Even professional photographers don’t get the perfect shot straight out of the gate. The difference between professionals and amateurs, is that pros don’t give up until they’ve got that perfect shot. They make get frustrated, but they try and try and try again, even in the freezing cold dawn with their feet in mud in the wilds of Wyoming.
I found it very insightful to watch Scott Stulberg fail his first two attempts of taking the panoramic, but by using different zoom and exposure settings and a certain level of patience, he was able to get a perfect shot. Here is Scott’s panoramic of Oxbow Bend at the Aperture Nature Photography Workshop (taken minutes after the video was taken):
Photo by Scott Stulberg.
A review of Scott’s tips for taking a panoramic:
- Use a solid & level tripod
- Check to make sure your entire shot is level and all your subject is in your frame
- Shoot on Manual so that all your settings stay constant
- Use a cable release
- Overlap each shot by 20%
- Stitch photos in post
I think the moral of the story is that you should never give up on a shot, especially a complicated shot like a panoramic. Try a different angle, focal point, aperture, exposure and see if you can make the shot work! Hope this inspires you to go out and take some panoramic shots yourself.
