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How to Create Panoramic Posters

If you are a photographer who takes landscape pictures, you have probably experienced the realization that an 8x10 print doesn't do your photos justice. When you take a landscape photo you are usually capturing a very wide scene. Trying to capture the same impact on a traditional print is very difficult. Free programs are available that allow you to "stitch" a number of photos together to create a panoramic poster that will help recreate the impact of your landscape photography.

Things You'll Need

Tripod (recommended)

Instructions

- 1
  Attach your camera to a tripod. View the scene you are photographing. Pick three separate portions you will photograph individually.
- 2
  Position your camera on what will be the left side of your completed panoramic poster. Take the first picture, noticing specific information about what is along the right-hand edge of the scene.
- 3
  Reposition your camera to the middle portion of your scene. Use a fixed point or part of your picture as a guide to divide your scene. Compose the middle picture by placing the left side of your viewfinder at what was the right side of your first image, overlapping slightly with the previous shot. Take the picture.
- 4
  Reposition your camera to photograph the final third of your scene. Line up your camera using the same method as the middle photo. Shoot the third picture.
- 5
  Connect your camera with or insert your memory card into your computer. Download your pictures to a folder.
- 6
  Download the free photo stitch program you want to use. Open the program.
- 7
  Open the three pictures you will use to compose your panoramic poster, following the program's directions. Allow the program to recompose the picture for you, "stitching" the three together as one.
- 8
  Touch up the final poster as needed. Save the poster -- as a new image -- to your computer's hard drive. Print the poster yourself or take or e-mail the image to a business to have it printed.

Photography