How to Make a Panorama in Photoshop

Panoramas, the photographic style of capturing an almost wraparound view of a landscape or area, are not always easy to shoot with a camera. While some cameras offer panoramic settings, others do not. Don't give up on the idea of the panorama, make one out of multiple photos blended together using Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop bridges the gap between what a panoramic setting does and the resulting large-scale image. Make a panorama with Photoshop, no extra camera equipment required.

Instructions

1. Open Photoshop. Click the "File" menu and select "New." Type "Panorama" into the "Name" box. Type the preferred dimensions into the "Width" and "Height" boxes, such as "17" and "8" respectively. Pull down the dimensions menus and select "inches." Click the "OK" button. Photoshop's blank panorama canvas opens.

2. Click the "File" menu again. Click "Open." Browse to the location where the panorama photos are stored. Press and hold down the "Ctrl" key on the keyboard, click once on each image and click the "Open" button. Each photo tiles onto the Photoshop work area.

3. Click one of the photos. Pull down the "Select" menu and click "All." Press the "Ctrl" and "C" keys to copy the photo. Click the "X" to close the photo and remove it from the screen.

4. Click the "Panorama" box. Press the "Ctrl" and "V" keys to paste in the photo. Drag it into the top-left corner of the "Panorama" box or leave it to adjust its place after all the other images are pasted in. Review the "Layers" palette in the bottom-left corner. Note the original blank Background layer and a new Layer 1 with this photo on it.

5. Repeat the "Select" and "Copy" processes until each of the panorama photos are pasted onto the "Panorama" box, along with a new layer for each added to the "Layers" palette. Close all photos except the main "Panorama" box.

6. Click one of the layers in the "Layers" palette, such as the layer with the photo of the leftmost portion of the landscape or image. Click the "Move" tool, the top icon on the "Tools" pane. Drag the photo on that layer into the top-left corner of the "Panorama" box.

7. Click another layer on the "Layers" palette to activate it. Use the "Move" tool to move that layer directly up against the first picture so the two pictures just slightly overlap.

8. Click the "Background Eraser" tool, in the middle of the "Tools" palette. Slowly drag the cursor along the left edge of the second picture, which causes it to blend into the first.

9. Continue clicking and dragging layers in the order they appeared in the actual landscape, and positioning them in the "Panorama" box. Use the "Background Eraser" on the left and right sides of each image to blend them all together.

10. Click the lined icon in the "Layers" palette. Select "Flatten Image." All of the layers combine into one.

11. Click the "File" menu and select "Save As," then click the "Save" button.

References

• University of Washington Information Technology: Photoshop Working with Layers