Polar Panoramas: shoot and stitch 360 degree pictures

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Tips for getting creative with your polar panorama

One of the most exciting (and frustrating) thing about polar panoramas is that it’s difficult to visualise how they’re going to work out until you actually do it. But here are some ideas for viewpoints, subjects and techniques that will deliver something a little different.

Cheat! Even a single image can make a panorama
To make the ends of the panorama line up, duplicate the image layer, flip it horizontally then double the width of the canvas and line up the ‘mirror’ layer with the first. You’ll get a mirror-image panorama, but you can disguise it with a little cloning.

Include a person
It’s not always easy to get the vertical proportions right – the secret is in the cropping (Step 7) – but adding a human figure can give your miniature world a focal point and a nice surreal touch.

Get up high
The top storey of a car park makes an ideal vantage point for this picture – the extra height stops the trees and buildings from dominating the frame and keeps their proportions manageable.

PAGE 1: How to shoot and stitch a polar panorama
PAGE 2: How to compose 360-degree pictures
PAGE 3: Tips for getting creative with your polar panorama

Posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2012 at 12:00 pm under Photoshop Tutorials, Tutorials.