If your wide angle or ultra wide angle lens just isn’t up to your lofty standards anymore and you wish to capture an even wider field of view, then it’s time you step into the realm of panoramic photography.
Literally meaning “all sight” in the Greek language, painters who wanted to depict a sweeping vision of a landscape instead of just a slice of it were the first to produce panoramas. The first photographers to create panoramas had to either fork over a substantial wad of cash for an expensive specialized camera or spend hours on end in the darkroom trying to perfectly match exposures and align prints; as you might have guessed, the latter method led to some spectacularly inconsistent results.
Fast forward to the digital now, where creating panoramic images is exponentially easier than it was during the film era. Many point-and-shoot cameras and DSLRs have a built-in panoramic mode to help keep exposure and alignment in check, and if a camera isn’t capable of stitching together the individual images to form a panorama, there is software aplenty to take care of this.
While these technological advancements have certainly been a boon to photographers, they don’t absolve you of your responsibility to use good technique, such as choosing the correct metering, keeping your camera steady and level, and getting sufficient image overlap.
If you’re interested in getting started with panoramic photography, the following tutorials will provide you with everything you’ll need to get going:
How to Shoot Panoramic Photographs by Jason Row
Panoramic Photography: The Art of Stitching by Destin Sparks
Panoramic Photography Tutorial by Nasim Mansurov
And just to whet your appetite for panoramic photography a bit more, here are 15 incredible panoramas presented for your viewing pleasure.
New York Skyline by E Palen, on Flickr
Filandia, Quindio, Colombia by Pedro Szekely, on Flickr
Amboise panorama by @lain G, le retour !, on Flickr
Urban Landscape – Hong Kong Victoria Harbour Panorama by See-ming Lee, on Flickr
Cape Town Stadium panorama by Warren Rohner, on Flickr
Magic Kingdom Panorama by Rhys A., on Flickr
JELATEKS | Panorama| by naim fadil, on Flickr
South Rim of the Grand Canyon Panorama by Diana Robinson, on Flickr
Coyote Buttes South Panorama by John Fowler, on Flickr
Trier – From Day to Night Panorama by 55Laney69, on Flickr
12th Street Bridge Panorama by Patrick Choi, on Flickr
Rain to the East – Panorama of St. Paul, MN by Peter Ladd, on Flickr
Vue de notre chambre by Didier Hannot, on Flickr
2 Comments
Very well taken. Just beautiful. I love outdoor and nature photos. Some people but mostly old barns and nature.
love the composition and atomsphere. Very sharp