Panoramic photos offer the possibility of expanding our creative capacities in recent years, thanks to the introduction of the respective function on smartphones in native motion or with third-party applications.
These types of images are great for capturing dramatic sweeping landscapes or just getting a glimpse of everything around us in just one shot.
How is a panoramic photo made
A panoramic photo is essentially themerge multiple photos taken in sequence, whose goal is to obtain, in two dimensions, a point of view in three dimensions.
To exist two types of panoramic photos that is to say cylindrical and spherical. Cylindrical panoramic photos are made by rotating between 180 and 360 degrees on the vertical axis. Spherical panoramic photos, on the other hand, also require a 180 ° rotation on the horizontal axis.
To obtain a panoramic photo by combining several photographs, several corrections are necessary, which can be applied manually through specific software, or automatically through the use of digital video cameras that support this feature.
To obtain a good panoramic photo, reference marks are needed which make it possible to reconstitute the position of the individual planes: if the operation is done manually, these are made up of parts of the image itself (a lighthouse, the line of horizon, a palace, etc.), if instead an automatic software is used, they are generally generated thanks to the alignment carried out by the photographer himself during the shooting phase, for example by following a guide on the smartphone screen.
How to take panoramic photos
The latest iPhone models and many Android smartphones natively support panoramic photo function in their camera. To activate it, just open the camera and select the appropriate function as shown in the example below, which is usually found in the item “Other“.
Otherwise they exist third-party apps to take 360 ° photos in order to get panoramic images, as we will see shortly. In any case, to take a photo, hold the phone vertically for a horizontal panorama or horizontally for a vertical panorama. IPhone users can tap the arrow to change the direction of the panorama. Android users can move left or right without specifying the direction.
In any case, you will be asked to press the shutter button (which will start the sequence) and then follow the direction of an arrow or an imaginary line, which will allow the software to merge all the images into one. single photo; once complete, simply press the shutter button again to complete the acquisition. On the iPhone the panoramic effect is obtained thanks to a grid which allows to frame the horizon line, as I show you in the screen below.
To have excellent results, it is advisable to use a small tripod, with a cost of around 10/15 euros.
Another tip that can help you is to properly assess what you are going to shoot by activating your panoramic function, but without pressing the shutter button, to make a trial movement to see what we’re capturing as you move. This will help you understand the start and end points of your photo and whether there will be any problematic elements (like moving objects, a stranger standing next to you, or your finger).
Perfect panoramas rarely happen on the first take, so don’t be discouraged if you have to experiment a few times before you get a remarkable end result. If you are shooting a panorama and the arrow suddenly returns to the start of the guideline, your phone has stopped shooting because you have strayed too far from the path. This happens quite often when you start taking panoramas. Come back to the starting point and try again.
Application for taking panoramic photos
If you don’t want to use the native functionality of Android and iOS smartphones to take panoramic photos, or if your smartphone doesn’t support it, you can still achieve the same result with third-party apps. The final quality varies greatly depending on the algorithm used, the quality of the acquisition, and the type of technology that individual applications use to maintain alignment of the shots.
Google Street View
The first application that I offer is Google Street View available for both operating systems and downloadable here:
DOWNLOAD | Google Street View (iOS)
DOWNLOAD | Google Street View (Android)
To access the feature that allows you to take spherical panoramic photos, just tap on the camera symbol that appears at the bottom right of the screen for iOS and in the center for Android. Shooting is not done by following a line, like in the standard camera on iOs, but by centering circles on both X and Y axes, with a viewfinder while moving the arm. Once the operation is complete, it is also possible to share the photo that has just been taken online.
Panorama 360 camera: Virtual tours: 360 photos
Another popular app for taking panoramic photos is 360 panoramic camera (P360), which you can download here:
DOWNLOAD | 360 panoramic camera (iOS)
DOWNLOAD | 360 panoramic camera (Android)
To start taking photos, simply authorize access to the camera and the photo gallery then press the camera icon located in the center of the toolbar at the bottom of the home page . At the interface level, the version for iOs follows the operation of the pan mode of the iPhone’s camera, while on Android the alignment of individual images is achieved by centering the points when shooting.
Panorama of Photaf
The well-known app is also available on Android only Panorama of Photaf. Here is the download link
DOWNLOAD | Panorama of Photaf (Android)
The application is available in two versions, one of which is free. To take a photo, simply press the “Create a panorama“On the main screen. The application features a fairly convoluted but extremely efficient interface, with the simulation of two bubble levels to allow the user to stay aligned with the vertical and horizontal edges of the photo while taking Another feature of the app is that it requires you to keep the smartphone horizontally while in use.
How to take panoramic photos on Facebook
Atofficial facebook app, the functionality that allowed you to create panoramic photos has been removed. No problem, because there are a lot of good alternative apps to lean on. To upload the panoramic photos on facebook, you just need to upload the image as a common photo, once uploaded, you will have the confirmation that it has been posted correctly, by the appearance of two symbols, one to right indicating the orientation and one at the bottom to underline that it is about a spherical panoramic photo.
Common mistakes in taking photos
The typical error detectable in a panoramic photo taken via smartphone is the misalignment that occurs when the arm is moved during its realization, as I show you in the following photo.
The end effect is a kind of “wave“Which disturbs the image, in some cases with”not”Very evident in the points where you left the track. To solve this defect, a good trick is to take the panoramic photo by trying to align as far as possible with the horizon, turning with the body and not just with the wrist of the hand.
More insidious and unmanageable via smartphone, is the problem of the possible different exposure of shots and white balance, which usually occurs when photographing a cloudy landscape subject to rapid changes in light: in the latter case, the image will appear out of phase, almost tiled. Unfortunately, the only solution is to repeat the shot under optimal exposure conditions.
