Panoramic photography

About this course

Participants work through the process of making panoramic images, beginning with single-row compositions and progressing to multi-row 360° by 180° images. The course covers panoramic tripod heads, image projection and methods for addressing parallax and stitching faults. Teaching combines workshops, short lectures, demonstrations, practical exercises, tutorials and individual or group assistance. Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and PTGui are used to refine images, stitch photographs and produce a web-viewable virtual tour, with Google Classroom supporting image sharing and course materials.

What you'll learn

• Capture a sequence of images suitable for merging into a panorama
• Stitch images and correct minor faults using Photoshop and/or Adobe Lightroom
• Choose an appropriate image projection for a panoramic image
• Set up a panoramic head to reduce ghosting caused by parallax
• Capture a full 360° by 180° image using a panoramic tripod head
• Create a basic web-viewable virtual tour using PTGui

Is this course right for you?

The course is intended for intermediate photographers who can control their camera in fully manual mode, including manual exposure and manual focus. Familiarity with basic Photoshop operations is expected, while prior experience with PTGui is not. Teaching includes practical exercises alongside group and individual assistance.

• Camera settings and manual operation should already be familiar
• Basic image-editing software experience is expected
• Some practice with class images outside the sessions is encouraged

Before you go

• Bring a camera with full manual settings and the widest-angle lens available; a fisheye lens can be used if owned.
• A panoramic head may be brought for practice, although panoramic heads, cameras, tripods and lenses are available to use during class.
• The course uses Apple Mac computers and Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and PTGui.
• A memory stick or portable hard drive is useful. PC-formatted drives can be read by Apple Macs but not written to.
• Learners are encouraged to download the free trial software and practise with images taken during the course.