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                    Create panoramic images
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                <br clear="both" /><div id="minitoc"><div class="t"><div class="b"><div class="l"><div class="r"><div class="bl"><div class="br"><div class="tl"><div class="tr"><div><h3>Contents [<a href="#" onclick="return toggleMiniToc('minitoc-links', this);" class="hideLink">Hide</a>]</h3><ul id="minitoc-links"><li><p><a href="#WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-75e7a"><h1 class="topictitle1">About Photomerge</h1>
</a></p></li><li><p><a href="#WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-75e6a"><h1 class="topictitle1">Take pictures for use with Photomerge</h1>
</a></p></li><li><p><a href="#WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-75e4a"><h1 class="topictitle1">Create a Photomerge composition</h1>
</a></p></li><li><p><a href="#WS5125059C-C453-47a7-8459-1212DA74B62A"><h1 class="topictitle1">Create 360 degree panoramas</h1>
</a></p><ul><li><p><a href="#WS08512E99-D140-4624-9AB5-314DEDFB4E5E"><h2 class="topictitle2">Create 360 degree panoramas using Auto-Align Layers</h2>
</a></p></li><li><p><a href="#WSEE62A441-2E16-45e7-A54B-223136906A00"><h2 class="topictitle2">Create 360 degree panoramas using Photomerge</h2>
</a></p></li></ul></li></ul></div></div><br clear="both" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br clear="both" /><div><ul class="navlinklist"></ul>
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<div id="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-75e7a" class="nochunk"><a name="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-75e7a"></a><h2 class="topictitle2">About Photomerge</h2><div><p>The Photomerge™ command combines several photographs into
one continuous image. For example, you can take five overlapping
photographs of a city skyline, and then assemble them into a panorama.
The Photomerge command can assemble photos that are tiled horizontally
as well as vertically. </p>
<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="tr_16" src="images/tr_16.png" /><div class="figdesc">Source images (top), and completed Photomerge composition
(bottom)</div><br /></div><p>To create Photomerge compositions, choose File&#160;&gt;
Automate&#160;&gt; Photomerge and then choose your source files
and then specify layout and blending options. Your option choice
depends on how you photographed the panorama. For example, if you’ve
photographed images for a 360 degree panorama, the Spherical layout option
is recommended. This option stitches the images and transforms them
as if they were mapped to the inside of a sphere, which simulates
the experience of viewing a 360 degree panorama.</p>
<p>For a video on using Photomerge, see <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/vid0013" target="_blank">www.adobe.com/go/vid0013</a>.</p>
<p>For a video on editing and merging images from Lightroom, see <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4121_ps" target="_blank">www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4121_ps</a>.</p>
</div></div>
<div id="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-75e6a" class="nochunk"><a name="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-75e6a"></a><h2 class="topictitle2">Take pictures for use with Photomerge</h2><div><p>Your
source photographs play a large role in panoramic compositions.
To avoid problems, follow these guidelines when taking pictures
for use with Photomerge:</p>
<dl><dt class="dlterm">Overlap images sufficiently</dt>
<dd>Images should overlap by approximately 25% to 40%. If the
overlap is less, Photomerge may not be able to automatically assemble
the panorama. However, keep in mind that the images shouldn’t overlap
too much. If images overlap by 70% or more, Photomerge may not be able
to blend the images. Try to keep the individual photos at least
somewhat distinct from each other.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Use one focal length</dt>
<dd>If you use a zoom lens, don’t change the focal length (zoom
in or out) while taking your pictures. </dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Keep the camera level</dt>
<dd>Although Photomerge can process slight rotations between
pictures, a tilt of more than a few degrees can result in errors
when the panorama is assembled. Using a tripod with a rotating head
helps maintain camera alignment and viewpoint.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Stay in the same position</dt>
<dd>Try not to change your position 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&#160;try using a tripod to keep the camera in
the same place.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Avoid using distortion lenses</dt>
<dd>Fish-eye and other distortion lenses can interfere with Photomerge.<div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:  </span>Photoshop
CS4 will support fish-eye correction when creating panoramas for images
taken with fish-eye lenses. Use the Auto option in this case. </div>
</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Maintain the same exposure</dt>
<dd>Avoid using the flash in some pictures and not in others.
The blending features in Photomerge 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.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p></dl>
</div></div>
<div id="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-75e4a" class="nochunk"><a name="WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-75e4a"></a><h2 class="topictitle2">Create a Photomerge composition</h2><div><ol><li class="stepexpand"><span>Do one of the following:</span><ul><li><p>Choose File&#160;&gt; Automate&#160;&gt;
Photomerge.</p>
</li>
<li><div class="para">In
Adobe® Bridge CS4, choose Tools&#160;&gt;
Photoshop&#160;&gt; Photomerge from the Bridge menu bar. Skip
to step&#160;5. <div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:  </span>In Bridge, choosing the Photomerge command
uses all images currently displayed in Bridge. If you only want
specific images used, select them before choosing the Photomerge
command.</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Under Source Files in the Photomerge dialog box, choose
one of the following from the Use menu:</span> <dl><dt class="dlterm">Files</dt>
<dd>Generates the Photomerge composition using individual
files.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Folders</dt>
<dd>Uses
all the images stored in a folder to create the Photomerge composition.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p></dl>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Specify which images to use by doing one of the following:</span><ul><li><p>To select image files or a folder of images,
click the Browse button and navigate to the files or folder.</p>
</li>
<li><p>To use the images currently open in Photoshop, click
Add Open Files.</p>
</li>
<li><p>To remove images from the Source File list, select
the file and click the Remove button.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Select a Layout option:</span> <dl><dt class="dlterm">Auto</dt>
<dd>Photoshop analyzes the source images and applies either
a Perspective, Cylindrical, and Spherical layout, depending on which
produces a better photomerge. </dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Perspective</dt>
<dd>Creates a consistent composition by designating one of
the source images (by default, the middle image) as the reference
image. The other images are then transformed (repositioned, stretched
or skewed as necessary) so that overlapping content across layers
is matched.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Cylindrical</dt>
<dd>Reduces the “bow‑tie” distortion that can occur with
the Perspective layout by displaying individual images as on an
unfolded cylinder. Overlapping content across files is still matched.
The reference image is placed at the center. Best suited for creating
wide panoramas.<div class="fignone"><img alt="" id="tr_18" src="images/tr_18.png" /><div class="figdesc">Applying Cylindrical Mapping</div><br /><dl><dt class="dlterm">A.</dt>
<dd>Original</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">B.</dt>
<dd>Cylindrical
Mapping applied</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p></dl>
</div></dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Spherical</dt>
<dd>Aligns and transforms the images as if they were for
mapping the inside of a sphere. If you have taken a set of images
that cover 360 degrees, use this for 360 degree panoramas. You might
also use Spherical to produce nice panoramic results with other
file sets. </dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Collage</dt>
<dd>Aligns the layers and matches overlapping content and
transforms (rotate or scale) any of the source layers. </dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Reposition</dt>
<dd>Aligns the layers and matches overlapping content, but
does not transform (stretch or skew) any of the source layers.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p></dl>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Select any of the following options:</span> <dl><dt class="dlterm">Blend Images Together</dt>
<dd>Finds the optimal borders between the images and create
seams based on those borders, and to color match the images. With
Blend Images Together turned off, a simple rectangular blend is
performed. This may be preferable if you intend to retouch the blending
masks by hand.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Vignette Removal</dt>
<dd>Removes and performs exposure compensation in images that
have darkened edges caused by lens flaws or improper lens shading.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p><dt class="dlterm">Geometric Distortion Correction</dt>
<dd>Compensates for barrel, pincushion, or fisheye distortion.</dd><p class="dlseparator"></p></dl>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Click&#160;OK. </span></li>
</ol>
<div class="section"><p>Photoshop creates one multi‑layer image from the source
images, adding layer masks as needed to create optimal blending
where the images overlap. You can edit the layer masks or add adjustment
layers to further fine tune the different areas of the panorama. </p>
</div>
</div></div>
<div id="WS5125059C-C453-47a7-8459-1212DA74B62A" class="nochunk"><a name="WS5125059C-C453-47a7-8459-1212DA74B62A"></a><h2 class="topictitle2">Create 360 degree panoramas</h2><div><div class="section"><p>(Photoshop Extended only) You can use the
3D features to create a wrapping 360 degree panorama. First, you
stitch together the images to create a panorama, and then use the
Spherical Panorama command to wrap the panorama so it’s continuous.
You can use either the Auto-Align Layers workflow or Photomerge
to stitch the panorama.  Photomerge has fewer steps . The Auto-Align
Layers workflow provides more control because of the additional
feedback around lens metadata and corrections as well as the ability
to perform alignment and blending separately.</p>
<p>Be sure to photograph
a “full circle” of images with sufficient overlap. Photographing
with a pano head on a tripod helps produce better results when stitching
the panorama.</p>
<p>For a video on using Auto-Align and Auto-Blend
to create a panorama and increase depth of field, and using content-aware
scaling, see <a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4120" target="_blank">www.adobe.com/go/lrvid4120</a>.</p>
</div>
</div><div id="WS08512E99-D140-4624-9AB5-314DEDFB4E5E" class="nochunk"><a name="WS08512E99-D140-4624-9AB5-314DEDFB4E5E"></a><h3 class="topictitle3">Create 360 degree panoramas using Auto-Align Layers</h3><div><div class="section"><p>The following procedure only works with Adobe® Photoshop® CS4
Extended.</p>
</div>
<ol><li class="stepexpand"><span>Choose File &gt; Scripts &gt; Load Files Into
Stack.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>In the Load Layers dialog box, choose Files or Folders
from the Use menu, and then browse to locate the files you want
to use. Click OK when done.</span> <p>Do not include images that cover the top (zenith) or bottom
(nadir) of the scene. You’ll add these images later.</p>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Select all the layers in the Layers panel and then choose
Edit &gt; Auto-Align Layers.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>In the Auto-Align Layers dialog box, select either Auto
or Spherical for the Projection.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>(Optional) Select Vignette Removal or Geometric Distortion
for the Lens Correction.</span> <p>Photoshop uses the lens metadata to auto-detect if you
photographed with a fisheye lens. In the case of fisheye lens detection,
the Geometric Distortion Correction option is automatically selected.</p>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Click OK.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Choose Edit &gt; Auto-Blend Layers.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>In the Auto-Blend Layers dialog box, select Panorama
for the Blend Method, select the Seamless Tone and Colors option,
and then click OK. </span> <p>There might be transparent pixels on the edges of the panoramic
image. These can prevent the final 360 panorama from wrapping correctly.
You can either crop the pixels out or use the Offset filter to identify
and remove the pixels. </p>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Choose 3D &gt; New Shape From Layer &gt; Spherical Panorama.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>(Optional) Manually add the top and bottom images into
the sphere. You could also paint out any remaining transparent pixels
in the 3D spherical panorama layer.</span></li>
</ol>
</div></div><div id="WSEE62A441-2E16-45e7-A54B-223136906A00" class="nochunk"><a name="WSEE62A441-2E16-45e7-A54B-223136906A00"></a><h3 class="topictitle3">Create 360 degree panoramas using Photomerge</h3><div><div class="section"><p>The following procedure only works with Adobe® Photoshop® CS4
Extended.</p>
</div>
<ol><li class="stepexpand"><span>Choose File &gt; Automate &gt; Photomerge.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>In the Photomerge dialog box, add the images you want
to use.</span> <p>Do not include images that cover the top (zenith) or bottom
(nadir) of the scene. You’ll add these images later.</p>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Select Spherical for the Layout.</span> <p>If you photographed with a fisheye lens, it’s recommended
that you select Auto for the Layout and also select the Geometric
Distortion Correction option.</p>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>(Optional) Select Vignette Removal or Geometric Distortion
for the Lens Correction.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Click OK.</span> <p>There might be transparent pixels on the edges of the panoramic
image. These can prevent the final 360 panorama from wrapping correctly.
You can either crop the pixels out or use the Offset filter to identify
and remove the pixels. </p>
</li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>Choose 3D &gt; New Shape From Layer &gt; Spherical Panorama.</span></li>
<li class="stepexpand"><span>(Optional) Manually add the top and bottom images into
the sphere. You could also paint out any remaining transparent pixels
in the 3D spherical panorama layer.</span></li>
</ol>
</div></div></div>

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