Not wide enough? Make a panorama

Thursday 24 July 2025, 13:13 by Nando Harmsen | 2,418 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

A wide-angle lens lets you fit a lot into the frame. Don't have a wide enough angle? Make a panorama, simply handheld. As long as the shutter speed is fast enough, it works perfectly.

There are actually two reasons to make a panorama photo. The first reason is to achieve an extremely high resolution. You can use a longer focal length for this. Even a telephoto lens is possible.

The second reason is more practical. That is making a panorama to achieve a wider angle than what you have available. You use a panorama to imitate an ultra-wide-angle lens.

Only 24mm available, but you want a wider angle of view. Time for a panorama.
Suppose you have a lens that cannot go wider than 24mm. But 24mm does not give you enough in the frame. You would like a wider angle. In that case, you can make a panorama to achieve that wider angle of view.

Two rows of two photos taken handheld.
Hold your camera firmly, set your exposure and keep it constant. Take a photo and turn the camera so that you have the next section in the frame. Aim for about 30% overlap, or a little more. Take the next photo and repeat this until you have the angle of view you want.

You can 'stitch' these photos together with software such as Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, Luminar, and almost all other modern photo-editing software. You will always lose a bit of the edge when shooting handheld.

The assembled panorama, as an alternative to an ultra-wide-angle lens.
For this method, it is important to use a shutter speed that is fast enough for handheld photography. The dynamic range should preferably not be too large. Of course, you can also use a tripod.

Do you have an ultra-wide-angle lens? Use that instead of a panorama. Unless you also need an extremely high resolution.
Finally, my advice is not to make a panorama if you can photograph it with a wide-angle lens. You will not fit more into the frame. This only makes sense if you need an extremely high resolution.

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