Panorama Advice For Beginners

Panoramic photography is a great way to capture a wider view of a scene when you are out and about and with the introduction of modes that help you capture them, they're now easier than ever to take.

The added length of these panoramic pictures makes them ideal for capturing rolling landscapes and beautiful views the a normal photo would not do quite as much justice to. They enable you to get more scenery in to one picture, creating a better interpretation of the view that you are actually seeing when taking the shot.

This is the beginner's guide to shooting panoramas, and as such we have endeavoured to make it as easy as possible, by narrowing the term panorama down to the sweeping panorama function that most modern digital cameras are equipped with, including the the Smart NX range.

This feature is usually relatively easy to find in the menu of your camera, under modes or similar. When this mode is selected, you simply hold the shoot button down and move the camera in the direction of the panorama you want to capture. Generally, it will stop shooting automatically when the panorama limit is reached. 

Here are a few more basic rules for you to follow when capturing panoramas:

Firstly, panoramas tend to work better when some of the sky is in the shot. If the land is flat, however, and the sky is looking pretty boring, you can minimise this how much room the sky takes up if you want by moving your horizon up. How much sky you include can also depend on the amount of features on the land that you want to fit in to your photo. Of course, if you have a sky that's full of sunset reds and oranges you may want to do the opposite and move the horizon down. Think about the rule of thirds too, for example, a house or another tall structure will look good positioned to the left or right of the panorama rather than centring it.

Next, make sure that the camera is kept as steady as possible to minimise chances of it looking wonky or shake spoiling the shot. Also, make sure that the camera is held straight on to the landscape you're photographing. It's best to use a tripod but if you don't have one with you, just tuck your arms as close to your side as you can to keep them steady and twist at the waist to capture your panorama.