We have all seen the wiiiiiiiiide images or the taaaaaaaall ones. They can be striking images. How are they made? Did the photographer just crop it that way? If you cropped images to get the panoramic look you have thrown away a lot of resolution in the process. This means that you cannot print that image large. Let's start with an example:

amyboylephoto2018-6027

Panoramic images are actually a series of images which have been "stitched" together. This gives you a lot of resolution which can be made into really large prints. Here is what you need to know to start shooting panoramic images:

1. Pick the right subject matter that is suited to very wide or tall prints. Your composition still needs to be strong.

2. Use a tripod. Your tripod needs to be level because you are going to rotate your camera.

3. Imagine the final image in your mind. Now take the first image (let's start with the far left).

4. Pan your camera to the right for the next shot.

5. Make sure you overlap the two shots (by about a third). That means that the second shot should include about a third of the previous shot. The computer is going to need the overlap to register items so that it can line them up correctly.

6. Pan your camera to the right again and shoot the next shot. Make sure you overlap a part of the second shot with the third shot.

7. Now that you have three images (you can shoot as many as you want), stitch them together in Photoshop.

8. It is very imported to set your camera on manual when you shoot because all three shots needs to be made using the same settings. If your exposure is difference it will be hard to match when you bring your shots together.