Since we moved out into a more rural area, I am obsessed with taking panoramic photos of the sky, sunsets and sunrises. After many many MANY tries and fails, I thought I’d share some of my tips on taking panoramic photos with an iPhone.
I use the panoramic feature on the already-installed iPhone camera – all you have to do is open the camera and swipe to the left until you reach the “PANO” feature. You will see an arrow pointing to the left and a horizontal line on your screen. To take a panoramic photo, simply point your camera at your starting point, hit the shutter button and start rotating and moving the phone to the right and then hit the shutter button again when you are finished.
Tips for Taking Great Panoramic Photos with Your iPhone
Now that I have shared the basic instructions to take a panoramic photo with your iPhone, here are my tips for making those photos really stand out.
1. Set your exposure first.
If you are taking a landscape or sunset/sunrise picture, this is especially important, because you will have various exposures throughout the photo. Before you start taking the photo, point your camera to the part of the view that you want to expose for – so if you’re taking a sunset picture, point your camera at the brightest part of the sky. Touch your screen at the spot you want to expose for and hold it to set the exposure. Then, you can go back (without touching your screen again) to take the panoramic photo following the basic instructions above.
This way, you will ensure that the sunset portion of the photo will not be over-exposed.
2. Find a good starting point.
As a general rule, I like to be standing lined up with the center of the panoramic photo, as much as possible. That way, I’m getting a nice balance from the left to the right. If you are shooting more to the right and less to the left, you may end up with an imbalanced or skewed photo.
3. Stand still and try to keep the arrow on the center line as you are shooting.
The more you move your phone up or down, the more chance you have of ending up with a jagged or bumpy photo.
4. Use the rule of thirds for your panoramic photos.
Try to put the tops of trees or mountains or buildings in the bottom third of your frame, unless you are photographing the buildings, and then put them in the top third of your frame.
5. Beware of movement.
Because the panoramic feature seams photos together, if you have someone or something moving across the screen while you are taking the photo, it will look very odd once you finish. If you want to include someone, ask them to stand still until you are finished.
6. Share it!
If you want to post it to Instagram without cropping to the square, use an app that will allow you to keep it full-frame. [I use Squaready.]
Now go panorama everything!!
Do you enjoy using the panoramic option on your phone camera? Share links to your photos in the comments section below!
