Stitching panoramas question

[21tones]

I've done a search but can't find an answer to this question.
I'm going to try my first panoramas in a nice landscape area soon.
I understand the technique for taking the pictures ok.
Let's say I take 5 images in horizontal format to be stitched together. I'll probably be using Canon's Photostitch software.
How do you know what will be lost from the top and bottom of each of the 5 images when they are stitched together? Or can this be specified by the user?
I'm not talking about the areas of overlap that are needed, but the area at the top and bottom of each picture that will go in order to produce the long thin panorama.
I want to make sure I don't lose something that is integral to the composition.

I hope this makes sense!
Thanks
     

[Mt Spokane Photography]

It really does depend on the technique and the range you need to cover.  I'd do a quick and dirty one to get a feel for it.
I played with the Canon software just taking images by rotating the camera on my tripod.  Thats reasonably ok for distant scenes, but a problem for closer ones.  Still, they came out very well for my not having done it before.
Here is a link to the photos and the panorama.
http://www.mount-spokane-photography.com/Travel/Washington-State-Scenes/Panorama/24754282_5vwWj6

[cayenne]

I've done a search but can't find an answer to this question.
I'm going to try my first panoramas in a nice landscape area soon.
I understand the technique for taking the pictures ok.
Let's say I take 5 images in horizontal format to be stitched together. I'll probably be using Canon's Photostitch software.
How do you know what will be lost from the top and bottom of each of the 5 images when they are stitched together? Or can this be specified by the user?
I'm not talking about the areas of overlap that are needed, but the area at the top and bottom of each picture that will go in order to produce the long thin panorama.
I want to make sure I don't lose something that is integral to the composition.

I hope this makes sense!
Thanks
     

I did play with panoramas right after getting my first canon, the 5D3....and I learned a LOT about how to do them by watching tutorials on YouTube...and I used the open source too Hugin.

http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

The site above has some tutorials showing people shooting panoramas, and gives GREAT instructions.

I watched those..played around a bit...and was happy with my very first effort of Jackson Square in New Orleans.
I posted it here on a thread about landscapes I think...
Here's a horribly compressed version of it...but will show you how easy it is to get a decent result from just quick tutorial watches and reads with this tool...and it is VERY good at stitching stuff together.


I just sat and took pics, all hand held, trying to just overlap them in my head as I took snaps.
I did the whole scene a few times...and even shot down at the ground and up at the sky....with practice you can do some fun stuff with multiple shots...like 'edit' someone out of the image if you have more than one shot of the same area....you can get rid of objects this way too, the tutorials show how this very intelligent bit of software can do this...by shooting same area from different angles, and it can correct for that.

HTH,

cayenne

[21tones]

Thanks for your replies

[fotoray]

I've done a search but can't find an answer to this question.
I'm going to try my first panoramas in a nice landscape area soon.
I understand the technique for taking the pictures ok.
Let's say I take 5 images in horizontal format to be stitched together. I'll probably be using Canon's Photostitch software.
How do you know what will be lost from the top and bottom of each of the 5 images when they are stitched together? Or can this be specified by the user?
I'm not talking about the areas of overlap that are needed, but the area at the top and bottom of each picture that will go in order to produce the long thin panorama.
I want to make sure I don't lose something that is integral to the composition.

I hope this makes sense!
Thanks
     

Have you considered using vertical (portrait) format?  I think you have more control - more information in your final image - and less distortion - if you take your images in the vertical (portrait) format.