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Creating Panoramas, 3D Images, HDR Images, PDF Slideshows, and Multiexposures
Multi-exposures
Panoramas
The Panorama function is offered in the Create section of the top menu. Use it to put together a panoramic photo from several individual source pictures. The source pictures must have been taken with a certain amount of overlap, so that they can be joined properly. The stitching process itself is then performed entirely automatically by a special window that leads you through the process in a few steps.
Selecting Images
Select the pictures to be used in the panorama. To select a picture, click on it.
Sorting the Pictures
Once the pictures have been loaded, they are analyzed, and the program tries to guess the desired panorama type and the order of the pictures. If this guess was incorrect, fix it manually using the controls here – both the panorama type and the picture order can be changed. Pictures can also be reordered via drag-and-drop.
Joining Pictures
Before the actual joining of the pictures, it is necessary to indicate the focal length of the lens with which the individual pictures were taken. This information is calculated automatically, but advanced users can set it manually if desired. To manually set focal length for a panorama, you need to know the focal length equivalent for 35 mm film. To determine it, multiply the actual focal length by the ratio of the diagonal of a 35mm film field to the diagonal of the given camera’s sensor. (The diagonal of a 35mm film field is 43mm long.) Click Determine to open the Determine Focal Length window. In this window, you enter either the multiplication factor or the sensor size of the camera with which the pictures were taken. (The sensor size should be mentioned in the camera’s manual.) Once you click OK, the equivalent focal length is determined automatically and meanwhile the multiplication factor is also saved, so that for all future pictures from the same camera, the equivalent focal length is determined automatically. If the picture’s EXIF data does not include focal length information, then the Determine button is grayed out and the focal length equivalent must be entered directly.
To start the actual assembling of the panorama, click Join. Once the panorama has been assembled, the Next button becomes active, enabling you to continue to the next step of the wizard.
Edit Connections
In this step, you can manually correct the automatically-determined joining points between source pictures. During automatic joining, the program finds, for each pair of neighboring pictures, points contained in both of those pictures. Then it uses these pairs of points to calculate any eventual shifting and rotation of the pictures against each other. If any of the joins is less than ideal, then click the red framed area enclosing that join.
This displays a window showing the pair of photos that meet in the given join. Each of the shared points that define the join is shown for each of the two pictures. The points are color-coded by pair. You can use the mouse to reposition these points, or enter new points by clicking in the places where you want them. (The program tries to automatically find the position of the paired point in the other picture.)
You can erase a point by clicking the Erase Point button or pressing [Del]. Click Delete All Points to erase all shared points. For correct joining, you need at least two points; the maximum you can enter is 12 shared points. To make your joins as precise as possible, use as many points as you can, and distribute them evenly throughout the join area. Also, emphasize places with high contrast (objects’ corners, etc.). If the Optimize point position option is active, then it is enough to enter the position of a shared point only approximately; the program then seeks out an optimal position for it.
A horizon line is also shown on the panorama. This line sets the panorama’s virtual horizon. If your panorama is forming an unpleasant “arc,” move this line up or down to solve the problem. To rotate the horizon line, and thus the panorama as a whole, use the mark at the right edge.
Crop
Because the source pictures are usually variously shifted against each other, the final panorama generally needs cropping. In this step, you can enter the cropping borders, although the program tries to guess a suitable crop automatically. The program’s guess is the crop displayed when you enter this step.
Finalizing
After you click Next in the cropping step, the panorama is assembled at full size and then the last step in the wizard is displayed. In this step, you can Save… the panorama to a file, or use Open in Editorto open it in the Editor, where you can finalize it.
More Information
Shoot, Open, Stitch—Here’s How to Create a Panorama
How Can You Get Stronger Bokeh? A Panorama Can Help!
3D Images
The 3D Images feature is offered in the Create section of the Manager’s top menu and can be used to create stereoscopic pictures that are viewable in 3D with the aid of special equipment. To create such pictures, you need two special source shots that are then joined into a single 3D picture.
Creating source pictures is fairly simple, and you do not need any special tools—you just take two shots of the subject from two slightly different angles. When taking the second shot, you move the camera by about the distance between an average pair of eyes (around 2 1/2 inches: 6-7 centimeters).
After you choose the two source images, Zoner Studio tries to Find Shared Points. Using these points, it tries to compose the 3D image precisely even in cases where you turned, raised, or lowered the camera between the two shots. To delete any improperly detected shared points, select them and click Delete Selected Point or press [Del]. To delete all shared points, click Delete All Points. To add new points, click on the previews. The most points you can add is 12.
It is important to ensure that the left photo is on the left and the right photo is on the right. If the photos are switched, the final picture will not look 3D. If you do need to swap them, you can do so using the button named Left < — > Right.
The second step of the wizard is where the 3D image is actually created. Choose a 3D image type to set what method will be used to deliver depth information. The Anaglyph type stores depth information in the individual color channels. Viewing an anaglyph in 3D requires glasses with colored filters. The next type is JPS/PNS, which is based on placing the left and right source picture right next to each other; the resulting double-width image is then encoded to JPEG (JPS) or to PNG (PNS). Applications that support this format can determine the file format based on the extension and divide it into the two source pictures. The last type is MPO, which is the de facto standard for storing stereoscopic pictures and is supported by a wide range of devices (cameras, 3D televisions, etc.).
For the Anaglyph image type, there are also four anaglyph types available. Black-and-white makes the program convert the source pictures to grayscale and then from grayscale to the target colors. The remaining three methods create color anaglyphs. Color retains all colors. This may work poorly if the image contains large bright-red areas. To create aesthetically pleasing anaglyphs of scenes with such red areas, use Half-color, which weakens the red channel by an amount of your choice. To weaken the red channel further, use Optimized. Then use the Red Channel Level slider to set the amount of weakening.
Use the arrow buttons to manually correct the positions and rotations of the pictures against each other. Use the button in the middle of them to cancel your manual adjustments. To ensure that unjoined edge regions are removed automatically, leave the factory setting for Crop. Use the preview pane to preview the result. PNS/JPS and MPO images are only viewable in 3D using special software. To preview 3D images in these formats when that software is not at hand, force an anaglyph-style preview using the Preview Type control.
In the last step, save the 3D image or, for anaglyphs, open it in the Editor for further edits if desired.
Support for the MPO, JPS, PNS, and BMS Formats
For source pictures in normal image formats, two source files are always necessary, but some specialized formats can contain both source pictures in a single file. In this case, just select that one file, and the program will read both source pictures automatically.
Some persons with vision defects do not see anaglyph-type 3D pictures in 3D.
Exposure Blending HDR
The HDR via Exposure Blending function is a way to produce a picture with High Dynamic Range. It is offered in the Create section of the Manager’s top menu, and it assembles the HDR picture from multiple source pictures taken at different exposure levels.
This function helps solve the problem of the limited dynamic range of camera sensors. Because of this limited range, digital cameras cannot satisfactorily capture scenes with large differences in brightness, like a dark forest beneath a bright sky, or a dark room with light pouring in from a window. Since a photograph cannot capture a scene with such a large exposure range in a way that captures details in all parts of the scene, the photographer is forced to “sacrifice” details in either the light or the dark areas. But if the photographer can take three pictures identical except for their exposure – underexposed, overexposed, and “medium” – they can take advantage of HDR. Zoner Studio can then use the most detailed areas from each shot to put together a new picture.
HDR pictures are normally composed from three shots, but sometimes two are enough, that is, either normal + underexposed (to capture lights), normal + overexposed (to capture shadows), or under/overexposed. After selecting source pictures in the Browser, use Create | HDR via Exposure Mapping… to start the wizard. To fix any mistakes you might have in your selection, use the wizard’s first step. In the next step, the pictures are automatically aligned. Double-check the alignment and manually fix it here if needed. For advice on checking and fixing alignment, see the Help section for Aligning Pictures, as this function contains a similar window.
Use the next step to set which picture is properly exposed, which is underexposed, and which is overexposed. The program will try to order the pictures automatically. However, you can also reorder them by dragging and dropping them. In the next step, the HDR picture is actually created. You can use several settings to influence how it will look.
The various settings are separate for lights and for shadows, but their meaning is the same for both. Use Transition threshold to set the brightness level beyond which a pixel in the underexposed/overexposed picture is copied into the “medium” picture. However, this threshold need not be a sharp one; pixels from the source pictures can be phased in gradually. To set the width of such gradual transitions, use Transition smoothness. However, even with this sort of smooth transition, the border between the original and the changed part of the picture can be quite visible. You can alleviate this by using what is called an unsharp mask to blend the edit into the surrounding pixels as well. You can change the mask’s unsharpness using Mask blurring. The last setting is Intensity, which sets the ratio between the original picture and the one being copied in.
Use the buttons in the last step to save the final HDR picture to file or open it in the Editor so you can continue editing it.
More Information
Add Color and Dynamism to Your Photos with HDR
Highlight the Wisdom of Age With HDR
How to Create HDR Photographs in a Few Easy Steps
Tone Mapping HDR
The HDR via Tone Mapping feature is offered in the Create section of the Manager’s top menu and can be used to combine several photographs with varying exposure ranges into a single picture via tone mapping. Unlike Exposure Blending HDR, it enables work with an unlimited number of source pictures.
This function helps solve the problem of the limited dynamic range of camera sensors. Because of this limited range, digital cameras cannot satisfactorily capture scenes with large differences in brightness, like a dark forest beneath a bright sky, or a dark room with light pouring in from a window. Since a photograph cannot capture a scene with such a large exposure range in a way that captures details in all parts of the scene, the photographer is forced to “sacrifice” detail in either the light or the dark areas. However, if the photographer prepares several shots that are identical except for their exposure levels, tone mapping HDR can be used. Zoner Studio then uses the most relevant parts out of each of these images and assembles them together to create a new HDR image, to which tone mapping is then applied.
An unlimited number of source pictures can be used for tone mapping HDR. After selecting source pictures in the Browser, use Create | Tone Mapping HDR. To create an HDR image, the program must know the exposure value (EV) of each source picture. Darker pictures have lower exposure values than light ones. The exposure value is taken automatically from EXIF using the data for aperture, exposure time, and ISO. If there is not enough data available for that, the EV must be entered manually. Click Set to set the exposure value difference between pictures. Alternatively, a separate exposure value can be entered for each picture. In the next step, the pictures are automatically aligned. Double-check the alignment and manually fix it here if needed. For advice on checking and fixing alignment, see the Help topic named Aligning Pictures, as that function contains a similar window. In the next step the HDR image is actually created, and tone mapping is initialized. Various settings are provided there for influencing the final output.
Brightness Method works exclusively with the Brightness value. Use this method to maximize the suppression of picture’s lights and shadows. It lightens dark regions and darkens light regions. Contrast method works with contrast values in the area around a given pixel. This method emphasizes details and leaves the original distribution of light and shadow in the picture intact. Use the settings here for fine-tuning.
Use Intensity to set how strongly the tone mapping affects surrounding pixels. Compression determines how strongly the whole HDR dynamic range will be represented in the final output. Use Light to suppress lights and shadows effects. To set color intensity, use Saturation. Use Gamma to shape the gamma correction curve. The White Color and Black Color settings determine the “cutoff” percentages for the effect. Lights Intensity and Shadows Intensity set how strongly the effect is applied in the picture’s lights/in its shadows.
In the last step, you can either save the final HDR picture to file or open it in the Editor, where you can continue editing it.
Note that one possible and even attractive use of tone mapping HDR is the creation of HDR from one single image (typically JPEG or RAW).
More information
Add Color and Dynamism to Your Photos with HDR
How to Create HDR Photographs in a Few Easy Steps
PDF Slideshows
The PDF Slideshow function, offered in the Create section of the Manager’s top menu, is used for creating a PDF slideshow. This is a standard PDF file that contains one full-page photograph per page. During slideshow generation, you can set the way each photo (page) in the slideshow will be displayed. This means the Transition effect used and the amount of time to Show (the) image for – these can be set individually for each picture. Click Apply to All to apply the selected effect and display time to all pictures. You can also give the whole document a unified effect display time (Show effect for) and you can set a soundtrack. The soundtrack can be in the MP3, WAV, MIDI, AIFF or AU format. When possible, use MP3, because of its advanced compression.
For your audience to see your slideshow as intended, they need to have Adobe Reader 6 or higher on their computer. (It is unlikely that they will not.) Older versions of Adobe Reader and other PDF viewers (e.g. GSView) will display the photos only, without the transition effects and the soundtrack.
Removing Noise using Multi-exposures
The Remove Noise function is located in the Manager module’s top menu under Create | Multi-exposures. Use it to reduce the noise in a photo by blending multiple source pictures. The pictures should be taken quickly one after another. Make sure to move the camera as little as possible while taking them, because even a small shift can cause large changes in perspective, making it hard to assemble the new picture.Cameras’ functions for taking quick series of pictures are very useful here. About 4-6 shots is best. With fewer, the noise reduction is smaller than it could be. With more, the risk of nudging the camera during the series is greater.
After you choose source pictures and start up this function, the pictures are automatically aligned. The alignment can be checked here and manually adjusted if needed. For a description of how to check and manually adjust alignment, see the Align Pictures function, which contains the same window. In the next step, the sharpened picture is generated. Use the settings here to influence the results.
Use Crop to crop away edge areas where the source shots have not perfectly overlapped. Small shifts of the camera between pictures are normal for shots taken by hand, so pictures need to be aligned. This process is not always perfect, so edge areas may be blurred. Use the Sharpen option to eliminate this blurring. If some objects have changed position between shots, use the option named Remove differences between pictures and if necessary use the Amount to remove slider to fix the problem. Use the lowest slider level that works, because higher levels can mean less noise reduction: with strong reduction, in pictures with a high degree of noise, the noise can be mistaken for a change in the picture, and thus not reduced. But areas that contain removed differences between pictures always receive less noise reduction than other areas. This option can also be useful even when a scene contained no moving objects. If the camera position shifted heavily between shots, it can be hard for the program to align them well. Use this option to eliminate e.g. doubled contours caused by poorly aligned source pictures.
In the last step, you can either save the final picture to file or open it in the Editor, where you can continue editing it.
Removing Moving Objects
The Remove Moving Objects feature is offered in the Manager menu under Create | Multi-exposures. Use this function when you want to photograph a certain object, but other objects that you do not want in the picture keep moving around it—for example a monument surrounded by tourists. Prepare for this function by taking pictures of the object at several time intervals. Then use the function to join them into a single picture. For each part of the final picture, the function only uses the part of the picture that best matches the other pictures. Therefore, when taking your source pictures, make sure that for every area in the picture’s subject, there are at least two shots where nothing is blocking it. Although shots from a tripod work best, you can also shoot by hand—the function straightens them out before starting. We strongly recommend using exposure locking and manual white balance for your source shots.
After you choose source pictures and start up this function, the pictures are automatically aligned. The alignment can be checked here and manually adjusted if needed. For a description of how to check and manually adjust alignment, see the Align Pictures function, which contains the same window. In the next step, the pictures are automatically aligned (straightened). Double-check the alignment and manually fix it here if needed. For advice on checking and fixing alignment, see the Help section for Align Pictures, which contains a similar window. In the next step, the final picture is created. Use Blur edges for smooth transitions between parts taken from different pictures. Use Duplicate Objects to bring all the removed objects back into the final picture. Use this technique for creative images where e.g. a single object in a photo is in several different places in the picture.
With poor source materials, the final output can sometimes contain scraps of the objects that were removed. Use manual correction to handle this. In the place that you wish to adjust, drag out a frame, and in the next step of the wizard, choose which source picture to use for the area in the frame.
In the last step, you can either save the final picture to file or open it in the Editor, where you can continue editing it.
More information
Turn 4 Pictures Into 1 With Multiple Exposure Technique
[Infographic] Duplicate objects in your pictures using multi-exposures
Aligning Pictures
The Align Pictures function is offered in the Manager menu under Create | Multi-exposures. Use it to unify the alignment of pictures that were taken from the same spot without using a tripod. After you select source pictures and start up this function, the program tries to find points shared between the different pictures and use these to align the pictures. The pictures are always auto-aligned to the first picture in your selection. A list of all the source pictures is shown in the left part of the window. To visually check a picture’s alignment against the first picture, click it and examine it on the right. Use the buttons under the preview to toggle the display in the preview pane between the aligned picture, the first picture, and the one overlaid above the other.
If no shared points could be found for a given picture or it is badly aligned, edit the shared points manually using Edit Shared Points. During shared point editing, the right part of the window shows the two pictures and their shared points aside each other. Click a spot in either picture to add a shared point. The program automatically adds its equivalent to the other picture. Click and drag a point to move it. To delete a point, press [Delete] or click Delete Selected Point; click Delete All Points to remove all shared points. To help check alignment during editing, use the buttons on the right to see how the program has overlapped the pictures. Click Save Added Points to exit editing and align the picture based on the newly added shared points. Click Cancel Shared Point Editing to restore the state before you started editing.
Use Crop to crop away edge areas where the source shots have not perfectly overlapped.
Use the last step of this window to configure how the picture files are saved. Use it to, for example, add a useful suffix to the names of the individual files, and choose a folder and format for saving the files.