[stepheno]

I've just had a week in Pula, Croatia and decided to take my Fuji S602 pro rather than the 20D. It was a nice change to have all my gear in one camera. Anyway, I was at a place where I thought a pano would be good so here is my first attempt. It is made up of four images each taken hand-held on manual, 1/160 at F9, ISO 160. In retrospect I maybe ought to have upped the ISO. Levels adjusted and crop on final image. Thanks for criticism and any help for future panos.

[Steve]

Well I can’t see any stitching at all so that’s the main problem that most have with pano’s sorted

As you have already said I think it would benefit from some levels and colour adjustments but these are only tweaks and should always be done last after you have joined all the images together, that way all sections are adjusted equally and it keeps everything seamless.

Other than that, the one think that I keep looking at is the left hand side of the picture…for some reason it makes me feel as though there should be something else in the view just out of frame that would be worthy of inclusion in the shot. Maybe it is because the water is cut of and must lead somewhere and the houses in the foreground give the impression that there is more of the town to be seen out of frame. As I don’t know what is really there and for all I know there could be a big ugly factory or something equally unpleasant, then it’s just one of those things, but overall it still makes the picture feel just a little unbalanced to me.

Nevertheless as a first attempt at a panoramic and for the learning experience, I think you have done a great job. Far better than my first attempt

Hope that helps Stephen

[MickB]

Great Pano, especially as you said it's your 1st time.

What software did you use & any advice / hints would be appreciated, as I've never done one of these & wouldn't know where to start

[stepheno]

Thanks Steve - your critique was just what I was looking for. I hadn't thought of the left hand side and it's food for thought for next time.

Mick - I used Photo-Freeware.net - Panorama Tool:AutoStitch Download . I only have the demo version so I presume it's limited. In terms of advice I'm probably not the ideal one to talk about panos but for what it's worth -

1 A tripod would be better than hand-held.
2 Try to ensure exposure is the same for all shots
3 I consciously noted landmarks to use as guides
4 It's easy to forget about horizontal alignment

regards

[Steve]

Glad to have been some help

What is off to the left?

[stepheno]

This - unfortunately it wouldn't stitch to the other one.

[Steve]

With a little playing around in PS it is possible to stitch these two together...



When combined it makes for a much more complete picture and becomes very effective as a panoramic. I really would advice using the large files, taking your time and giving it your best shot as I am sure you will end up with a great result.

If you cant manage it I do have a larger version that I can send to you but the quality is not great as I was working with your two small images posted above.

Hope that helps

[stepheno]

Steve, you're the man That it is exactly the view I had from an old fort above the town. I shall definitely have a go in PS. Thanks.

regards

[Dave]

Now that has become a really impressive Pano !!

[northernstar]

I misread the title as first attempt at porno

Great first attempt. I love the one that Steve has put together for you - looks so much better than the initial one, more balanced and with a focal point. The fact that you did it all as hand held is amazing!

[Dave]

Something on your mind there Northern Star