it out, but it’s pricey (around $400 USD per year)!
- Autostitch
- Panoweaver
- PhotoStitcher
NOTE: I have not personally tested or used most of the software mentioned above. So download and try them at your own risk. I cannot vouch for the one I haven’t used.
The ones I have used are Lightroom and Photoshop, and now I will be using Luminar Neo. For me, it just overtook both of the Adobe products in regards to stitching panoramas. I’ll do a head-to-head comparison in the near future.
Panorama processing tips
The article mentioned above has some Lightroom processing tips at the end. Just scroll down and you’ll see it near the bottom of the article.
But regardless of what panoramic stitching software you currently use (or if you’re in the market for one), I suggest you watch the video to see what Luminar Neo can do.
As a summary of the video above, Luminar Neo panorama stitching extension can do all this:
- Basic panorama stitching – easy peasy!
- Vertical panoramas
- HDR panoramas from bracketed sets of images
- Multirow and multi-image stitching (I managed to merge 28 images into one).
- Panoramas from a video
- Subject capture (multiple iterations as well) from a panning video
Here are a few examples:
Conclusion
Now it’s over to you. Are you inspired to go make some panoramic images? I hope so!
Give it a go. Get out here, take some images to stitch together, and share your panorama images in the comment area below.
I’d also love to hear what software you end up using and your thoughts on it. I want to try out a few more and want your input.
Cheers,
