An HDR panorama is built by shooting several exposures at every position across a scene, merging each set into one high dynamic range frame, and then stitching those merged frames into a single wide image. The key is keeping everything except the exposure identical from shot to shot, so the software has clean, matching material to work with.
Plan the Scene and Gear
This technique suits scenes with a big gap between bright sky and dark foreground, such as sunsets over cities or interiors with bright windows. A tripod makes the job far easier, and a panoramic head or a level base helps keep the camera turning around the lens rather than around the tripod screw.
- Use a tripod with a level base so the horizon stays straight as you rotate.
- Shoot in raw to keep as much tone information as possible.
- Choose a focal length that gives you room to crop, since stitched edges are often uneven.
Camera Settings for Every Frame
Switch to manual focus, manual white balance and manual exposure mode so nothing shifts between positions. Pick an aperture around f/8 to f/11 as a baseline for good depth of field, and set the lowest native ISO. The values below are general guidance, so adjust them for your scene.
| Setting | General guidance |
|---|---|
| Focus | Manual, set once and left alone |
| White balance | Fixed value, not auto |
| Bracket size | Three to five frames, one to two stops apart |
| Overlap | About 25 to 40 percent between positions |
Shooting the Sequence
- Level the tripod and frame the leftmost part of the scene.
- Meter for the middle exposure, then set auto exposure bracketing with a fast drive mode or a remote release.
- Fire the full bracket at the first position without touching the camera.
- Rotate to the next position, keeping the overlap consistent, and fire another full bracket.
- Repeat until the scene is covered, then take one extra frame of your hand or a lens cap to mark the end of the set.
If people or clouds move quickly, work fast and keep the same rhythm at each position so changes stay small between neighbouring frames.
Merging and Stitching in Post
There are two common orders of work. The usual one is to merge each bracket into an HDR frame first, then stitch the merged frames. Many editors can also do both in one step, which is quicker but gives you less control.
- Import all frames and group them by position.
- Merge each group with ghost removal turned on if anything moved.
- Apply the same lens profile and basic tone settings to every merged frame.
- Stitch with a projection that suits the scene, such as cylindrical for wide landscapes.
- Crop or use a boundary fill, then finish with local contrast and colour adjustments.
Keep tone mapping gentle. Heavy sliders tend to create halos along the skyline and make the seams between frames easier to see.
FAQ
Should I merge first or stitch first?
Merging first is the more common route because each position gets its own clean HDR file before the stitch. Stitching first can work when the lighting is steady, but it asks the software to align frames of different brightness, which can cause errors.
Can I do this handheld?
It is possible in bright light with a fast burst, but alignment errors are more likely. A tripod gives cleaner overlap and fewer ghosting problems, especially with three or more frames per position.
The Short Version
Lock your focus, white balance and exposure mode, shoot a full bracket at each position with generous overlap, merge each set, and then stitch the merged frames. Keep tone mapping modest and confirm the exact merge and stitch options in your own editing software.
