What is the correct way of shooting a panoramic shot?

Question

I just bought a tripod and I'm starting to learn photography. I own a Canon T2i (kit lens) and I'm interesting in taking panoramic shots.

What are the pro tips for doing this?

I'm trying to set my camera with narrow aperture and sometimes a slower speed.

I'm missing some contrast and color in both pics.

Here are two examples:

http://fav.me/d4e8qi9

http://fav.me/d4d3qpz

Answer

The key to shooting images for a panorama is to get as much consistency as you can. Since you have a DSLR, this blog post should help you or read my panorama tutorial.

It is OK if everything is not perfect but the more you do the better the chances of your software being able to stitch resulting images. At the very least you should keep the focal-length (zoom), focus and aperture constant.

The most PRO tip would be to use a specialized panoramic head. They cost a good amount of money but ensure consistency between viewpoint which makes things much easier to stitch.

EDIT:

Panoramic heads come in two types. Either flexible which you can adjust (actually, you have to) to almost any combination of camera and lens, for example the Manfrotto 303 or WTVR Spherical Pro. Or as fixed heads designed for a single combination of camera and lens which are available for common combinations, for example the 360Precision Absolute MK2.

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