Have you ever stood on top of a mountain or on top of the tallest building only to learn that you can’t get enough of the picturesque views of the beautiful landscapes extending from left to right? If you’ve faced such a moment, I believe you must have wished to capture the beauty with your iPhone.
Now, with the advancement in modern technology, photography has been taken to a new level thanks to the panoramic technique. Instead of burying those memorable photos in your iPhone’s interior memory, printing them out and displaying them right in your living room, your office or in your photo gallery shop will help you share your photo shooting creativity with friends and family.
What exactly is panoramic photography?
Panoramic photography is a brilliant technique that was introduced soon after the invention of digital photography and special photography software. This technique (also referred to as wide photography) involves stitching multiple images together to form a wide print (either horizontally or vertically).
Panoramic photography is very common especially among photographers and architectures as it allows you to compress a wide area of focus into one single wide print. With the right camera, photography technique, and specialized software, shooting and printing panoramic photos has now been made even much easier.
Something else you need to know about panoramic photography is that there are four types of panoramas available. To start, there are the wide-angle panoramas which involve wide horizontal or vertical images that are less than 180 degrees.
Secondly, there are the 180 degrees panoramas which cover a wide angle of 180 degrees from left to right. Thirdly, there’s the 360 degrees panorama that covers a wide angle of 360 degrees to form a super wide image. Finally, there’s the spherical panorama. This type of panorama is similar to the 360 degrees panorama only that it’s converted to a square print instead of being rectangular.
How do you shoot panoramic photos using your iPhone?
Like we mentioned earlier, panorama is a combination of individual images which are stitched together using special software to form a wide single photograph. Although there’s the use of special software, shooting panoramic photos using your iPhone will require a special technique to ensure that the photos meet the required criteria. With that being said, let’s highlight several factors you need to observe when shooting panoramic photos.
Vertical or horizontal
Two common ways of shooting panoramic photos is either by taking vertical or horizontal shots. Now, taking horizontal shots means that the final image will be short in height with a low resolution. On the other hand, shooting vertical shots means that the final image will capture the sky and the ground making it much better and higher in quality as compared to the horizontal option.
Use manual mode
Panoramic photos are usually shot over a wide field of view. Therefore, to ensure that the photos captured maintain the exact exposure value, use the manual mode instead of automatic mode. Through this, the final stitched image will not have color contrasts.
Tripod or handheld
Another factor you need to consider is whether you’ll be shooting the photos while holding your iPhone with bare hands or whether you’ll mount it on something such as a tripod. Depending on the method you decide to use, always make sure that you shoot clear and fast photos from left to right to avoid compromising the quality of the final panoramic photo.
Plan well
Before shooting panoramic photos, first, recognize a perfect spot where you believe you’ll capture the real beauty of your intended scene without leaving anything behind. Shoot your panoramic photos from left to right. Using your visual estimate, try to leave at least a 20% overlapping area between the photos to make it easier when stitching.
Be fast
Finally, if you’re shooting scenes with people or other moving objects such as vehicles, motorbikes or bicycles, try to shoot fast to avoid duplicating images across the frames. Also, shooting fast panoramic photos ensures that your image is not affected by the dynamic light conditions.
Time to stitch your photos
Now that you’ve captured your best shots, it’s time to stitch the photos to form a wide panoramic photo. To do this, we will highlight some stitching software available on the internet which you might wish to consider. Some of these software includes; the Adobe Photoshop, PTGui, AutoStitch, Hugin, and Autopano among others.
Image format
Now that you’ve stitched your panoramic photos, I believe you’re now planning on how you can print them right? Here, there’s the issue of size and resolution. How big will my photos be printed? If you’re planning to hang the final panoramic print on the wall, then a large print will be ideal. On the other hand, if the print is to be hanged in a position where it will be viewed at a close range, then a small print will be ideal as it won’t lower the resolution of the image.
Where do you intend to print the image?
The answer to this question will vary depending on the quality of the image to be printed as well as your personal taste. Among the most common materials you can use to print your panoramic photos on include; canvas, metal, glass, wood, and acrylic. If your photo is to be hanged on the wall, going for a canvas print will be ideal as it gives your iPhone’s panoramic photo a warm artistic feel. We got your panorama printing needs from print size range from 18" to 120".
Conclusion
If you’re new to panoramas, I believe you’re now fully equipped with everything you need to know in regard to iPhone’s panoramic photography. This technique allows you to print your best photos on glass, canvas, metal or wood either for display in your home or for business purposes. Finally, if there’s something you feel we’ve left behind or in case you wish to share your thoughts, please don’t hesitate to send them over in the comment section below.
