Shooting and Processing Panoramas

Course details

When one photo doesn't do justice to a scene, take several—and then stitch them together into a panorama. In this course, Rich Harrington details every step in the process, from shooting to stitching. Rich begins with a look at the creative options provided by panoramic photographs. He then describes the technical details for getting great original shots: how to properly mount the camera on a tripod, how to overlap each shot, which lenses deliver best results, and more. After shooting a variety of panoramas, he shows how to process them using various software tools, from Lightroom to Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop.

Learning objectives
Choosing your gear
Compensating for the nodal point
Leveling the camera platform
Locking exposure and focus
Shooting with the GigaPan system
Shooting HDR panoramas
Shooting a 360-degree panorama
Managing data from a panorama shoot
Keeping your photos organized
Reducing noise and removing dust with Camera Raw
Assembling panoramas with Photoshop
Assembling panoramas with Lightroom Classic

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome
02 - What you should know before watching this course
03 - Using the exercise files

1. What Is Panoramic Photography

04 - The end product
05 - The objectives to achieve

2. Technical Essentials

06 - Determining a target delivery size
07 - What is field of view
08 - What is the nodal point
09 - Post-processing choices for panoramic photography

3. Equipment - What You'll Need and What You Might Want

10 - A solid tripod for panoramic photography
11 - Choosing a tripod head
12 - Lens choices for panoramic photography
13 - Compensating for the nodal point

4. Choosing a Shooting Format

14 - Shooting time-lapse as JPEG files
15 - Shooting time-lapse as RAW files
16 - Stitching in a camera

5. Shooting Strategies for Panoramic Photography

17 - Leveling the camera platform
18 - Cleaning the lens
19 - Locking exposure and focus
20 - Shooting with overlap
21 - Minimizing camera shake
22 - A refresher on exposure triangle

6. Shooting with the GigaPan System

23 - What is GigaPan
24 - Building the GigaPan platform
25 - Framing and recording the shot with the GigaPan system

7. Shooting HDR Panoramas

26 - Why shoot an HDR panorama
27 - Setting up for the shot
28 - Shooting the source images

8. Alternative Shooting Styles for Panoramic Photography

29 - Shooting a 360-degree panorama
30 - Shooting handheld
31 - Shooting panoramas using an iPhone
32 - Using Photosynth for panoramic photography
33 - Using Occipital 360 for panoramic photography

9. Managing Data from a Panoramic Photography Shoot

34 - Using a card wallet
35 - Transferring data
36 - Choosing a working drive

10. Organizing the Images for Post

37 - Using stacks in Adobe Bridge
38 - Renaming and renumbering image sequences

11. Developing Panoramic Photographs with Adobe Camera Raw

39 - Fixing basic exposure with Camera Raw
40 - Using graduated filters with Camera Raw
41 - Advanced recovery with Camera Raw
42 - Reducing noise with Camera Raw
43 - Removing dust with Camera Raw
44 - Choosing a bit depth
45 - Compensating for lens distortion
46 - Merging a panorama in Adobe Camera Raw

12. Assembling Panoramas with Adobe Photoshop

47 - Initiating the Photomerge command from Bridge
48 - Initiating the Photomerge command from Photoshop
49 - Choosing an alignment method
50 - Compensating for lens distortion
51 - Blending the photos
52 - Post merge cleanup
53 - Using the Adaptive Wide Angle filter to remove distortion
54 - Merging a 360-degree panoramic photo
55 - Cleaning up VR images in Photoshop
56 - Merging the GigaPan panoramic photo
57 - Using Photoshop filters to enhance panoramas

13. Finalizing Panoramas with Adobe Photoshop

58 - Using the Photo Filter adjustment layer
59 - Using third-party filters to enhance panoramas
60 - Refining shadows and highlights
61 - Improving contrast in panoramic photos
62 - Adjusting vibrance in panoramic photos
63 - Converting panoramic photos to black and white

14. Outputting the Panoramic Photos from Adobe Photoshop

64 - Should you flatten a panorama
65 - Cropping a panoramic photo to a target size and resolution
66 - Saving panoramas for printing
67 - Saving panoramas for the web

15. Assembling Panoramas with Adobe Lightroom Classic

68 - Importing photos into Lightroom Classic
69 - Preprocessing photos in Lightroom Classic
70 - Initiating the Photo Merge command in Lightroom Classic
71 - Choosing an alignment method in Lightroom Classic
72 - Using Boundary Warp in Lightroom Classic
73 - Merging an HDR panoramic photo in Lightroom Classic
74 - Developing the new RAW panorama image in Lightroom Classic
75 - Cropping the panorama in Lightroom Classic
76 - Sending from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop
77 - Sending from Lightroom Classic to Luminar

Conclusion

78 - Goodbye