Panoramic Photography Tips - master Your photo skills in 5 steps!

Hi Friends!

I hope this pack of my advice will help You out to get better panoramic images and will inspire You to go out and try it out in the field!

During my latest springtime exploration I recorded a video for my polish YT channel about Panoramic Photography in the woods.

In the process I went through all the details about the gear, settings and technique to get the best photographic material for processing.

These 5 steps You should follow to reach the goal in a form of a beautiful panoramic image which let You show the full beauty of the place - reaching far beyond the possibilities of a single-frame shot.

1. First of all - plan ahead Your panoramic composition - use the camera hand-held or a smartphone camera to look for the best spot, imagine the final effect You want to get before You will setup Your tripod. You won't be so mobile and creative while trying to move the camera attached to a tripod.
2. Stabilize and level Your tripod, control the level of Your camera during the move - this will help to stitch the full panorama later.
3. Always use full manual settings - check the exposition in the brightest and the darkest areas of Your panorama. Remember - it is better to take darker shots and control the brightest spots then burn out all the data from the whites while trying to reach the shadows. Using the lowest possible ISO will let You to get out the details from the shadows later - but You won't get anything from the whites, if they will be overexposed.
4. Choose the right lens for the scene - sometimes using a zoom lens from a longer distance will give You better effect then using a wide lens closer. Remember about barrel distortion. Try to cover at least 50-60% of Your previous frame to avoid it.
5. Never change any of the settings during the shooting - only thing You can change is a focus point if some elements are closer to us in different frames. Remember You can shoot both panoramic and vertical position of Your camera. Panoramas can be also horizontal and vertical - Your creativity and experimenting is a key to success.

And a bonus tip - if You have Your camera on a tripod - You don't need the optical stabilization to be working - turn it off especially when You are taking long exposure shots. Use a 2 second delay of Your shutter in the camera, press the release button and take Your hand off - it will stabilize itself :).