Definition of panoramic photo
If you are really hungry for photography or you have been “hibernated” from 1990 to today and you have not seen anything of the technological evolution in this sector, you might think that, simply a panoramic photo is a shot that captures a beautiful landscape, be it a sunset over the sea or the orography of the Tuscany hills. Waterfall. That panoramic is a precise technique of modern photography that arises from the virtualized and printed juxtaposition of two or more photographs in which they share at least 20% of their area. It is clear that this is an overlap that can only be done at the software level: this can take place in post production (but this is not the case that interests us) or at the very moment in which the shot is taken in your reflex as in your smartphone.
The settings of the panoramic photo
In this paragraph I will go to provide you with some tips for creating panoramic photos, tips that relate in particular to the settings of your instrument. First of all is to put the focus in manual mode; this is a “basic” configuration which, however, will allow you to have the same level of exposure on all the photos that, when linked together, will make up your panorama. Secondly, I advise you not to use polarized filters at this stage and to try starting with a focal aperture greater than or equal to 50 mm.
Stabilization and direction of the shooting
Let’s start with stabilization. By reading a few guides on panoramic photography you will see how 90% of them will advise you to use a tripod. It is not wrong advice for heaven’s sake; in fact, the tripod assures you that there will be no smudges in the drawing of the line (whether horizontal or vertical) that defines the panoramic photo. However, I can tell you that it is possible to create very tasty photos by deliberately tarnishing the regularity of the panorama line. This could obviously lead to some small blurry or even distorted areas but, in certain situations, such as cityscapes or even some indoor shots, the final result may surprise you and like it more than the regular shot.
As for the direction of the shooting, even here there are no fixed laws. It is clear that 90% of users usually take panoramic photos developed horizontally (the only solution for shooting urban landscapes). But you can also use the pan function vertically. How? Suppose you are at the base of a tree and want to film it all the way up to the top or you are in the middle of a skyscraper in Manhattan. With the panorama function you will be able to shoot them in full, however, taking into account that the perspective (which in the case of horizontal shooting is not very influential) here could lead you to some distortions of the subject being shot.
Formats for panoramic photos
If you are a photographer I do not say professional but at least experienced you will be used to taking your images directly in RAW format, all in order to have the highest possible quality in digital. Well even on this, however, panoramic photography could lead you to make exceptions to your rule. Yes, because, in my experience, JPEG seems to apply better to panoramic photos than the shutter lag.
