Most people love panoramics as they

mimic the way we view a vista, with

our eyes scanning across the scene.

When creating a panoramic, the temptation

can be to simply crop the middle from a single

frame, but if you shoot a series of images and

‘stitch’ them together into a single image you

will get better results with more resolution, a

wider angle of view and less distortion.

It’s a two-stage process to create a stitched

panorama. Firstly you need to shoot the

images, having chosen a suitable scene;

look for strong interest along the horizon

and a clear focal point. Then you need

to combine the images you’ve captured.

Specialist software is available for this, but

excellent results can be obtained using Adobe

Lightroom, Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

Specialist panoramic heads are available

that make lining up shots easier, but if you

avoid including close foreground any good,

stable head will do.

To help prevent distortion, shoot in portrait

orientation and take between five and seven

images – or more if the scene justifies it. Use

manual settings, so that focus, exposure and

white balance do not change from one frame

to another, and avoid using polarising filters,

as the degree of polarisation will change as

you pan across the scene.

Here we’ll take you through the process

of capturing the images and then the steps

needed to stitch them together in Lightroom.

What you’ll need

DslR or mirrorless camera

sturdy tripod

sturdy tripod head;

preferably a pan and tilt or

geared head

Filters: grads and neutral

density (but not a polariser)

Adobe lightroom,

Photoshop, Photoshop

Elements or similar

rama

Panoramic seascape

Even with my widest lens, I

couldn’t capture the full sweep

of this view. So instead I shot a

series of six vertical images and

stitched them together using

Lightroom’s Photomerge feature

All Images © Mark Bauer