Have you ever asked yourself how the photographers manage to catch beautiful landscapes with great detail?
But every time you try it, there is something missing. It happens many times to me. Either my photos were overexposed, lacking of details, or in most of the cases I just couldn’t find the reason for my failure. One day I just sat in front of my computer and started a small research on this topic. What I found was that there are a certain techniques or even “secrets” for a successful panoramic image. I would like to share them with you and save you some extra time surfing the internet.
1.The first step of the process is the planning and preparation.
One of the most important things that you have to consider is the timing. The best time for doing suck a photos is the so called “Golden Hour”. This time of the day is actually the sunrise and the sunset. The reason why it is called like that is because in this period the sky has more dramatic, it’s not too bright and at the same time casts a warm glow over the landscape.
The second very important aspect of the preparation part is the weather. It is a big factor because it depends on the weather how deep colors you are represented in your image. If you visually compare a rainy morning and a sunny afternoon, you can easily see the difference. Also the presence of clouds in a panoramic image always attaches a bit of mystery and interest to it.
2.The second step for a successful panoramic photo are the tools and the way you should use the in capturing the moment.
First of all you need a tripod. It is very important, because most of the shots you take will be on an open shutter (in my next post I will be explaining all about it), which means that you will need to reduce the hand shake which can distort the image in your photo.
Secondly, you need to plan your shot. Think about it carefully. Even if your camera is perfectly positioned and all you have is the equipment, it is not enough. You need to be able to compose your shot in a way that it will make it unique, because colors and light are not everything. You can decide if you want all the photo to be in focus or just a small bit. You can do that by adjusting your f-stop numbers lets say(aperture). You can also choose what you want your viewers to see by making the composition what you want.
And last but not least if you don’t have wide angle lens, or just not wide enough for capturing the landscape you want, you can take several photos and combine them in Photoshop.
The way is very simple, you need at least 2 photos of different parts of the landscape but the camera should be on the same height. Then you open Photoshop 5.5, you go to File->Automate->Photomerge->Browse (you chose your photos)-> Press OKAY. This is how you can make a very wide panoramic photo combining 2 or more images, like the one that I am showing you below.
Lara Cyprus: Photo courtesy of Hristiyan Stratev
Hristiyan Stratev – Mediazone Tv & Avid Lab – Senior Lab Assistant
