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Chapter 12 Outdoor Photography
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Most image manipulation software includes a
panorama-making feature, and separate stitching
programs are also available. A panorama may
be horizontal or vertical. The image can be taken
with a lens of any focal length and can cover
a scene distance measured in inches (flower
close-ups) to miles (a mountain vista).
Distant scenery panoramas are easier to
create successfully than close-up views because of
distortion problems. A camera’s tripod socket is
typically located directly below the image receiver
plane. As the camera is rotated to capture the
individual shots, the distance to the subject varies
slightly. The extreme ends will be farther away
than the center shots. The result is an alignment
problem—adjacent image edges will not line
up precisely. When the subject is reasonably far
away, the alignment problem usually is slight. In
a close-up, however, the minor difference in edge
matching will stand out. To avoid this problem, the
camera must be mounted so its center of rotation
is beneath the nodal point, or optical center, of
the lens. This is the point, inside the lens barrel,
where the incoming light rays converge and turn
the image upside down. Specially designed tripod
mounts, Figure 12-6, permit positioning the center
of rotation beneath the nodal point.
When shooting panoramas, follow these basic
guidelines:
• Choose a subject and a composition with
distinct starting and ending points and
interesting subject matter in between.
• Carefully level the tripod and camera.
Some tripod heads include bubble levels.
A level that mounts on the camera’s hot
shoe also is useful. Level the setup with
the camera pointed at the center of the
composition, and then slowly move it
through the arc that you will use when
shooting. Watch the level and make any
necessary adjustments.
• Select a focal length ranging from a
moderate wide angle to a long normal lens
(between 28 mm and 75 mm is best). Wider
lenses may introduce distortion, and longer
lenses are more subject to sharpness-robbing
vibration.
• Use your camera’s autoexposure lock
function to keep exposure consistent
throughout the panorama. Instead, you
may wish to turn off autoexposure and set
exposure manually.
• Avoid automatic white balance (AWB)
because it can shift color temperature
from frame to frame. Instead, choose an
appropriate white balance preset or use a
custom white balance.
• Use manual focus instead of autofocus. Focus
carefully for the first image, and then check
focus on each succeeding image. Make minor
adjustments as needed.
• Prevent an unintended shift in focal length
when using a zoom lens. Use a piece of tape
to lock the lens barrel.
• Overlap adjoining images between 20% and
50% so the stitching software can merge
them.
If you are shooting similar material before
or after your panorama, include marker frames.
These blank frames make it easier to find the
sequence of images. Before your first panorama
shot, cover your lens and shoot a blank frame.
Repeat the process after your last panorama shot.
When you transfer the images to your computer
for processing, it will be easy to tell which images
make up the panorama.
SUNWAYFOTO
Figure 12-6. A tripod mount for panoramic photography.