Photographic techniques - Panorama pictures

The appeal of panorama pictures is that they show a wide sweeping view which can make a scene look totally different from real life. Position your camera on a level surface or a tripod. Failing this you could try handholding it but make sure you stand still and steady in one spot during the whole sequence. Keep the camera close to your body and rotate it evenly. Overlap frames by 30 to 50%, to avoid having to clone in missing parts later. Try to keep moving objects out of frame and set a small aperture for large DOF. Determine one exposure setting for the whole scene to keep brightness levels the same throughout. For the same reason do not take panorama shots when a dramatic change in light levels is to be expected before you have finished your sequence. To “stitch” images together you could use one of several software packages available. Some let you adjust certain parameters, such as lens used or key points between frames.