Panorama Photography for Beginners

How frequently have you come home from your holiday with dozens or even hundred of pictures, just to feel disappointed that somehow your pictures never appear to capture the grandeur of the sights that you have just witnessed?  I understand as I have faced the same situation countless times.

Well, why that happens? I have a good quality camera and I know how to utilize it. My pictures aren’t too dark or too light; they’re not poorly composed or blurry or out of focus. I think you understand that there is something missing. But what it is? Okay, imagine you’re standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon. You stare out, and your eyes witness a gorgeous panoramic vista up to a complete 160 degrees wide. This is where you need a panorama camera. 

Now imagine holding up the camera and looking through the viewfinder to capture that lovely scene. Suddenly your grand 160 degrees is reduced to 40 degrees, if you have normal lens, or might be up to 60 degrees with a wide angle lens. 

Needless to say then, when you reach home and look at the pictures, our reaction is “Oh” rather than “Wow”.  Your camera can just capture one third or less of the majestic view your eyes can see which you may not experience in a user manual camera. 

Panorama photography is done by shooting a series of overlapping frames utilizing a regular camera, then loading the images into a computer and utilizing network camera software to stitch them together. The stitching procedure utilizes special type of mathematical formulas to stretch and bend the actual images to compensate for the distortion caused by the lens, and then conveniently join them into a single image. By following some easy guidelines while shooting your pictures, and utilizing the appropriate software, even novices can get incredible results utilizing this method.