Assembling Panoramic Photos: A Designer's Notebook

4.5. Stage 5

4.5.1. Manipulations

The black line of the milling machine table leads the viewer's eye along a horizontal line, which is reinforced by the picture's panoramic format. This all helps distract the viewer from minor faults in the perspective of the picture. If you look at the table in the center of the picture, you notice it has a slight bend. Do you suppose it was built that way?

The last character was the closest to the light source, and was too brightly lit. The fuse box at the upper right of the picture was too bright as well, so I outlined it with the Magnetic Lasso and adjusted its brightness and contrast.

For retouching and selections, I use a 6-inch high-resolution Wacom graphic tablet and stylus, so I can easily and precisely adjust pressure.

The more the image is manipulated, the more

believable it seems, which is kind of disturbing when you think about it.

I then merged all these images and adjusted the intensity and light on the last character. Finally, I added a Curves adjustment layer to reduce the green tones and shift toward a warmer, more enclosed feel.

I tried not to change the original colors too much. Using curves is very tempting, but they can have a strong impact on your final picture. You have to go slow, and keep your final goal in mind.