How To Create Spherical Panorama

Photoshop User Guide
Introduction to Photoshop
1. Dream it. Make it.
2. What's new in Photoshop
3. Edit your first photo
4. Create documents
5. Photoshop | Common Questions
6. Photoshop system requirements
7. Migrate presets, actions, and settings
8. Get to know Photoshop
Photoshop and Adobe services
1. Photoshop and Adobe Stock
2. Creative Cloud Libraries
3. Creative Cloud Libraries in Photoshop
4. Use the Touch Bar with Photoshop
5. Work with Illustrator artwork in Photoshop
6. Use the Capture in-app extension in Photoshop
7. Grid and guides
8. Creating actions
9. Undo and history
10. Default keyboard shortcuts
11. Touch capabilities and customizable workspaces
Photoshop on the iPad
1. Photoshop on the iPad | Common questions
2. Get to know the workspace
3. System requirements | Photoshop on the iPad
4. Create, open, and export documents
5. Add photos
6. Work with layers
7. Draw and paint with brushes
8. Make selections and add masks
9. Retouch your composites
10. Work with adjustment layers
11. Adjust the tonality of your composite with Curves
12. Apply transform operations
13. Crop and rotate your composites
14. Rotate, pan, zoom, and reset the canvas
15. Work with Type layers
16. Work with Photoshop and Lightroom
17. Get missing fonts in Photoshop on the iPad
18. Japanese Text in Photoshop on the iPad
19. Manage app settings
20. Touch shortcuts and gestures
21. Keyboard shortcuts
22. Edit your image size
23. Livestream as you create in Photoshop on the iPad
24. Correct imperfections with the Healing Brush
25. Create brushes in Capture and use them in Photoshop
26. Work with Camera Raw files
27. Create and work with Smart Objects
28. Adjust exposure in your images with Dodge and Burn
Photoshop on the web beta
1. Common questions | Photoshop on the web beta
2. Introduction to the workspace
3. System requirements | Photoshop on the web beta
4. Keyboard shortcuts | Photoshop on the web beta
5. Supported file types | Photoshop on the web beta
6. Open and work with cloud documents
7. Collaborate with stakeholders
8. Apply limited edits to your cloud documents
Cloud documents
1. Photoshop cloud documents | Common questions
2. Photoshop cloud documents | Workflow questions
3. Manage and work with cloud documents in Photoshop
4. Upgrade cloud storage for Photoshop
5. Unable to create or save a cloud document
6. Solve Photoshop cloud document errors
7. Collect cloud document sync logs
8. Share access and edit your cloud documents
9. Share files and comment in-app
Workspace
1. Workspace basics
2. Create documents
3. Use the Touch Bar with Photoshop
4. Microsoft Dial support in Photoshop
5. Tool galleries
6. Performance preferences
7. Use tools
8. Touch gestures
9. Touch capabilities and customizable workspaces
10. Technology previews
11. Metadata and notes
12. Quickly share your creations
13. Place Photoshop images in other applications
14. Preferences
15. Default keyboard shortcuts
16. Rulers
17. Show or hide non-printing Extras
18. Specify columns for an image
19. Undo and history
20. Panels and menus
21. Place files
22. Position elements with snapping
23. Position with the Ruler tool
24. Presets
25. Customize keyboard shortcuts
26. Grid and guides
Web, screen, and app design
1. Photoshop for design
2. Artboards
3. Device Preview
4. Copy CSS from layers
5. Slice web pages
6. HTML options for slices
7. Modify slice layout
8. Work with web graphics
9. Create web photo galleries
Image and color basics
1. How to resize images
2. Work with raster and vector images
3. Image size and resolution
4. Acquire images from cameras and scanners
5. Create, open, and import images
6. View images
7. Invalid JPEG Marker error | Opening images
8. Viewing multiple images
9. Customize color pickers and swatches
10. High dynamic range images
11. Match colors in your image
12. Convert between color modes
13. Color modes
14. Erase parts of an image
15. Blending modes
16. Choose colors
17. Customize indexed color tables
18. Image information
19. Distort filters are unavailable
20. About color
21. Color and monochrome adjustments using channels
22. Choose colors in the Color and Swatches panels
23. Sample
24. Color mode or Image mode
25. Color cast
26. Add a conditional mode change to an action
27. Add swatches from HTML CSS and SVG
28. Bit depth and preferences
Layers
1. Layer basics
2. Nondestructive editing
3. Create and manage layers and groups
4. Select, group, and link layers
5. Place images into frames
6. Layer opacity and blending
7. Mask layers
8. Apply Smart Filters
9. Layer comps
10. Move, stack, and lock layers
11. Mask layers with vector masks
12. Manage layers and groups
13. Layer effects and styles
14. Edit layer masks
15. Extract assets
16. Reveal layers with clipping masks
17. Generate image assets from layers
18. Work with Smart Objects
19. Blending modes
20. Combine multiple images into a group portrait
21. Combine images with Auto-Blend Layers
22. Align and distribute layers
23. Copy CSS from layers
24. Load selections from a layer or layer mask's boundaries
25. Knockout to reveal content from other layers
26. Layer
27. Flattening
28. Composite
29. Background
Selections
1. Select and Mask workspace
2. Make quick selections
3. Get started with selections
4. Select with the marquee tools
5. Select with the lasso tools
6. Select a color range in an image
7. Adjust pixel selections
8. Convert between paths and selection borders
9. Channel basics
10. Move, copy, and delete selected pixels
11. Create a temporary quick mask
12. Save selections and alpha channel masks
13. Select the image areas in focus
14. Duplicate, split, and merge channels
15. Channel calculations
16. Selection
17. Bounding box
Image adjustments
1. Perspective warp
2. Reduce camera shake blurring
3. Healing brush examples
4. Export color lookup tables
5. Adjust image sharpness and blur
6. Understand color adjustments
7. Apply a Brightness/Contrast adjustment
8. Adjust shadow and highlight detail
9. Levels adjustment
10. Adjust hue and saturation
11. Adjust vibrance
12. Adjust color saturation in image areas
13. Make quick tonal adjustments
14. Apply special color effects to images
15. Enhance your image with color balance adjustments
16. High dynamic range images
17. View histograms and pixel values
18. Match colors in your image
19. How to crop and straighten photos
20. Convert a color image to black and white
21. Adjustment and fill layers
22. Curves adjustment
23. Blending modes
24. Target images for press
25. Adjust color and tone with Levels and Curves eyedroppers
26. Adjust HDR exposure and toning
27. Filter
28. Blur
29. Dodge or burn image areas
30. Make selective color adjustments
31. Replace object colors
Adobe Camera Raw
1. Camera Raw system requirements
2. What's new in Camera Raw
3. Introduction to Camera Raw
4. Create panoramas
5. Supported lenses
6. Vignette, grain, and dehaze effects in Camera Raw
7. Default keyboard shortcuts
8. Automatic perspective correction in Camera Raw
9. How to make non-destructive edits in Camera Raw
10. Radial Filter in Camera Raw
11. Manage Camera Raw settings
12. Open, process, and save images in Camera Raw
13. Repair images with the Enhanced Spot Removal tool in Camera Raw
14. Rotate, crop, and adjust images
15. Adjust color rendering in Camera Raw
16. Feature summary | Adobe Camera Raw | 2018 releases
17. New features summary
18. Process versions in Camera Raw
19. Make local adjustments in Camera Raw
Image repair and restoration
1. Remove objects from your photos with Content-Aware Fill
2. Content-Aware Patch and Move
3. Retouch and repair photos
4. Correct image distortion and noise
5. Basic troubleshooting steps to fix most issues
Image transformations
1. Transform objects
2. Adjust crop, rotation, and canvas size
3. How to crop and straighten photos
4. Create and edit panoramic images
5. Warp images, shapes, and paths
6. Vanishing Point
7. Use the Liquify filter
8. Content-aware scaling
9. Transform images, shapes, and paths
10. Warp
11. Transform
12. Panorama
Drawing and painting
1. Paint symmetrical patterns
2. Draw rectangles and modify stroke options
3. About drawing
4. Draw and edit shapes
5. Painting tools
6. Create and modify brushes
7. Blending modes
8. Add color to paths
9. Edit paths
10. Paint with the Mixer Brush
11. Brush presets
12. Gradients
13. Gradient interpolation
14. Fill and stroke selections, layers, and paths
15. Draw with the Pen tools
16. Create patterns
17. Generate a pattern using the Pattern Maker
18. Manage paths
19. Manage pattern libraries and presets
20. Draw or paint with a graphics tablet
21. Create textured brushes
22. Add dynamic elements to brushes
23. Gradient
24. Paint stylized strokes with the Art History Brush
25. Paint with a pattern
26. Sync presets on multiple devices
Text
1. Work with OpenType SVG fonts
2. Format characters
3. Format paragraphs
4. How to create type effects
5. Edit text
6. Line and character spacing
7. Arabic and Hebrew type
8. Fonts
9. Troubleshoot fonts
10. Asian type
11. Create type
12. Text Engine error using Type tool in Photoshop | Windows 8
13. World-Ready composer for Asian Scripts
14. How to add and edit the text in Photoshop
Video and animation
1. Video editing in Photoshop
2. Edit video and animation layers
3. Video and animation overview
4. Preview video and animations
5. Paint frames in video layers
6. Import video files and image sequences
7. Create frame animations
8. Creative Cloud 3D Animation (Preview)
9. Create timeline animations
10. Create images for video
Filters and effects
1. Use the Liquify filter
2. Use the Blur Gallery
3. Filter basics
4. Filter effects reference
5. Add Lighting Effects
6. Use the Adaptive Wide Angle filter
7. Use the Oil Paint filter
8. Layer effects and styles
9. Apply specific filters
10. Smudge image areas
Saving and exporting
1. Save your files in Photoshop
2. Export your files in Photoshop
3. Supported file formats
4. Save files in graphics formats
5. Move designs between Photoshop and Illustrator
6. Save and export video and animations
7. Save PDF files
8. Digimarc copyright protection
Printing
1. Print 3D objects
2. Print from Photoshop
3. Print with color management
4. Contact Sheets and PDF Presentations
5. Print photos in a picture package layout
6. Print spot colors
7. Duotones
8. Print images to a commercial printing press
9. Improve color prints from Photoshop
10. Troubleshoot printing problems | Photoshop
Automation
1. Creating actions
2. Create data-driven graphics
3. Scripting
4. Process a batch of files
5. Play and manage actions
6. Add conditional actions
7. About actions and the Actions panel
8. Record tools in actions
9. Add a conditional mode change to an action
10. Photoshop UI toolkit for plug-ins and scripts
Color Management
1. Understanding color management
2. Keeping colors consistent
3. Color settings
4. Work with color profiles
5. Color-managing documents for online viewing
6. Color-managing documents when printing
7. Color-managing imported images
8. Proofing colors
Content authenticity
1. Learn about content credentials
2. Identity and provenance for NFTs
3. Connect accounts for creative attribution
3D and technical imaging
1. Photoshop 3D | Common questions around discontinued 3D features
2. Creative Cloud 3D Animation (Preview)
3. Print 3D objects
4. 3D painting
5. 3D panel enhancements | Photoshop
6. Essential 3D concepts and tools
7. 3D rendering and saving
8. Create 3D objects and animations
9. Image stacks
10. 3D workflow
11. Measurement
12. DICOM files
13. Photoshop and MATLAB
14. Count objects in an image
15. Combine and convert 3D objects
16. 3D texture editing
17. Adjust HDR exposure and toning
18. 3D panel settings

Create panoramic images with Photomerge

About Photomerge

The Photomerge™ command combines several photographs into one continuous image. For example, you can take five overlapping photographs of a city skyline, and then merge them into a panorama. The Photomerge command can assemble photos that are tiled horizontally as well as vertically.

Source images (top), and completed Photomerge composition (bottom)

Take pictures for Photomerge

Your source photographs play a large role in panoramic compositions. To avoid problems, follow these guidelines when taking pictures for use with Photomerge:

Overlap images sufficiently

Images should overlap by approximately 40%. If the overlap is less, Photomerge may not be able to automatically assemble the panorama. However, keep in mind that the images shouldn't overlap too much. If images overlap by 70% or more, Photomerge may not be able to blend the images. Try to keep the individual photos at least somewhat distinct from each other.

Use one focal length

If you use a zoom lens, don't change the focal length (zoom in or out) while taking your pictures.

Keep the camera level

Although Photomerge can process slight rotations between pictures, a tilt of more than a few degrees can result in errors when the panorama is assembled. Using a tripod with a rotating head helps maintain camera alignment and viewpoint.

Stay in the same position

Try not to change your position 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

Distortion lenses can interfere with Photomerge. However, the Auto option adjusts for images taken with fish-eye lenses.

Maintain the same exposure

Avoid using the flash in some pictures and not in others. The blending features in Photomerge 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.

Create a Photomerge composition

Choose File > Automate > Photomerge.

Under Source Files in the Photomerge dialog box, choose one of the following from the Use menu:

Files

Generates the Photomerge composition using individual files.

Folders

Uses all the images stored in a folder to create the Photomerge composition.

Specify which images to use by doing one of the following:

To select image files or a folder of images, click the Browse button and navigate to the files or folder.
To use the images currently open in Photoshop, click Add Open Files.
To remove images from the Source File list, select the file and click the Remove button.

Auto

Photoshop analyzes the source images and applies either a Perspective, Cylindrical, and Spherical layout, depending on which produces a better photomerge.

Perspective

Creates a consistent composition by designating one of the source images (by default, the middle image) as the reference image. The other images are then transformed (repositioned, stretched or skewed as necessary) so that overlapping content across layers is matched.

Cylindrical

Reduces the "bow‑tie" distortion that can occur with the Perspective layout by displaying individual images as on an unfolded cylinder. Overlapping content across files is still matched. The reference image is placed at the center. Best suited for creating wide panoramas.

Spherical

Aligns and transforms the images as if they were for mapping the inside of a sphere, which simulates the experience of viewing a 360-degree panorama. If you have taken a set of images that cover 360 degrees, use this for 360 degree panoramas. You might also use Spherical to produce nice panoramic results with other file sets.

Collage

Aligns the layers and matches overlapping content and transforms (rotate or scale) any of the source layers.

Reposition

Aligns the layers and matches overlapping content, but does not transform (stretch or skew) any of the source layers.

Select any of the following options:

Blend Images Together

Finds the optimal borders between the images and creates seams based on those borders, and color matches the images. With Blend Images Together turned off, a simple rectangular blend is performed. This may be preferable if you intend to retouch the blending masks by hand.

Vignette Removal

Removes and performs exposure compensation in images that have darkened edges caused by lens flaws or improper lens shading.

Geometric Distortion Correction

Compensates for barrel, pincushion, or fisheye distortion.

Content Aware Fill Transparent Areas

Seamlessly fill the transparent areas with similar image content nearby.

Photoshop creates one multi‑layer image from the source images, adding layer masks as needed to create optimal blending where the images overlap. You can edit the layer masks or add adjustment layers to further fine-tune the different areas of the panorama.

Create 360-degree panoramas

Devices such as the Ricoh Theta V and Insta360One let you capture full 360 panoramic images in a single take. Alternatively, you can combine Photomerge with 3D features to create a 360-degree panorama. First, you stitch together the images to create a panorama; then you use the Spherical Panorama command to wrap the panorama so it's continuous.

Be sure to photograph a full circle of images with sufficient overlap. Photographing with a pano head on a tripod helps produce better results.

Choose File > Automate > Photomerge.

In the Photomerge dialog box, add the images you want to use.

Do not include images that cover the top (zenith) or bottom (nadir) of the scene. You'll add these images later.

Select Spherical for the Layout.

If you photographed with a fisheye lens, select the Auto layout and Geometric Distortion Correction. If Photoshop cannot automatically identify your lens, download the free Adobe Lens Profile Creator from the Adobe website.

(Optional) Select Vignette Removal or Geometric Distortion for the Lens Correction.

(Optional) Select Content Aware Fill Transparent Areas to avoid transparent pixels on the edges of the panoramic image.

Choose 3D > New Shape From Layer > Spherical Panorama.

(Optional) Manually add the top and bottom images into the sphere. You could also paint out any remaining transparent pixels in the 3D spherical panorama layer.

Edit panoramas

Introduced in the October 2017 release of Photoshop CC.

You can edit equirectangular spherical panoramas in Photoshop. With the panorama asset imported and its layer selected, invoke the panoramic viewer by choosing 3D > Spherical Panorama > New Panorama Layer From Selected Layer. Alternatively, directly load a spherical panorama from your system into the viewer by selecting3D > Spherical Panorama > Import Panorama.

Once you've opened a panorama in the viewer, you can perform a variety of operations on it.

Rotate the camera view around

Photoshop lets you adjust the camera view for your panoramic image.

Select the Move tool.
Click and drag in the view to look around inside the panoramic image.

panorama_rotate-view — Rotate the camera view using the Move tool in Photoshop

Adjust the field of view

The Properties Panel in Photoshop displays the camera properties. Here, you can adjust the field of view of the camera in mm (as in a 35mm camera) or degrees.

You can also click and drag the Axis widget controls available in the lower-left corner of the document window in Photoshop to rotate the camera without switching back to the Move tool.

panorama-adjust-field-view — Adjust the field of view using the Axis widget controls

Paint on the panorama

You can use the painting and adjustment tools available in Photoshop such as the Healing Brush and the Spot Healing Brush to edit the panorama. Filters work only on the visible portion of the panorama. Accordingly, it is recommended that you isolate the image outside the 3D view to apply the filters to your panoramic image.

The workflow given below uses the Spot Healing Brush tool as an example.

Choose File> Open and select the name of the file you want to open.

Choose 3D > Spherical Panorama > New Panorama Layer From Selected Layer.

Select the Spot Healing Brush tool. Ensure that Projection is selected as the Paint System in the Properties panel.

Click the area you want to fix, or click and drag to smooth over imperfections in a larger area. For details, see Retouch with the Spot Healing Brush tool.

Note:

To improve the quality and performance while painting your panoramic image, create a new layer above the panoramic layer. After editing this layer, choose the Merge Down option from the Layers panel menu or pressCtrl/Command+E.
To apply filters to the entire panorama, double-click the layer titled Spherical Map in the Layers panel, edit as desired, and then save the file. The image automatically gets updated in the spherical layout.

To export the image, choose 3D > Spherical Panorama > Export Panorama.