How to Create a Panorama with Any Digital Camera

For many people, a standard point-and-shoot digital camera is all they have. While fine for nearly all occasions, there is the occasional breath taking shot that is begging for more than 'standard' shots. While there are many different styles of photos, including HDR and advanced color correction, panorama's are one of the most liked and sought after effects.

Panorama's offer the ability to capture a great space of detail in one photo. This method of creating panorama's is called stitching, and involves using two or more photos to create a big picture. These kind of photos can only be created via stitching or using expensive very wide angle lens. The optimal method is to use a widescreen camera, reducing the amount of photo's you must take to get the desired panorama.

Tools Needed:

Digital Camera
Transfer Cable
Photo Editing software (GIMP is free)
Computer
Tripod (optional, but preferable)

Step 1: Decide on a good location to take a panorama. This can be nearly anywhere. The best options for beginners are areas with steady objects (no people, clouds, or moving plants), constant light, and a relatively straight plane. As you get better, more complex areas, including roads, can be used.

Step 2: Set up your tripod. This is not necessary, but is will make the process much easier. If you don't use a tripod, you need to make sure you keep the bottom relatively even with the previous pictures. If you use a tripod, put it in on a stable location.

Attach your camera to the tripod and point it at the beginning of your future panorama. Adjust the white balance, coloring, exposure, and effects before beginning. Once you begin, you can't change these without starting over.

Step 3: This is where you begin taking your photos. Snap your first one, and then rotate the camera so that the last half of the photo is the first half of the next one. This will cause an nice over-lap and ensure that everything lines up well with minimal distortion.