Sometimes two widely spaced points of interest need to be included in a single image, or a scene is simply too wide to be fully captured in one shot, as with this view of King George Falls in the Kimberley.
The solution here was to shoot a series of images from left to right, allowing about 50 per cent overlap between shots, and ensuring that the exposures were all the same by using the manual mode on the camera.
By using a digital camera (although film scans would work too) I was then able to combine the images using fairly straightforward image-stitching software to get this seamless image covering almost 180 degrees.
Software for this task has improved vastly in the past few years; once it was necessary to spend a long time on each set defining points that were common to two images and setting obscure values for yaw, pitch and roll.
These days it is far easier; images like this can be joined automatically and blended together so that the seams are invisible. The trick is to shoot the images in such a way that allows the software to do its task easily, with few major distortions:
– Shoot with the camera on its side. That is, each shot should be vertical.
– Overlap each image by about 50 per cent.
– Don’t use too-wide a lens – shoot more images with a narrower lens if you can.
– Make sure the exposures are the same for each shot – use manual to set the exposure.
– Focus manually too, leaving the same focus set for each image.
– If possible use a levelled tripod to make sure the images are all level.
– Try not to point the camera up or down too much.
– Shoot left to right so the images line up correctly when you view them on the computer screen.
The most important techniques are to use the same exposures, allow plenty of overlap and keep the camera level. The software can work wonders but not miracles, so feed it the best data you can.
Nick Rains is a professional photographer. For more photo tips, see his books, Australia: The Photographer’s Eye or Australia: Travel Photo Tips.
