My first panorama

[fletch]

This shot is probably a bit too small to judge the stitching but I think its OK. I used Photoshop Elements Photomerge function and it seemed to work OK. I struggled to get the composition right with the panormic, what do you think? What could I do differently next time?



Camera: Olympus E-510
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 42 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed: 100

[vsa]

I find that most really wide panoramas don't have very appealing composition. You could try taking 3 rows of photos (above and below what you now have) so you'd have more room to play with. Did you take these in landscape or portrait?

All in all I like it. I'm only left to wonder if the left side of the scene really was that much grayer than the right side or is it exposure thing.

At this size I can't see any stitching problems as you foresaw.

[dcclark]

I like the fenceposts... I'd probably remove some of the left side, because it feels empty (since the fenceposts seem to be the subject). Also, second the strange greyness problem.

Overall, good job stitching and good idea. I think that perhaps a single wide-angle photo would have done just as well though.

[BabetteKD]

Except for being a little short on blue sky, I really enjoy this panorama. I love how the wildness of the right side crosses the fence a little into the camer fared areas of the left.

Then again, the detailed sky on the left gives the farmed area the detail it lacks, and the plain sky on the right prevents the rugged wild from overpowering one side of the image.

[inkista]

Take the white balance off auto (i.e., use sunlight or shady) or shoot in RAW, so you can make sure all the photos have consistent white balance before stitching. Once you've focused, lock in by switching to manual focus. Remember, these are settings, just like the exposure settings that can shift between frames and cause you some inconsistencies. You may also want to consider bracketing and merging exposures/HDR, since you're far more likely to have a larger dynamic range with a panorama, especially if you get the sun in the shot.

As someone else mentioned, if you want more vertical coverage, shooting in portrait mode can help with that, as well as shooting multiple rows.

It's a great first pano. Most folks stick the horizon smack in the middle and forget about overall composition in their excitement at covering a larger view.

[fletch]

Originally Posted by inkista

Take the white balance off auto (i.e., use sunlight or shady) or shoot in RAW, so you can make sure all the photos have consistent white balance before stitching. Once you've focused, lock in by switching to manual focus. Remember, these are settings, just like the exposure settings that can shift between frames and cause you some inconsistencies.

Hope you don't mind me asking but what was it about the photo that made you think that I didn't do it like you said?

[inkista]

Educated guess. the EXIF said the white balance was in Auto and the shot was JPEG. Of course, it's true with a pano that the EXIF can be different from the member shots, but I thought I'd take a chance.

Most folks will remember the exposure settings and forget about the white balance. Yours actually doesn't look like there was a white balance shift as much as a lighting shift with the moving clouds. And manual focus doesn't register in the EXIF. This is just the usual beginner advice I give any panoshooter: my "manual, manual, manual" mantra. (manual exposure, manual white balance, manual focus) I've forgotten it enough times and regretted it, to point it out to other folks, whether or not they need it.

[fletch]

Originally Posted by inkista

Educated guess. the EXIF said the white balance was in Auto and the shot was JPEG. Of course, it's true with a pano that the EXIF can be different from the member shots, but I thought I'd take a chance.

As long as you can't tell from the image.

I did shoot in manual mode and use manual focus so there shouldn't be any focus issues or exposure banding. The WB in the EXIF says Auto due to the way I shoot. Always in RAW with auto WB and then set the WB in post. I developed all of the RAW files as a batch to ensure they had the same settings applied.

For everyone that though the left was a little more grey that is actually how it was in reality. There was a band of clouds coming over and 15 mins after this shot there was no blue sky to be seen.