The
Photomerge Panorama command combines several photographs into one continuous
image. For example, you can take five overlapping photographs of
a city skyline, and assemble them into a panorama. The Photomerge
Panorama command can tile photos horizontally as well as vertically.
When you set up a Photomerge panorama composition, you identify
the files you want to merge (called your
source files
), and then Photoshop Elements automatically
assembles them into a single panorama. After the panorama is complete,
you can still make changes to the placement of the individual photos, if
necessary.

Creating a Photomerge panorama
Your source photographs play a large role in panoramic compositions.
To avoid problems, follow these guidelines when taking pictures
for use with Photomerge Panorama:
- Overlap images sufficiently
-
Images should overlap approximately 15% to 40%. If the overlap
is less, Photomerge Panorama may not be able to automatically assemble
the panorama. If images overlap by 50% or more, it can be difficult to
work with them, and blending may not be as effective.
- Use a consistent focal length
-
Avoid using the zoom feature of your camera while taking
your pictures.
- Keep the camera level
-
Although Photomerge Panorama can process slight rotations
between pictures, a tilt of more than a few degrees can result in
errors when automatically assembling the panorama. Using a tripod
with a rotating head helps maintain camera alignment and viewpoint.

When photographing a panoramic scene from a high
place, the natural inclination is to keep the horizon level in the
viewfinder. However, this actually produces a noticeable rotation
between images. Try using a tripod to keep the camera level when
taking photographs in this situation.
- Stay in the same position
-
Try not to change your location as you take a series of photographs,
so that the pictures are from the same viewpoint. Using the optical
viewfinder with the camera held close to the eye helps keep the viewpoint
consistent. Or try using a tripod to keep the camera in
the same place.
- Avoid using distortion lenses
-
Lenses, such as fish-eye lenses, that noticeably distort
the image can interfere with Photomerge Panorama.
- Maintain the same exposure
-
Avoid using the flash in some pictures and not in others.
The advanced blending feature in Photomerge Panorama helps smooth
out different exposures, but extreme differences make alignment difficult.
Some digital cameras change exposure settings automatically as you take
pictures, so you may need to check your camera settings to be sure
that all the images have the same exposure.