editing a pano question

[ewick]

Here is my first pano on a trip to big bear mountain. So my question is this.... To post process a pano is it better to edit each individual photo or photo merge it and then edit as a whole? I have looked up a few tutorials and some say do it before and some say do it after. is there a difference and what would be better? In my top left corner the clouds seem to be blown out cause of the sun and it seems to pull my eye towards that way. should I have worked on that image first before merging them? any advice is help ful. thank you.


as always C&C is welcomed. I'm always looking for ways to improve so if you see something you don't like tell me what it is and why.

[/URL] bigbear by pop-a-dot, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Dillard]

I would edit after. That way it will be more constant and fluent throughout the panoramic

 

[480sparky]

Did you shoot all the frames using the same settings (i.e., in manual and not auto)? I find doing so helps.
With blown-out areas like this, you'll probably have to experiment to see which gives you the best result. Editing each frame can get tricky, and may cause the stitching software to not line things up. Editing the final result may work but if you're working in an 8-bit environment, you may be limited to editing ability.

 

[ewick]

Did you shoot all the frames using the same settings (i.e., in manual and not auto)? I find doing so helps.
With blown-out areas like this, you'll probably have to experiment to see which gives you the best result. Editing each frame can get tricky, and may cause the stitching software to not line things up. Editing the final result may work but if you're working in an 8-bit environment, you may be limited to editing ability.

I did shoot manunal and now that I think about it I should have exposed for the blown out area first and brought detail back to the rest of the image in post. does that make sense? this was a 9 shot pano. i kinda had to rush it cause we stopped on the side of the road coming down from big bear and didnt have much time to really think about it, but I had never done a pano and that seemed like an interesting view.

 

[Dominantly]

I always edit the final product, doing it to each individual photo can cause noticeable variations when the image is stitched.
What software do you use?

Another note, when you compose a pano like this with so many images used, be careful when including the immediate foreground as it will become quite distorted, unless you are going for that of course.
If you would have stepped up to the edge of the mountain, you would had much less distortion.

Big Bear is great place to shoot, and I have been compelled to pull over and shoot on the way down as well

 

[480sparky]

I did shoot manunal and now that I think about it I should have exposed for the blown out area first and brought detail back to the rest of the image in post. does that make sense? this was a 9 shot pano. i kinda had to rush it cause we stopped on the side of the road coming down from big bear and didnt have much time to really think about it, but I had never done a pano and that seemed like an interesting view.

Changing exposure between frames can lead to trouble. It may sound like an obvious solution, but it can create a patchy-looking stitch.

 

[Dominantly]

Yeah, manual exposure all the way. IF you wrap around towards the sun and get blown sky, so be it.

 

[ewick]

I did shoot manunal and now that I think about it I should have exposed for the blown out area first and brought detail back to the rest of the image in post. does that make sense? this was a 9 shot pano. i kinda had to rush it cause we stopped on the side of the road coming down from big bear and didnt have much time to really think about it, but I had never done a pano and that seemed like an interesting view.

Changing exposure between frames can lead to trouble. It may sound like an obvious solution, but it can create a patchy-looking stitch.

I didn't mean change exposures during the actual shooting. I meant I should have exposed for the brightness in the shot and then kept that setting thru all my shots and then lighten it in post. i read somewhere to adjust your single brightest image and then edit the rest to match it. That sounded like a ton of work though.

 

[ewick]

I always edit the final product, doing it to each individual photo can cause noticeable variations when the image is stitched.
What software do you use?

Another note, when you compose a pano like this with so many images used, be careful when including the immediate foreground as it will become quite distorted, unless you are going for that of course.
If you would have stepped up to the edge of the mountain, you would had much less distortion.

Big Bear is great place to shoot, and I have been compelled to pull over and shoot on the way down as well

I was used to using camera raw but I just got light room 3 (for free,, along with a macbook pro(not free)) this pano was done in photoshop. The road curved but it does look distorted. the thing that bugs me the most is the blown out sky in the top left corner of the pano.

 

[msandersen]

Editing each photo is asking for trouble IMO; if you shoot RAW, just keep it 16-bit until you are done with adjustments; at the bottom of Camera Raw there's a link to set the import settings. You end up with a huge file in processing, but that way you can recover highlights and shadow detail in the final pano. Once you're happy, then convert to 8-bit and save. Remember, once you are in 8-bit, blown-out areas are unrecoverable except by toning.

 

[ewick]

Editing each photo is asking for trouble IMO; if you shoot RAW, just keep it 16-bit until you are done with adjustments; at the bottom of Camera Raw there's a link to set the import settings. You end up with a huge file in processing, but that way you can recover highlights and shadow detail in the final pano. Once you're happy, then convert to 8-bit and save. Remember, once you are in 8-bit, blown-out areas are unrecoverable except by toning.

thanks for the advice.