Let's do the twist...with your cameraphone
Add a lil’ wow factor to your feed…
…with panoramic photos taken with your smartphone.
While scrolling through my social media feeds recently, I’ve noticed that panoramic photos have gained a lot of popularity amongst the expert-based business owner community.
And it stands to reason: first, it’s an option that can be found on most smartphones, and two, they look pretty magical!
Here are some panoramic photos I’ve shared on social throughout the years:
These images truly paint a broad, compelling and interesting picture that can visually punctuate a wide variety of stories that they share with those they serve.
For example, a colleague booked a keynote at a tropical destination.
In her post, she used two images: a standard photo taken during the presentation inside the ballroom and a panoramic photo of the beach line outside the building. It served a wonderful contrast between work and play, and that was reflected in the story she shared with the pics.
Now, it’s one thing to say, “yes, I’d love to share some juicy panoramic shots with my audience!” and another to know how to actually capture a good one.
With that being said, here are some ways to help you create magical panoramic photos with your smartphone camera.
1 - Find an interesting vista that encapsulates the space and place in which you are
Whether a beach front, interesting street with cool architecture, or the inside of an empty ballroom before your talk, identify a location that looks interesting and compelling to you while keeping in mind that the shot is 180 degrees wide.
Also of note - try your best to avoid too much motion in the scene you’re looking to photograph. If you don’t, that could lead to creating weird visual artifacts in the shot and ruin the beauty of the overall photo.
Once that’s sorted, open up your smartphone camera and switch to panoramic mode. Your phone might label this function as PANO, as it does in the IPhone.
2 - Body posture
Once you’ve identified where you want to shoot and the camera is open, now it’s time to get yourself positioned properly to create. Your body serves as a moving tripod of sorts to keep the shot clean and sharp.
First, keep your feet shoulder width apart, feet pointing forward. Push your shoulders back, get your back straight and upright, and tuck your elbows to your sides while holding the phone vertically in front of you.
Don’t extend your arms out too far as that will create shakiness in the camera.
This posture will help keep the camera straight and level throughout the entirety of the camera movement.
3 - Time to make the magic
While maintaining this body posture, twist the top of your body as far to the left as you can go. This will be the starting point for the left side of the frame.
Make sure the image is not too bright or too dark by adjusting the brightness on your phone (check with your camera manufacturer to see how you can manually adjust the levels by touching the screen).
Also, keep your thumb close to the shutter button on the screen as it will come in handy at the conclusion of the shot.
Next, it’s time to hit the shutter and do the twist!
EASY with the dance moves, though.
Go as SLOWLY and STEADILY as possible. The slower and steadier you go, the better the focus of the overall shot will be.
As you complete your spin, get that thumb ready to hit the shutter button to save the photo. The closer it is to the button, the better, because if you have to move your hand to get to it, that creates a shake and that can affect the quality of the photo.
So do your due diligence with the thumb placement to avoid that unnecessary shake.
If you’re unhappy with the way the photo looks, simply reset and try again! Fortunately, you can keep trying until the cows come home!
4 - Post Production
One you’ve taken a photo you want to post, take a peek at the overall shot and determine whether you need to brighten or darken any areas of the photo by using the phone’s built-in editing functions.
Hopefully, you’ve created a work of art right in the camera, but sometimes, the shots can use a little added salt and pepper…and sometimes oregano, too :)
(If you aren’t sure how to properly post-edit your photos, I have an online course with a module dedicated to post-processing smartphone photos.)
And there you have it - panoramic photo magic with the press of a button :)
Give it a try and share your creations in the comment section below - I’d love to see them!