Tutorial: How to Create a Digital Panoramic Photograph (Part III of III)

So far, I’ve taken you through my process of using my camera to take photographs that I will use to create a panoramic photograph (Part I), and then the editing workflow in Lightroom and Photoshop (PS) that I utilize (Part II). If you’ve been following along, I hope that this has made sense so far and that you’ve been able to successfully implement the workflow for yourself. If you’re still on board and now want to learn how to make the process a bit easier, particularly if you want to produce many panoramic photographs at the same time, then keep on reading!

Creating Multiple Panoramas: I have one more tool in my quiver for making panoramic images and it’s a wonderful time saver. With the help of others, I have created/modified a PS “script” so that PS will run Photomerge without any further assistance from me. I can set up dozens of potential panoramic images to be merged overnight or at any other convenient time for me. I have created hundreds of panoramic photographs in this manner since I started using this script and it is one of the best things that I’ve done for my panoramic photography workflow over the past few years.

To implement this approach, you’ll first need to have the Panorama script, have it in its proper form, and properly inserted into PS. WordPress won’t allow me to attach the java script file for security reasons, so if you wish to pursue this avenue, you’ll have to do a bit of work on your own.  First, you’ll need to download the Adobe Extend Script Editor (if you don’t have it already) through the following link:  Adobe Extend Script Editor (download)

Once you’ve downloaded the Extend Script Editor and have it open, now “click” on the following “Panorama”.jsx link.  This will open a separate page that has the java script on it. Simply copy everything on the Panorama script page into your Extend Script Editor window.

Panorama.jsx

After you’ve copied the script text into the Extend Script Editor window, save the file with the name Panorama.jsx into your Script folder in Photoshop. In my Mac computer, the path is Applications>Adobe Photoshop CC 2014>Presets>Scripts. The next time that you open PS, you should find the Panorama script under File>Scripts. Here are some tips regarding the script that you’ve just created. The script as provided will run Photomerge just as I’ve described it in Part II of this Panoramic Photograph Tutorial.  That is, it will merge files to create panoramic images with Auto Layout, Blend Images Together, Geometric Distortion Correction and Vignette Removal. I’m not going to go into the details, as they’re beyond the scope of this Tutorial, but if you’ve gotten this far I hope that you can edit your Panorama.jsx file to run the Photomerge script differently, if you wish. Again, experiment to your heart’s desire!

The process of using the Panorama script for your benefit is fairly similar to what I’ve already described but with some minor modifications. When I choose the series of files that I want to turn into a panoramic photograph I will “copy” those files into a new folder. For example, after my recent Peru trip, I created a “Panoramas” folder under my Peru folder. Within that Panoramas folder, I then created a “Machu Picchu 1” folder and copied in my first series of files. For every panoramic photograph that I want to create I then create a new subfolder under Panoramas and name that subfolder according to the subject and order (i.e., Machu Picchu 2, Machu Picchu 3, Cusco 1, and so on). (FYI, I created >75 panoramas after my Peru trip using my Panorama script and saved myself countless hours of sitting in front of my computer and waiting for the merged photos to come out of PS.)

After I’ve created and filled as many subfolders as I need, I’ll open PS. Once PS is running, I’ll pull down the File menu and go to Scripts and then click on the Panorama script (File>Scrips>Panorama):

When you start the Panorama script, it will open a dialogue box. In that dialogue box you need to direct PS where to find your Panoramas folder that you’ve recently created that contains all of the subfolders with your multiple image files. In the case that I’m illustrating below, on a separate hard drive I have a folder for all of the photograph files from my Peru trip, and then have created a new subfolder called “Panoramas.” Within the Panoramas subfolder are several subfolders that I’ve created just for illustration:

When you’ve found your Panoramas subfolder simply click on the OK button. The next thing to do is to grab a cup of tea, a glass of wine, forty winks or whatever. The script will work its way through each of the subfolders under Panoramas and create a new panoramic photograph, flatten the image and then save that file with the name “completed.psd”. Again, due to the size of my files and the number of panoramic photographs that I might create this process can take a few hours for my computer.

As a warning, you can run into problems with this method if the files that you’ve collected for your pans won’t work to create a good image, just as if you were running the Photomerge script on your own. The script will “hang up” and stop, but you should have a good idea of what has failed and why. If you correct your mistake, make certain that you remove the panoramic photograph subfolders that have successfully worked before restarting.

When PS has created all of the panoramic images that it can, you’ll now need to open each of the “completed.psd” files in PS. My first step usually is to save the file with the correct file name – i.e., Machu Picchu Pan 1.psd and so on – and I’ll usually save it under my Panoramas folder so that I know that it has been completed (less confusing). From there, I’ll edit the panoramic photograph using the Warp tool to fix any distortions, as I detailed in Part II. From that point on, it’s up to you how you want to edit and improve on your new masterpiece!

Hopefully, this script will save you time and effort, and make your creation of beautiful panoramic photographs easier and more enjoyable.

‘Til next time, this is 43 N MSN/Illuminata signing off…