|
Last week's column covered basic shooting for
panorama composites and the first steps in creating a Photoshop
canvas. Now let's finish the task.
Step 3: Next, open the second frame and
resize it to the same height as your first frame. Use the Move
tool to drag it to the panorama. Close the second frame without
saving it. With the new frame on layer 2, I do a rough overlap
and use Levels (Command (PC-Control)-L) to adjust the colors to
as close a match as possible. The last area I concern myself
with is the sky which is the easiest to touch up later.
Step 4: With layer 2 selected, slide the
opacity setting to about 60 percent so you can see through the
top layer to the bottom layer. Now use the Move tool to nudge
the translucent layer's overlap to line up the images.
It's helpful to drag a ruler guide to mark the
edge of the underneath layer overlap. Once you've got
near-perfect alignment, set the layer opacity to 100%. You can
lock Layers 1 and 2 if you wish.
Step 5: Repeat steps 3 & 4 until you have
built the complete panorama.
Blending The Image
Even with an absolute match of color correction for each frame,
the multi-image nature of our panorama is still evident in the
straight edges of the overlapping frames. This is the most
painstaking part of the process but also the most rewarding.
The secret is to break up the hard edge between
frames by erasing and using the clone tool.
Step 1: Select the top layer. You'll
always be working on a layer above its overlapped layer and in
this process, my recommended one-third overlap become apparently
important.
Step 2: Select the Eraser tool (E) and
from its Options palette, choose "airbrush" with a wide,
feathered tip. (Note: for broad areas I use a tip of 200 to 300
pixels.) I've found that my Wacom tablet with pressure set to
50% is far superior to the mouse for this work.
Step 3: Begin erasing the top layer in
the sky area with short, gentle strokes. Do not erase beyond the
ruler guide that marks the edge of the layer beneath or you'll
be erasing to background color. In our example, the slight
change of perspective between frames gave me two slightly
separated upright warning gates on the bridge. Erasing the gates
from the top layer solved that problem.
In darker areas covered with foliage or
sparkling water, erase just enough to break up the straight line
of layer demarcation. In area with a lot of detail, choose a
smaller brush tip (say 100 pixels) but not one so small that the
actual brush stroke shows up.
Step 4: Lock the bottom layer and hide it
(click on the layer eyeball), then select the next top layer in
order. Repeat the erasing process through all the layers. I
found the vertical edge of the bridge tender's house a good
place to make on of the blended sections.
Be careful that you're working on the correct
layer and keep in mind that the History palette is a useful
Undo.
Step 6: Make all layers visible and then
perform a "flatten image" from the layer options pull-out.
Step 7: Now's the time to select the
Rubber Stamp tool and do some cloning touchup with the airbrush
selected in options. A large brush tip is helpful for cloning
from one sky area to another to eliminate slight differences in
color cast. Cloning a cloud from one sky area to another is a
good technique if you can avoid repetitive patterns.
In cloning foliage, use trees or terrain of a
similar color but some distance from the clone area as a target.
Again, just running the cloning tool with a nearby target can
result in alarming repetitive patterns.
Step 8: Use the Crop tool (C) to
eliminate unwanted edges and make your panorama a single image.
Resizing can also be desirable to ensure a print that will fit
available frames. Epson sells an 8-1/2 x 23-1/2 inch panorama
paper which is ideal for the inexpensive 8 x 22 inch frames
available in many craft and art supply stores.
Next week, I'll delve into some techniques for
making panoramas from uneven terrain. If you've discovered a
passion for panoramas, Richard Sherwin's excellent site
http://www.panoramicphoto.com is an first-rate web visit.
|