dhsackett

I just recently tried my first panorama, and found the results very interesting. I use Stitcher software. This picture from Joshua Tree National monument is about my 4th attempt. I think it is good, but not nearly as beautiful as the actual scene. I would appreciate any advice on how to improve my technique.

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abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Thanks for posting and asking for help. The stitching is fine but you should pay attention to some other details. These are artistic issues so are opinions and not statements of fact. A higher horizon to emphasize the distance from me to the hills behind or a lower horizon to emphasize that great big beautiful sky.

While the exposure on the sky is ok, the foreground is too dark for my taste. If you shot raw, then you should have little trouble lightening it up slightly. You could also bracket your exposure and mask in Photoshop. After the sky and foreground are exposed properly, you could add very slight linear gradients from the top and bottom to draw the eye to those far off hills.

That little, out of focus cactus in the foreground is very distracting so I would remove it.

When shooting panoramas, I hold the camera vertically so I have more freedom in cropping later on.

Keep practicing and posting.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

In what way (or ways) do you feel your panorama is "not nearly as beautiful as the actual scene"? And by 'technique', are you asking for advice on camera technique or on processing technique?

I can only say how I'd have shot and --subsequently processed-- a scene like this, but I can't say that what I'd have done differently would have resulted in anything necessarily 'better', or would hopefully capture the perceived beauty of the actual scene. I can, however, say why what I would've done would've been true to my aesthetic, but I can't say it would've been true to your aesthetic. That said....

Leaving off mention of the obvious 'black edge' area where nothing was exposed and Stitcher (which I know nothing about; I use LrC and/or Ps instead) didn't fill that blank for you (which could easily be 'filled' --or eliminated altogether-- through any of several means, two visual issues come to mind. Both involve the foreground area of your image; the near-ground lies short of the depth of field/focus, short of the aperture/focus point you'd chosen (the camera 'fix' should be obvious --focus closer or use a smaller aperture) and the foreground might be a bit 'murkier' than might be optimal (the processing 'fix' should be equally obvious--raise the shadow values slightly and increase contrast and color values selectively, but doing so would be dependent on your processing skills and/or whatever editing software you may have).

Personally, I'd have focus-stacked a pano like this, and I'd likewise have processed the result as I mentioned above. But that would express my aesthetic, not yours.

<edit/addendum> Contrary to the comment above, I would NOT eliminate the little Joshua tree in the foreground center. If it had been better defined and been brightened somewhat, it's placement would've provided a subtle anchor for the remainder of the image. But doing so would require a re-shoot, so....

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Good comments and I agree about out of focus tree. If it were sharp, then it could stay although I might prefer it to be off-center.

dhsackett

Thanks abc. I will try another

dhsackett

Thanks Cany. I wish I had gotten that little tree in better focus.