Using ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 2024 To Stitch a PANORAMA Fast
Inspired by Nick Carver’s 6x17 photography of old liquor stores lit by neon signs, dilapidated gas stations with broken windows and rusted signs, and desolate landscapes bathed in perfect golden sunbeams, I had a grand vision of creating huge prints of my own. My experimental journey into panoramic photography began early 2022 and has taken many paths through a few photographic methods. After messing things up and testing things out, I’ve come to several conclusions that I am eager to share in this entry.
Image Resolution is Key
I’m generally a huge proponent of “your image resolution doesn’t matter.” Because most images exist on Instagram or a website portfolio, there’s no need for anything beyond the resolution of a phone’s screen. However, if you’re printing large photographs at large aspect ratios, you’re definitely going to need the largest resolution available to you. Aside from investing in a 6x17 medium format view camera and shooting 120 film, stitching several photos into a panoramic composite in Adobe Photoshop became the obvious approach.
Necessary Supplies and Suggestions
If you’re going to follow along with this simple tutorial, you will need:
Your digital camera with a built in self timer or a remote shutter release
A stable, level tripod with a head that can pan (pivot horizontally) independently
A stationary subject to photograph
A computer that is capable of running Adobe Photoshop 2024
It’s not too challenging thanks to modern technology, but I do have some suggestions that I recommend you follow if you want to succeed. I’ve done quite a bit of experimentation, and what I’ve found is:
Don’t shoot too wide or your pano will warp and stitch funny
Set your camera to fully manual (exposure, focus, etc.)
Take more photos than you think you’ll need and crop in afterwards
Start at the brightest point and pan to the darkest
Take a black photo before and after to indicate the beginning and end
Import the RAW files into Photoshop to stitch together
zoom in to double check your stitch points
The Export is key to getting the best resolution for print
With those suggestions in mind, let’s go through the tutorial!
Capturing the photos
Step 1: SUbject
Finding a subject to photograph is your first priority. Pick something that calls for a panoramic. Don’t choose something arbitrarily or gratuitously. Photographing the right subject will mean the difference between a great shot and a mediocre one. I chose a bridge crossing a river surrounded by steep hills and pine forest in beautiful evening sunlight. It’s very picturesque and just asking for a large panoramic composite.
step 2: level your tripod
Once you’ve found your subject and picked your vantage point, make sure your tripod is perfectly level (or as perfect as possible) so when you pan your camera, it stays level throughout. I use a iFootage Gazelle TC7 because it has a leveling base that makes it ideal for panoramic photography.
step 3: Set up Your camera
My camera has a self-timer that I set any time I photograph panoramic images to make sure there is no camera shake between shots - especially if I decide to use an ND filter for a slightly longer exposure. Pre-visualize your image at this stage so you know exactly how to capture it. For my panoramic, I wanted a slower shutter speed to smooth out the water in the pano, so the 2 second time and ND filter were necessary.
step 4: take the photos
While panning, overlap the images roughly 1/3 to 1/2 of the previous image so while stitching you have plenty for Photoshop to scan and match. I really wanted the get some of the dark trees on the left of my frame contrasting the lit hillside and bridge, so I captured 5 photos from the right, where it was brightest, to the left.
Step 5: Open Adobe Photoshop 2024
Once you’re back at your computer, import your images, and open Photoshop. Don’t open any images yet. Go to the top menu bar and click the “File” drop down menu. Towards the bottom, you should see “Automate,” which has a secondary drop down. At the bottom of the “Automate” drop down, click on “Photomerge…”
Step 6: PHOTOMERGE
Once you’ve opened the photomerge menu, you will have the opportunity to select the files you want to merge and a specific layout. If you want Photoshop to scan the images and stitch them in what it believes is the most appropriate way, keep the “Layout” set to “Auto.” The “Blend Images Together” box should be auto checked. This stitched them together cleanly for you. For this specific panoramic, I also checked the “Vignette Removal” box because I used an ND Filter. They can occasionally cause a slight vignette. I also checked “Geometric Distortion Correction” box to compensate for any lens distortion that might have resulted. This was likely an unnecessary step, as I was at 70mm on my lens, and this would become more necessary at wider focal lengths. Once you click “OK,” Photoshop will think for a little while. Be patient and don’t click anything until it finishes.
Step 7: Crop in to your desired aspect ratio
What you should see is a stitched together panoramic that has connected everything for you and separated the images into layers so you can make adjustments if necessary. It’s always stitched together really well for me as long as I followed the steps properly and kept the suggestions from the earlier section in mind. Use the “Crop Tool” and remove the blank sections (indicated by the checkerboard pattern). I also bound the crop to the 9x16 aspect ratio until it was framed up exactly how I wanted it. Any faint squiggly lines in the image or along the edges will disappear after export. They’re just showing you edges of the layers.
Pro Tip: Turn off “snapping” to crop with fine adjustments.
Step 8: color/light adjustments
Now that your panoramic is stitched together and cropped into place, make all your adjustments in Photoshop - do your editing like you normally would to the entire image. If your more comfortable working in Lightroom, this is where you can “Save As” a .tiff and export into Lightroom for adjustments.
Step 9: Final Export
Now that you have such a large image, think about where it is going to exist. If you’re going to print, make sure it is exported at the correct dimensions at 300 PPI. If you’re posting online, export at a smaller resolution so it will actually upload. Even with my Fuji-X APS-C sensor, my final panoramic is easily a 126 megapixel image. So I have a lot of potential for print sizes. Once you’re happy with your panoramic, export your image and enjoy!
Conclusion
This was definitely a more educational and technical entry into my “Journal.” I really hope it was helpful, and it gave you some ideas on how you can improve your panoramic workflow. While stitching a collection of digital photos into a panoramic image in Photoshop will always be the budget alternative to exposing an actual 6x17 film image, in my opinion, it’s all I can accomplish at the moment with my current gear. I’ll ry not to think of it as subservient while I’m craving that Shen Hao 6x17 view camera…
-Jude