Creating panoramic images

 Often times, the angle of view that a camera takes in does not match the grandeur of a scene we want to capture.  That's where a feature of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements called Photomerge comes in handy.

The process is quite simple, and provides great results as long as you keep a few things in mind as you are shooting.

First, shoot from just one spot.  It's fine to pivot the camera left and right or tilt up and down from a stationary position, but don't move left, right, up or down.

Second, Keep the horizon in mind as you are shooting so you have equal amounts of information in each of the frames you shoot.

Third, make sure you overlap a certain amount from frame to frame so the same element shows up in images that will be stitched together.

Here's how to assemble the image once you have the pictures in your computer.

First, I recommend taking the images you want to work with and putting them in one folder.  Generally, I would copy the files into this new folder, rather than move the pictures from their primary storage.

Next, go to the File menu in Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements and select Automate-Photomerge.

 In the next dialog box, there are two things to select here.  First, on the left, is Layout.  This is the way in which the program will assemble the images.  Try all the options to see the different effects.  Auto works well most of the time, but can sometimes do some odd things like this.

Cylindrical is my favorites.

Next in the same dialog box in the center area, select Folder, and click Browse to find the folder you have the images in.

Once you are are the level where the images show up, click OK and Photoshop will assemble the image.

Once you have the picture, crop it, and do any adjustments you may want to make to create the finished image.