How To Make Your Photos into Panoramic Masterpieces
by Cody Johnson | Oct 10, 2012 | How Tos
The word panoramic comes from panorama and the definition of panorama is : An unbroken view of an entire surrounding area. You have probably seen beautiful panoramic images of cityscapes or exotic landscapes. But you can make your own panoramic images with really a few simple steps. Let's know the rules of a panoramic image first...then later on we can break those rules and make up our own.
A panoramic (or pano) photography is a photo technique using specialized equipment to capture an elongated field of view. This specialized equipment usually involves a camera that can be open for a long exposure and has a motorized movement so it can pan across a scene to produce the elongated field of view. Most panoramic images have the cropped look of a film strip...meaning they are very long and not very high. The equipment used to make a true panoramic image is pretty costly and you have to have a lot of patience and knowledge to be able to use them. So...let's bend the rules a bit shall we.
The quick down and dirty way to make your own "panoramic" image is to use the widest angle lens you have...or on your point and shoot you need to zoom all the way out. Take your pictures you want, then take your photo into a software that will let you crop the image (ie Photoshop, Photoshop Express, or our website if you want to print your photos on canvas). The next step is to crop your image in a ratio of at least 2 to 1 (ex 10" wide x 5" high or 20" wide x 10" high). You can play around with the cropping and go even more extreme if your photo will allow it. Try a 3 to 1 or even 4 to 1 ratio. Basically you are going to be chopping off either the top or the bottom of the photo, and sometimes both. That is the easiest way to create your very own panoramic images. Think wide!
Another way to achieve the effect on any photo is just by cropping any image into those same panoramic ratios 2 to 1, 3 to 1, and 4 to 1. By doing this to any photo...even a close up macro photo...doesn't make it a panoramic image. It makes it a unique cropping effect and more panoramic-esque. See the examples below.
You can make canvas prints or photo prints from your newly found panoramic skills and feel free to decorate the house and use this technique and mix in other regularly cropped images for a unique mix for your home's decor. As I mentioned above, it is fairly easy to crop your image directly on our website at www.canvaspress.com, but if you need any help making your photos into canvas prints give us a call at 888.784.5553.
