Panoramic photography
Photographs of a very wide angle of view are very dynamic and natural in the perception. No wonder that panoramic pictures are very popular. Photos taken in that way are often the only possibility to capture the real beauty of a particular place. Panorama is not limited by the edges as classical film frame. So, how to do a good panoramic photo and what kind of equipment should be used to do that?
Contrary to appearances, we do not need an advanced camera with special accessories. Simple compact camera is enough to take a good panoramic photos. However, it must meet the following requirements:
- Manual white balance adjustment - almost all digital cameras have this function; the simplest models (so-called digital monkey), unfortunately, are not suitable for taking panoramic pictures, because they use automatic white balance adjustment mode, and because of this combined with each film frames will differ; more advanced cameras have predefined values (such as sunlight, cloudy sky or incandescent light); cameras recording images in RAW format are the best (adjust white balance at home)
- AE lock or manual mode - ISO sensitivity should be set manually, aperture value and exposure time, as well as, blocking light measurement.
- AF lock or manual focus mode - without this we cannot take photos that at the foreground have objects which can “pay attention" camera’s focus system.
- Tripod thread – it is best when it is placed on the axis of the lens; we can replace it with a stand, which will provide smooth rotation of the camera and allow to set the camera exactly in the vertical and horizontal axis.
- Spirit level - mounted on the flash or purchased in the store with building materials (in the miniature form), and then attached to the body; it is helpful when trying to connect a series of images.
Tripod and spirit level are not essential, you can also do panoramic pictures without it. The best place to do first panoramic photo is an open-air, which has no moving elements and contains as few objects located on different planes. Then we can replace it with urban landscapes, reportages, indoor shots or architecture. Remember that when shooting, we should be back to the sun. Thus we will obtain equal illumination.