TakingPanoramas byRodneyField2006 for thedogpaddler.com

A panorama photo is simply a series of photos taken of the one scene and then joined and merged together to form one
large vista image. Panorama programs can stitch together any number of photos - and provided that they have been taken
as overlapping photos and are clear - it is usually quite simple.

I follow three basic rules - ' L O L' - LEFT - OVERLAP - LEVEL
LEFT - means that if you start on the Left and photograph to the Right - you will find that it's a lot easier to work out what
goes where, when you are viewing the images on your computer screen later.
OVERLAP - just make sure that each photo you take overlaps some of the previous one - about one-third will be plenty.
LEVEL - you should try and keep the horizon line, or subject of the shot, level as you swing the camera around, otherwise
your panorama photos become like a set of steps going up the screen (which you can't crop properly)- instead of a level
large photo.

There are a few more important things:
- you must pivot on the one spot - moving the camera in as small an arc as possible - you can even take a full 360 degrees
If you take a step, or move positions, mid way, by even a foot, the perspective view will change, and you may find that the
scene does not overlap smoothly - just stand in the one position and swing the camera around.
- you can take panoramas of anything - even inside buildings and of things closer - it is all the more important when
photographing closer objects that you move the camera in as tight a circle-arc as possible.

ALWAYS - ALWAYS - ALWAYS - HOLD THE CAMERA STEADY - AND TAKE CLEAR FOCUSED PHOTOS - NO BLURRING

I always recommend - NOT - to hold the digital camera out, away from you looking at the screen - you cannot be steady -
HOLD the CAMERA UP TO YOUR FACE - like we've always done before - and LOOK THROUGH the VIEWFINDER - this makes
the camera much steadier as you put it to your face - and is almost essential with panoramas to reduce the swinging arc -
experts use tripods - just act like one - and hold that camera steady - blurred photos cannot be fixed - they are a total loss
- ALWAYS hold the camera STILL to shoot