The EASIEST way to SHOOT and STITCH PANOS + A Lightroom Secret

[@ManmadeMartin]

Nigel, just want to say thank you so much for this tutorial! I was recently asked to attempt a panoramic shot for an estate agent; today was the day and on arrival, the homeowner explained that what he wanted was a 180° pano!!! 😲 One to be shot internally and one externally - the property sits on a peninsula, with sea views either side, and he wanted this to be captured. So, armed with the knowledge from your tutorial, i proceeded to take 15 shot pano's - not at all convinced that it would work, but it did! Photoshop did an astounding job and there weren't too many aberrations to clone out :) So thank you again - without your tutorial i wouldn't have had a hope in hell of achieving the brief! 👌

[@KylerSteele]

Stitching is so essential for a photographers tool belt. Makes you see compositions differently and get creative with your lenses

[@rodschweiger4195]

Thank you Nigel for explaining my question about hand held panos. You did an excellent job, you are a master instructor.

[@Sharpened_Spoon]

So many considerations for better shots that seem obvious when you hear them for the first time! Thanks so much Nigel!

[@markbargen510]

Thanks! I've been naively groping my way towards this on my own. So glad to see an expert doing it, and to see how it's done. The tips for held-held were really helpful.

[@jamesvoiss7122]

Thank you Nigel. This is really helpful. The explanation is clear. I appreciated how you showed the image and then overlaid the frames for the individual images. You answered all the questions I would have asked. I look forward to your next video.

[@peterwaterall5913]

just what i was looking for how to stitch in light room, but more importantly love how you explain things in simple terms much appreciated

[@jonkers2007]

so glad I watched this Nigel. I don't use LR (On1), and never really taken panos, but watched this as you always teach me something in your vids. Your tip on using stitching to add real estate to an image other than pano was golden, thank you. I even tried it in On1 and found it worked well.

[@paololarocca7684]

Excellent tutorial! it can be also useful to mark the start and end of the sequence by taking a photo of something easily recognisable, like a completely black photo (cap on the lens). I take a photo of my hand at the start and at the end of a sequence, but I haven’t yet tried with pano....

[@nicknichols4249]

I do the same, otherwise when I get to processing I forget what I had done. Must be old age!lol

[@Someone38482]

@@nicknichols4249 that’s smart! I’m going to start doing this

[@JohnPaul-ii]

Definitely worth the five star rating on that final image Nigel. Lightroom certainly is an amazing tool for stitching multiple images together. Thanks for sharing your time again.

[@colingift8912]

I sent a comment to you week or so ago about stitching a multi-role panorama for a client here in San Francisco, to which you responded, if you recall... When I first started stitching eons ago I was using the original Pano Tools program...it was developed by a German ( I think) mathematician and it was a real bear to use, requiring constant manipulation to get a satisfactory image, and requiring a good tripod and panno head. That program has been refined several times to a point that you can pretty much hand hold a camera and get a satisfactory result. BUT (and this relates to something you said in your video) a tripod, good pano head & nodal point calibration, are required if there's something in the foreground up-close-and-personal that is part of your composition.. I use a Manfrotto spherical head & Bellerbach wooden tripod when I know I am out to shoot a panorama..it's not a kit I want to schlep around much as it adds about 15 pounds to my burden, and at the ripe old age of 73 every ounce makes a huge difference. Used that set up years ago when the Queen Mary came through the Golden gate bridge... It was a huge huge event and I stationed myself on a hill with a couple of trees in the left part of the frame and shot a single row 10 image panorama that came out perfectly. The manfrotto head is a precision instrument and when I set up the click stops for the appropriate overlap I was able to take those 10 images in very rapid succession without even thinking... A real asset as everything was in flux and moving in all directions... Being a Nikon shooter I have always used their 60 mm macro lens as it had a very flat field of view and was very sharp.... Now I use the Nikon Z50 mm with my Z7.

[@perryhoward5064]

Nigel thanks a lot for taking the time to teach us this for free,That means a lot to us

[@markgillett1067]

I had to try this on my Olympus OM-D E-M1ii. While I had used the merge to panorama in Lightroom before I wasn't aware that you could use it as you demonstrated. I tried this out handheld in our back garden which has a few fruit trees and feeders and some furniture. I was amazed at how well it was all stitched together - Lightroom struggled with a power cable that runs across our garden so I did a rough and ready clone to get rid of the line as it was disjointed. I think this must be similar to the inbuilt HiRes mode in the camera which uses pixel shift to produce an 80Mb Raw file but to achieve this my camera has to be on a tripod. The DNG from Lightroom was 75Mb so this gives me another way of producing a high resolution image - very impressed. Thanks Nigel.

[@robertstonephoto]

On a few occasions, when the LR/ACR pano doesn't work, opening the files as layers in Photoshop and using the Edit->Auto-Align menu will. It adds additional 'projections' of Collage, Reposition and Auto to those found in ACR/LR. Typically, Reposition works for me when ACR fails. Since this will not save in DNG a somewhat different workflow may be necessary, such as a bit of image prep in ACR/LR before loading into PS layers. Always look forward to your posts ... keep 'em coming!

[@RoseKerin]

Thanks I had one that wouldn't work in L/R so will do your suggestion. Other than that I will need to do it manually.

[@annstupple4087]

Thanks Nigel, I have just had a go at this and am really pleased with the results! I liked the result better than using a wider angle lens, and the vertical option I hadn’t even considered. A really helpful tutorial 👍

[@brycenew]

i really appreciate this Nigel and the timing is straight out synchronistic; heading out in another 3 hours for a night shoot and will be implementing what you've taught here then. Love your style as well; thank you!! Stay well!

[@lsdustyrhodes]

Hi Nigel. One thing you might have mentioned - and it looks like you did it yourself - I recommend that you shoot with the identical manual exposure (or identical brackets for HDR Pano) across all exposure frames. Otherwise, in auto mode, as you pan from lighter to darker areas of the scene, the exposure will vary, which may introduce some problems in the stitching and editing process. I've used this process quite a lot in panos to good effect. Also, when shooting architectural images, or any that have straight lines, it's helpful to keep the vertical axis straight; otherwise, Lightroom sometimes has trouble lining up the convergences from one frame to the next. Thanks, and as always, lovely work. ... P.S. I recently acquired an Olympus OM Zuiko 35mm f2.8 shift lens, adapted to my EOS 6D; it's unique, in that it has the capability of shifting in both the horizontal and vertical mode simultaneously. I can create an 3x3 matrix pano that effectively creates a 24mm perspective with high resolution and no distortion, since there is no change in perspective as you shift the framing. It's a fabulous lens.

[@richardsmith5021]

Nigel, thanks for explaining your processes. I had not thought of incorporating bracketing. Something new I’ll have to try. Thanks again.

[@GIPvideos]

This tool is a game changer. Absolutely incredible! Thanks for your help!

[@takaharu]

Panorama in Lightroom is just magical. Adobe never ceased to amaze me with that option. When I went for the Harry Potter tour last year I took a huge "pano" shot of the model Hogwarts castle and it flawlessly stitched them all together and I promptly discovered that the bottom wasn't properly in focus, which Lightroom still catered for.

[@alankeizur8446]

Very helpful, Nigel! I'd always assumed that a tripod was required to create a pano. I'll give this a go the next time I get out shooting!

[@ksnmurthy4476]

Very well explained Daniel. Very straight forward tutorial. Thank you.

[@irwinmorrow1267]

Thank you Nigel, this is just what I needed this evening as I’m trying to create a panorama photo. It’s not working in photoshop which is where I thought you had to do it. But Lightroom has done it perfectly 👍

[@simonlastname7180]

I really appreciate your videos, just got back into photography and I'm learning so much. Thanks

[@domhaughton6809]

I'm glad you recommend handheld Nigel, because I can never get it right on the tripod, especially with seascapes down here in Cornwall. It's a really useful reminder of the benefits of doing these huge pano files. I'll miss the midweek tutorials!

[@iigal]

I routinely use LR for panos but never tried the vertical tiles you showed. Will give this a try, and thanks for the excellent videos.

[@RobertMintonPhotography]

Thank you Nigel, I learnt a lot from this i.e exposure stacking and the vertical double take, very helpful!

[@simoncordingley3122]

Thank you, Nigel, for sharing your knowledge and experience.

[@susanmeyer8885]

Thanks for a great instructional pano video! I had several questions and can't wait to give it another go!

[@garyloosemore2690]

I have tried using the pano feature in cameras and have always deleted them immediately afterwards. But now being able to create them myself to my liking - yes! Thanks very much!

[@ntartienii]

this is gold for beginners..thanks a lot

[@ralphnetta4563]

Nigel, Excellent instructional video. Learned a lot. Thank You

[@jaishruti]

Thanks Nigel for the lovely tutorial .

[@SteveZodiac777]

Another excellent video - you are very generous with your knowledge - many thanks for sharing!

[@OCD.Reader]

Lol, I was thinking the exact same question when watching that video. I am really glad you made this video. Although I don't have a proper camera and have to use my phone for photography, this will also help me generate much higher quality photos.

[@NigelDanson]

Yep - I do it will my phone all the time. On the 2x optical zoom camera

[@philn1957]

Thanks for the tips Nigel, I have had success with panos but I have learnt a few extra tips when it comes to letting Lightroom do the work. :)

[@sashahelcl4828]

Thank you, Nigel! Very informative and useful content, I will definitely use this technique on my next outing here in Ontario, Canada.

[@OAK_MTN]

I thought panoramas were so much harder to create, thank you so much for the video!

[@donhendricks3190]

Most helpful! Practical solutions to some issues I've had of recent. Cheers from America!

[@RoseKerin]

Thanks for the extra tips re taking pics on shooting the panoramas. I didn't realise you could go across and then come back again. I did enjoy myself taking 10 shots of the mountains here in Mt Hutt, New Zealand. A Polariser was a must due to the snowy mountains. My new computer has no problem stitching them in lightroom with some extra tips from you. Ill send the pic under the hashtag you mentioned. I do love panoramas. Worth printing, framing and putting on the wall. Thanks so much once again.

[@johnanderson7470]

Needed this in my life. Have been looking for an easy tutorial on panoramic photography and editing. Big thanks!!!!

[@guykerr8111]

Awhile ago I was using a tilt-shift lense and using the shift part (usually horizontal) to do a wider shot. But I never tried tiers so will give it ago. Thanks.

[@philipsmith1465]

Perfect - Thanks so much for explaining this I cannot wait to go and try it out.

[@Eric-qk1rt]

Beautifully explained as always! Thanks for covering this topic.

[@BPLeroyLotusEvora]

Thank you Nigel, you’re a great teacher!

[@jpdj2715]

A nodal slide really helps to make stitching easier. Towards the camera - aka foreground - especially with wide angle lenses, the parallax (foreground-mismatch between overlapping shots) can be very bad. Lightroom does a decent job, and I have noticed, when it gets really difficult, that Photoshop still can stitch where Lightroom fails. As you (Nigel) do more than one row in this video, a horizontal nodal rail would need a compliment in a controlled vertical rotation too, to have all shots in the same nodal point. That is a so-called 3D panorama head. The more elaborate sets have pan discs that you can "inform" on the focal length you use and then you get clicks for the successive shots with proper overlap. Very fast. Very convenient. I bought such a thing once, (for a serious amount of money) all connections are Arca-style and I also use the parts for different use cases. But, with a bit of luck the Brenizer method generally works, as illustrated here.

[@pauljharg]

Thanks Nigel, something new for me to try given you have made it look so easy...

[@NigelDanson]

It is really easy...

[@andyprime57]

Think I’ll give pano’s a try having watched this. I’m predominately a landscape photographer but never really had the interest in pano’s, until now! Thx for piquing my interest Nigel 👍

[@hikeandphoto2521]

Excellent video!! Thank you for this tutorial. I already use this technique for panos but I couldn't stitch more lines. I ll try this out

[@wendynewing8834]

This is brilliant ... and no, I did not know that Lightroom secret. Many thanks.

[@Scotphotoamateur]

Thanks.I like using pano tool because it preserves perspective. I also love my superwide lens but you often loose drama. Using a longer lens eg 35 -70ish vertically allows you to encompas the width while preserving the perspective an height of mountains.

[@0baakYT]

Awesome. Glad I saw this before buying my first expensive lens.

[@peternickols2687]

Yay. Thanks for doing this Nigel, great to go over your complete process. Thanks 🙏

[@beyerse]

Thank you for the tutorial, Nigel

[@JoDaniels]

Great video! I didn’t know about vertical stitching in Lightroom… Thanks for the practical and inspiring tips to capture the concerning images. 👌

[@eggie731]

Super helpful tutorial! Thanks for the tips.

[@patriciawang6340]

This is super helpful. I now know why mine didn't work because I didn't have enough of overlaps. Thanks.

[@mitchbergner2795]

Good explanation - thanks. I have been confused on multi row pano's - if its required to stitch each row first, then stitch the individual 2 row pano's together to get one pano. You explained that well. Other pano vids have not mentioned that. Also your tip on the HDR Pano helped clear up multi exposure & row panos. Cheers.

[@mjsperry8234]

Mitch ... You can do it either way. My laptop is rather slow and find it less frustrating to do a row at a time, then stich the individual rows together.

[@mitchbergner2795]

@@mjsperry8234 thanks for the input....

[@endtimeimages3284]

Thanks for the tips, Nigel! Will try that! 👍🏻

[@DACnew]

Great intro to pano - thank you.

[@zKMotion]

Was looking for something like this and it definitely helped!

[@pauls3696]

Brilliant Nigel fantastic info 👍 thankyou for sharing

[@anthonyplancherel8274]

Great tips and advice as always! Excellent video! 👍🏻

[@Someone38482]

You teach me so much. Thank you

[@ttttttorgau429]

Thanks Nigel. I'll experiment with more overlap in future. Seascapes and the moving waves have their own additional challenges with multi-shot stitching. Do you always use MANUAL exposure?

[@paulkaye5076]

Another very informative video Nigel. I've been doing stitching for years (using Hugin and sometimes LR), but I still picked up a few very helpful pointers here. Thanks for your continuing content on YT. It's all amazingly-well produced and hugely informative. I'm working my way through your back catalogue! Thank you for being so open with your knowledge. Not only are you a great landscape photographer, but you're a great teacher too. I must try to get on one of your workshops.

[@andrewdunkin4632]

this opens so many possibilities for me! come on down to South Africa!

[@minus1db]

Thanks Nigel loved the Lightroom tips another great vid cheers

[@czaczaja]

Simply excellent

[@geraldclarke8868]

Great video, looking forward to putting into practice. Thank you ND.

[@JohnOsCreations]

Thanks Nigel. Very helpful.

[@sallycarilli7779]

Thank you for the detailed explanation, well received!!!

[@PaulTimlett]

Do you ever have to manually stitch an image? Would love to see a clear tutorial on how to do that, for when the Lightroom or Photoshop functions don't work so well.

[@SteveP_2426]

Thanks for the shooting tips. Some I knew and use but picked up some additional ideas. As I won't use Adobe because of their subscription only model I either stitch panos in Affinity Photo or use Hugin which gives you control over the Control points used in the stitching and ,although haven't tried blending exposures as well as stitching I think it can do that too. Best of all it's free!!

[@2arick]

Thanks, I use this quite frequently, it even works well with my mobile. I never know I can stitch both horizontal and vertical. I should try this out 2 tips from me, I always use 'cmd+shift+/' and key in pano to search for the action, this way I dun need to memorize where that action fits into the menu. another tip, I always use the auto stack, just make me manage the tiles easier.

[@davidcrossley7145]

Thanks for this info Nigel very helpful. To be honest I wish I’d checked this out much sooner 👍

[@NigelDanson]

Glad it was helpful!

[@theresarice7289]

It's also a good technique for reducing noise in night images

[@12stockweb]

This was really helpful for me Nigel! I noticed you were doing war handheld in the field lately. If you haven’t already, I would love to see a video with some tips on taking handheld images. I don’t mind taking my gear along but every once in a while I need to travel super light but seem to be stick to my tripod. Thanks!!

[@tompatton2086]

If you don't happen to have Lightroom, you can also use Microsoft Image Composite Editor. It's a free program and works quite well but it just creates the pano. You'll need to make any additional changes in another editor.

[@JedeyeCoffee]

Didn’t know you could do this. I’ll be trying this the next time I’m out.

[@aditzonia8365]

I'm always waiting for the latest video about Lightroom

[@TheMounil]

Thanks a bunch Nigel really useful 👌

[@Bringisen]

Thank you for another great video!

[@KentKirjonen]

Thanks Nigel for excellent tips! Take care. Regards Kent

[@glynparry6598]

Thank you Nigel. Good one ☝️

[@strattheodoratou7391]

Great video! Thank you!

[@sharksfan2011]

I was just starting to get comfortable in my mediocrity and now this! I guess I’ll have to up my game again, LOL. Great vid and as usual, I learned a bunch of stuff I didn’t know, but then, there’s my mediocrity kicking in again. 😂😂😂 You rock dude! thx.

[@fpv_jesus]

Wow, thank you so much.

[@p-the-v2]

Thank you for this tutorial. Given the choice is it better to use a 50mm or 35mm lens or hopefully it does not matter?

[@jackbaratta5722]

As always, super relevant & clearly explained. Why is LRC telling me that I cannot use the combined HDR and piano selection, but rather is making me first create HDR‘s, select those out of the stack, and then create the HDR panorama?

[@jordantorrilla]

Brilliant video, really useful!

[@MrDavidOlanipekun]

Great video beautiful work

[@garygedyt]

To clarify what you are saying, you zoom in slightly and take several shots that would equal to a frame that would be a normal wide angle shot or slightly wider to allow for crop options? I can see how you can get more detail.

[@MikeChesworthPhotography]

Thanks for sharing. Some useful tips on creating Pano's. I'd like to see the tutorial on making HDR pano's including taking the images in the field.

[@haroldmassey5966]

Thanks for the tip on LR for pano’s Nigel

[@Pikkakikka]

Thank You for sharing

[@MartinV.]

Great Video!

[@carlosm9323]

Hello Nigel: Could you please make a video generally explaining how to set up the price of your pictures? with an example in Excel if possible? That would be awesome and thanks in advance.

[@smallshed3209]

Thanks man!

[@olyaoborina7688]

Thanks a lot!