I spent the morning reading up on using Photomerge, a feature in Adobe Photoshop that let’s you stitch multiple frames together to create a really wide image.
My parents' home in Haskell, N.J.
The above image (click to enlarge) was my first attempt, and is admittedly pretty crappy. I’m visiting my family in New Jersey, so I don’t have my tripod, and the lens I’m using has a fixed focal length that won’t let me get a wider shot of the house unless I want to trample the neighbors’ flowers. That’s why this image, composed of 7 different frames, has a bunch of missing pieces.
The Adobe Web site has a tutorial on how to use this feature. The most important things to consider when shooting, says Adobe, are:
- Overlap images sufficiently
Images should overlap by approximately 40%. If the overlap is less, Photomerge may not be able to automatically assemble the panorama. However, keep in mind that the images shouldn’t overlap too much. If images overlap by 70% or more, Photomerge may not be able to blend the images. Try to keep the individual photos at least somewhat distinct from each other.
- Use one focal length
If you use a zoom lens, don’t change the focal length (zoom in or out) while taking your pictures.
- Keep the camera level
Although Photomerge can process slight rotations between pictures, a tilt of more than a few degrees can result in errors when the panorama is assembled. Using a tripod with a rotating head helps maintain camera alignment and viewpoint.
- Stay in the same position
Try not to change your position as you take a series of photographs, so that the pictures are from the same viewpoint. Using the optical viewfinder with the camera held close to the eye helps keep the viewpoint consistent. Or try using a tripod to keep the camera in the same place.
I’m going to keep playing with this feature and report back on what I learn by failing miserably at it.
The images used in this post were taken with my Canon EOS Rebel xsi using a Canon EF
85mm*50mm f/1.8 lens
*Correction appended. Thanks, Matt.
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