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Creating Photomerge panoramas The Photomerge Panorama command combines several photographs into one continuous image. For example, you can take five overlapping photographs of a city skyline, and assemble them into a panorama. The Photomerge Panorama command can tile photos horizontally as well as vertically. When you set up a Photomerge panorama composition, you identify the files you want to merge (called your source files), and then Photoshop Elements automatically assembles them into a single panorama. After the panorama is complete, you can still make changes to the placement of the individual photos, if necessary. Creating a Photomerge panorama Your source photographs play a large role in panoramic compositions. To avoid problems, follow these guidelines when taking pictures for use with Photomerge Panorama: Overlap images sufficiently Images should overlap approximately 15% to 40%. If the overlap is less, Photomerge Panorama may not be able to automatically assemble the panorama. If images overlap by 50% or more, it can be difficult to work with them, and blending may not be as effective. Use a consistent focal length Avoid using the zoom feature of your camera while taking your pictures. Keep the camera level Although Photomerge Panorama can process slight rotations between pictures, a tilt ofmore than a few degrees can result in errors when automatically assembling the panorama. Using a tripod with a rotating head helps maintain camera alignment and viewpoint. When photographing a panoramic scene from a high place, the natural inclination is to keep the horizon level in the viewfinder. However, this actually produces a noticeable rotation between images. Try using a tripod to keep the camera level when taking photographs in this situation. Stay in the same position Try not to change your location as you take a series of photographs, so that the pictures are from the same viewpoint. Using the optical viewfinder with the camera held close to the eye helps keep the viewpoint consistent. Or try using a tripod to keep the camera in the same place. Avoid using distortion lenses Lenses, such as fish-eye lenses, that noticeably distort the image can interfere with Photomerge Panorama. Maintain the same exposure Avoid using the flash in some pictures and not in others. The advanced blending feature in Photomerge Panorama helps smooth out different exposures, but extreme differences make alignment difficult. Some digital cameras change exposure settings automatically as you take pictures, so you may need to check your camera settings to be sure that all the images have the same exposure. Create a Photomerge panorama composition 1 Choose File > New > Photomerge Panorama. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6.0 User Guide 253 2 Open the files you want to stitch together by doing one of the following: • Click Add Open Files to add files that are open in the Project bin. • Choose Files from the drop-down menu and browse to a file on your hard disk. • Choose Use > Folder to add an entire directory. 3 Select a calculation method. 4 Click OK to create the panorama composition. The source files open automatically and are processed If you chose Interactive Layout calculation method or if the composition can’t be automatically assembled, you can assemble the composition manually. 5 After the new panorama image appears in the Panorama dialog box, you can work with individual source files and change your view of the work area. If you need to rearrange the order of the images, drag an image in the work area to reposition it. 6 If necessary, adjust the composition by changing the vanishing point, changing the calculation method, or using the Snap To Image option. 7 Click OK to generate the panorama as a new file. Use the Photomerge dialog box The Photomerge dialog box contains tools for manipulating the composition, a lightbox for storing source images that are not in use, awork area for assembling the composition, and options for viewing and editing the composition. You can also zoom in and out to better see the alignment of each file. Photomerge dialog box. A. Lightbox B. Tools C. Work area D. Selected image E. Status bar • To navigate, select the Hand tool and drag within the work area. Or, drag the view area (the red box) or the scroll bar of the navigator. • To zoom, click the Zoom In icon and Zoom Out icon , or use the Zoom tool . Hold down Option to zoom out with the Zoom tool. B C E A D ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6.0 User Guide 254 • To rotate images, select the Select Image tool , click the image you want to rotate, select the Rotate tool and then drag in a circular motion around the image. • To reorder images in the lightbox, select the Select Image tool and drag an image in the lightbox. • To add an image to the composition, select the Select Image tool, and then drag the image fromthe lightbox to the work area. • To remove an image from the composition, select the Select Image tool, and then drag the image from the work area to the lightbox. Make sure Snap To Image is selected to automatically snap overlapping images into place when a commonality is detected. Change the vanishing point The Vanishing Point tool selects the vanishing point image, which changes the perspective of the Photomerge panorama composition. 1 Select Perspective in the Settings area of the Photomerge dialog box. The middle image is the default vanishing point image (it has a blue border around it when selected). 2 Select the Vanishing Point tool , and click on an image in the work area to make it the vanishing point image. There can only be one vanishing point image in a composition. Note: Hold down the Option key when you move the pointer over an image to show the selection border of the photo. 3 If necessary, use the Select Image tool to adjust the position of the non-vanishing point images. A nonvanishing point image has a red border around it when selected. When you apply perspective correction to a composition, the non-vanishing point images are linked to the vanishing point image. You can break this link by clicking the Reposition Only button, by separating the images in the work area, or by dragging the vanishing point image back to the lightbox. After the link is broken, images return to their original shapes. The perspective correction only works up to an approximately 120° angle of view. If your composition has a wider angle of view, deselect the Perspective option. Reduce distortion and inconsistent color Use composition options to reduce distortion in a Photomerge panorama composition. 1 Select composition options: Cylindrical Mapping Reduces the bowtie distortion that can occurwhen you apply perspective correction. Youmust select the Perspective option in order to apply cylindrical mapping. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6.0 User Guide 255 Adding cylindrical mapping A. Original B. Cylindrical mapping applied 2 Click Preview. The results of applying these options are visible only in preview mode and in the final, generated image. 3 To return to edit mode, click Exit Preview.