Blog | 75 - Stitch Up
| bokeh photographic (Alistair Grant): Freelance Photographer Cambridge & Freelance Photography Cambridge. | |||
 
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Alistair Grant Freelance Photographer Cambridge & London |
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bokeh photographic: Blog No: 75 → TIP: Click any image to view in LightBox |
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Stitch Up A landscape photography panorama I recently posted on a local social media forum generated many questions about what software I used to stitch the shots that comprised the image together. This intrigued me as I regard software as probably the most straightforward aspect of panoramic photography. I really don’t think it matters what program is used as all perform equally well. For instance, if you normally use Photoshop for post-production it makes most sense to use File > Automate > Photomerge whilst if you are a Lightroom user it makes sense to use Photo > Photo Merge > Panorama. I’m aware that Adobe and third-party plug-ins are available but built-in functionality generally does the job well unlike early software when a better outcome was achieved by manually joining images and then cleaning-up with the eraser tool. Arguably, as with most things in photography, in-camera capture is the most important element of panoramic landscapes. I should point out I’m not referring here to the panoramic mode increasingly incorporated within cameras & smartphones i.e. where the device is panned in a continuous movement and the panorama is created from rapid-fire exposures. Here’s a quick run-through my technique when shooting panoramic landscape photography. Firstly and maybe somewhat counterintuitively pack away your wide angle lens and select a standard or even short telephoto focal length. Apart from an aesthetically pleasing aspect ratio that is significantly different to the standard crop of camera sensors a well-executed panorama maintains detail and (via lens compression) proportional scaling so that, unlike wide angle images, objects in the foreground don’t appear disproportionally large and objects in the background don’t appear disproportionally small. For this particular scene the church spires would likely have needed significant correction due to wide-angle distortion. Secondly and perhaps most obviously decide on how much of the scene is to be captured and then compute the number of frames required to capture this allowing for at least a third overlap between each; I generally overlap by 50%. It’s probably worthwhile to add a 'standby' frame either end as these can be easily cropped out later. Although it doesn’t really matter if overlaps aren’t exactly equal identifying evenly spaced landmarks will help line up the camera. At this stage it’s also crucial to visualise how you want the panorama to appear. If your preference is to include plenty of foreground and sky then orientate your camera to portrait as shooting landscape will limit foreground/sky capture. Thirdly, whilst it is possible to shoot handheld the best results will be obtained using a tripod. I don’t subscribe to the notion that specialised (and thus pricey) panoramic heads that rotate at pre-set increments are necessary but a sturdy tripod and mount combination will help enormously. Perhaps one of the most important tasks is to ensure the camera is level-mounted on all planes of orientation; use a hot-shoe mounted spirit level or the built-in electronic level if your camera has one. Some photographers advocate shooting at an angle or tilt; in my experience the results simply don’t justify the hassle! Fourthly, even if not bracketing (i.e. under/normal/over exposure) all frames consider at least one initial bracketed exposure as metering, white balance etc. may be tricky due to the more varied area of scene compared to a single shot. In fact, assuming most landscape photography takes advantage of the golden hour, anticipate that some areas will be in full sun with others in deep shade. In terms of aperture I generally work one stop away from the lens maximum f/ number (i.e. smallest diameter). NB: If camera parameters are a mystery to you I recommend enrolling on the bokeh photographic Training Courses. Fifth, work in RAW and in camera manual mode without lens autofocus to lock in camera parameters and avoid the camera making any (semi)automatic changes. I also use either a shutter remote release or the in-built timer to reduce camera shake. Returning to the previous point a lens hood may prove indispensable in full sun. Finally, on the assumption you will be shooting each panorama more than once, decide on start/end markers to delineate the set of frames to be stitched together. For example, before shooting the first frame I take a picture of one finger held up in front of the scene and after shooting the last frame I take a picture of two fingers held up; I then know where each sequence starts & stops. In place an hour before sundown for this scene I shot a total of ten 8-frame (although the end frames were eventually cropped) 3-bracketed sequences as the sunset advanced. It’s also worth mentioning to always shoot left to right (as most people do anyway) as this makes it easier to recognise sequences when loaded into software. Although a degree of practice will be needed to perfect technique these steps should result in optimised images that reduce potential problems when attempting to merge in software thus rendering tedious debates such as Auto Crop vs. Boundary Warp obsolete. Trust me - it’s an absolute stitch up!
St Ives (Cambridgeshire) in winter flood from Hemingford Grey Meadow (6 frame stitch) |
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Call Alistair Grant on 07775 365507, Email [email protected] or click Booking Enquiries if you have any questions or would like to make a booking. |
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bokeh: "the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens" bokeh photographic (Alistair Grant): Food & Drink Photographer; Food Photographer; Drink Photographer; Commercial Photographer; Product Photographer; Corporate Photographer; PR Photographer; Wedding Photographer; Portrait Photographer; Event Photographer and Photography Training Courses in Cambridge and Cambridgeshire. |
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bokeh photographic - Alistair Grant | Freelance Photographer | Cambridge, London, UK - Creative Natural Photography And Outstanding Customer Service At Competitive Prices - Food & Drink Photography | Commercial Photography & Product Photography | Corporate Photography & PR Photography | Portrait Photography (inc. 'Active Portraiture', 'Naturally You' & 'Poptraits') | Event Photography | Engagement & Wedding Photography | Photography Training Courses & Camera Tuition | Videography & Film Production Tel: 07775 365507 | Email: [email protected] |
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