Is there any image stitching software that is truly easy to use?

tonylong wrote in post #18166702
Tom, were those results you got above gotten from following the directions here? If so, good for you!

Tony, I have not done any image stitching yet. The 6 images posted above are all single frames, taken so that they can be stitched together. The image I posted at the very beginning of this thread is also a single frame - but of the entire scene. I took that image first, before I zoomed in and took the ones that I intended to use for the stitched pano.

tonylong wrote in post #18166702
If you can do a 2-shot pano, then a 6-shot pano will be similar, but you'll be working with/blending 6 shots, a bit more complicated. However, to start with, you could take the 2-shot panos and then blend them!

True - I suppose I could! But what I am really looking for is software where you just drag all of the images into a window, and then click on "STITCH", and the software figures it all out from there.

tonylong wrote in post #18166702
One thing that's not clear, did you open those originals as RAW files? If so, then you were using Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) to open them prior to opening them to blend in the PS editor.

I don't have or use ACR. But they are RAW files (at least they were shot as RAW files). I use Apple's newer program, "Photos", and before that I used iPhoto. All I ever shoot are RAWs, but I have never had or used ACR. Photos and iPhoto are not only photo editing programs, they are also RAW converters. So with these programs there is no need to work with a RAW image in one program and then having to transfer the image to some other program - iPhoto and Photos pretty much do it all in one streamlined step! VERY user friendly.

So, I guess what I want to make clear is that I never had any of these images in ACR, and I have never had any of them in PhotoShop. Haven't even opened PhotoShop in months.

tonylong wrote in post #18166702
Although you can blend other image formats (such as jpegs or tiffs), it can be very valuable to start with the Raw files in ACR. This way you can do things like tweak your White Balance, Exposure/Contrast and input sharpening before dong the stitching.

I have already taken those 6 frames and tweaked the white balance and tint in "Photos". Exposure is already rather consistent, as I shot those images in manual mode.

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Tom,

I have been following this thread since it started due to wanting to learn how to stitch photos.

I went out the other day to take some photos to see if I could do it as I am not very good at Photo shop. I took three photos and attempted to merge them. I could get two to merge but not the third. I think I did not have enough overlap on the third.

I decided to try merging yours and was successful

I dragged your files into Elements 11 went to Enhance > Photomerge Panoramic. Made sure on the opening screen it was set to automatic and clicked on "Add Open Files" then clicked again and let Elements do its thing.

I was amazed that it worked so easy.

If I can do it - you can as well

Wanted to add … It took less than ten minutes!

And nice shots!

Tom, it looks like Elements will do the job for you!

I thought you said that you had used the standard Photoshop in the past, do you still have it?

If s, just know that ACR is "built in" to Photoshop. It was a "late" add-on/plug-in, but since PS CS1 it has been built in. So, if you open a Raw file in Photoshop it first has to go through Raw conversion, although with ACR you have some very good tools to use in processing those Raw files. From there it a quick trip to the PS editor to blend/stitch.

Know that Photoshop has "led the way", the Standard Bearer for so much photo processing, well, as a result PS has become quite loaded with tools/capabilities. However, as you've seen, other software developers have worked hard to "catch up", a good thing, it just that many of us have spent years learning and working with PS, and then Lightroom as a "companion" to organize as well as to process our photo images. For me, Lightroom has done an excellent job over the years, gosh, 10 years since its Beta release, and if I have "special" needs, the PS editor can be a quick trip to the candy shop! So, I haven't bothered with searching out other stuff! But yeah, in recent years, like i said, competition has been quite active, so look before you leap!

Patrick_E wrote in post #18166755
I have been following this thread since it started due to wanting to learn how to stitch photos.

I decided to try merging yours and was successful

I dragged your files into Elements 11 went to Enhance > Photomerge Panoramic. Made sure on the opening screen it was set to automatic and clicked on "Add Open Files" then clicked again and let Elements do its thing.

I was amazed that it worked so easy. If I can do it - you can as well … It took less than ten minutes!

Wow, Patrick! I am encouraged!

So encouraged, in fact, that I am going to give it a try myself! One question before I begin:

You mention that you clicked on "Add Open Files". How, exactly, did you get the images into Photoshop, and how did you open them? This has been my biggest struggle with using PhotoShop - just figuring out a way of getting the photos into the program to begin with. And to have more than one image "open" at once - hmmmmm. That is the type of thing that is baffling to me - how one gets to that point of having multiple photos in PS at one time, and also having them open simultaneously.

I should mention that as an Apple computer user, and a "Photos" user, that all of my photos are stored within the "Photos" program itself, and are not stored anywhere else on my hard drive. They simply don't exist outside of the Photos program - in other words, they are not "referenced" files like they would be if I used a Windows-based computer. So, with that in mind, I am wondering how to get the 6 images in to PhotoShop.

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Tom, this is what I think you should do:

Go to IPhoto and your six photos - single click on the 1st one to highlight and then hold down the command key and single click on the remaining five photos. All six photos should be highlighted.

If you have an icon for elements in your dock then left click on one of the six photos and hold the button down and then drag the six photos over the elements icon (the icon may get larger at this point which will tell you your on target) and then release the button. If you do not see the Elements Icon in the dock go to applications, in finder, and find the elements program and open it. The Icon will then be in your dock. If you right click on the Icon in the dock you can select "Keep In Dock" under "Options." This will help in the future.

Elements will open at this point and one photo will be on the elements screen. To make sure all files were transferred go to the bottom left of your elements screen and click on "Photo Bin." You should see all six photos. I think Photomerge considers the files in the Photo Bin to be open even though they are thumbnails.

Then follow the instructions in my previous post. I have Elements 11 so I'm not sure if Photomerge will be under Enhance in later versions of Elements … but it will be somewhere in Elements.

At the very end of the merge it will ask you if you want to fill in the edges. Click yes. When I did your photos Elements did it flawlessly. When I did my two photos it told me I did not have enough Ram. My two photos were a total of 24 MB. I have 16 GB of ram so I'm not sure whats going on.Yours from the web were considerably smaller. Not sure if you will have this problem - Hope not.

Good luck, and post your results.

Hope this helps.

Pat

I forgot to mention, if you have additional photos other than the six you want you should remove those. Otherwise Photomerge will try to merge those as well.

Here you go Tom! There's no soundtrack, but it is pretty straightforward. I used PS CC 2015.5 - Elements users, please chime in and point out the differences for clarity.

https://youtu.be/g6BnU​I1JxtM

kirk

kirkt wrote in post #18167018
Here you go Tom! There's no soundtrack, but it is pretty straightforward. I used PS CC 2015.5 - Elements users, please chime in and point out the differences for clarity.

https://youtu.be/g6BnU​I1JxtM

kirk

Kirk, that's a pretty good video.

Very similar to Elements.

Does PS CC have the option at the end of the merge "Do You Want to Fill in The Edges" I noticed you cropped the unfilled edges. Elements has that option but I don't know if people use it or just crop.

What is the purpose in flattening the image? Not a big Photoshop user and not familiar what that step.
Pat

kirkt wrote in post #18167018
Here you go Tom! There's no soundtrack, but it is pretty straightforward. I used PS CC 2015.5 - Elements users, please chime in and point out the differences for clarity.

https://youtu.be/g6BnU​I1JxtM

kirk

Thank you so much, Kirk! I'm sure I will be able to learn a lot from this video you made.

First question - at the very beginning, your screen is all grey and black, and the icon that you click on is blue and it says "PANO". How did you get that icon? I mean, where does that "PANO" thing come from in the first place?

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That is just a folder on my Mac desktop I made called "Pano" where I put your posted images. The gray area is my desktop. I keep it gray so my eyes adapt to the color temp of my display without distracting colors.

I navigate to that Pano folder after clicking on the Browse... button in the Photomerge dialog.

Kirk

I do my panoramas in Elements, very easy, doesn't leave seams behind. If I want to edit them for some reason before I do the merge (which is pretty much always), I do it in DPP4, and after I edit the first file, I save the changes in a recipe file, then you just apply that to the rest of the files so you are changing them all in the same way. And I'll add that the photos pretty much never line up exactly, so once you are done you'll need to crop it to get rid of the uneven areas.

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Thanks for the additional info, Patrick - it is appreciated, and will surely be helpful.

I haven't had a chance to do this in Photoshop yet. I work office shifts on Thursdays and Fridays, and have little brain power left after work, so I will have to attempt this over the weekend at a time when my mind is refreshed and I can focus on the task. I will let you know how I fare.

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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18169642
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Thanks for the additional info, Patrick - it is appreciated, and will surely be helpful.

I haven't had a chance to do this in Photoshop yet. I work office shifts on Thursdays and Fridays, and have little brain power left after work, so I will have to attempt this over the weekend at a time when my mind is refreshed and I can focus on the task. I will let you know how I fare.

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Your Welcome!

I have just read through this thread and just wanted to say that I hope
that you get this to work for you Tom.
There is a lot pf good info in this thread.....it is great to see folks so
willing and able to help.