Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Tips to Creating High Resolution Panoramic Photo

Several pictures which have overlap part can be stitch into one group. This way is often use to making a panoramic photo.

Many Digital Cameras giving a tool to create a panoramic photo when it’s lens doesn’t recover the wide object. First important thing is the corner of each photo has an overlap part in this case for stitching easily, because from this overlap part will be stitch per pixel so that the photo look stitched smoothly.

Better we use many of photos to create high resolution panoramic photo, because more photo that we use more frame will be overlap each other, probably perspective mistake from lens distortion matter will not happened.

Now let me explain to you how we’ll stitch from many photos..

I use one of free software that developed from Columbia University called Autostitch. With this software you’ll get a panoramic photo that stitched tidy in several step. From the Autostitch official website’s sample photos we can see how great Autostitch grouping many photos that not arranged tidy and also have different exposure.

Preparing photos

Better all of photo files in .JPG extensions, just click file and open so you can choose which photo that will be stitched.










After that click open, Autostitch will do the job to stitching photos into a frame. Just simple, right?









How long the stitching process depend on photo size that you use, this software automatically launch the result in default browser from your computer after Autostitch finish the job. This is an example result:









File Optimization

Optimization setting available on 'edit' | 'options' tools.










For great result set JPG quality and Scale value into 100%, perhaps the result has a high level detail so that allow you to do the next post processing without loose any detail from your photo.














Detail Repairs on Image Editing Software

Here I choose Photoshop to do some detail repairs, use correction tools such as level; brightness; and contrast to correct contrast and tone mistakes, and also use clone stamp when you need to repair pixel from each extension.










Here's the final result after crop:






Tips

Here some tips to create a nice Panoramic Photo..

  1. Use Manual Settings

If your camera has several manual settings you can use manual settings at focal length, white balance, ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. For focusing method you just have to set auto focus once, and then lock auto focus on the next frame, this case is to get same condition at each frame.

Stripes mark will occurred if there any part in panoramic overlap which has different exposure.





  1. Use Long Focal Length

If you have wide angle lens usually you’ll have a problem while stitching the photos, vignette and distortion factor make the software difficult to grouping the photos.

  1. Use Tripod

Of course we need a tripod for perfect result, you can use a tripod which has head setting to be set at only vertical or horizontal position so that you’ll get the photos in a row that can stitched easily.

Okay.. That is several tips from me How to create high resolution Panoramic Photo, if you have Adobe Photoshop CS/CS’X’ software you can also find “photomerge” that include in “File | Automate” tools, this function allow you choose many photos to reate panoramic photo too, use this function if you need to save in any format that supported in Adobe Photoshop.

If you prefer too use free software it’s available at Autostitcth Software that can stitch photos into a group easily, try to find this software at http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html