Select the source images in Lightroom Classic.
Last updated on
14 August 2024
- Lightroom Classic User Guide
- Introduction to Lightroom Classic
- Workspace
- Import photos
- Organize photos in Lightroom Classic
- Process and develop photos
- Develop module basics
- Create panoramas and HDR panoramas
- Flat-Field Correction
- Correct distorted perspective in photos using Upright
- Improve image quality using Enhance
- Work with image tone and color
- Masking
- Apply local adjustments
- HDR photo merge
- Develop module options
- Retouch photos
- Cure red eye and pet eye effects
- Use the Radial Filter tool
- Adjustments with Lens Blur
- Edit and Export in HDR
- Remove Tool
- Viewing photos
- Export photos
- Work with external editors
- Manage catalogs and files
- Maps
- Photo books
- Slideshows
- Print photos
- Web galleries
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Content Authenticity
- Lightroom and Adobe services
- Troubleshooting
- Technical Support
- Performance Guidelines
- Technical issues
- GPU Issues
- Startup Issues
- Rendering Issues
- Stability Issues
- Miscellaneous Issues
- Workflow Issues
Lightroom Classic lets you easily merge standard exposure photos into a breathtaking panorama. In a single step, you can also merge multiple exposure-bracketed photos (with consistent exposure offsets) to create an HDR panorama. You can see a quick preview of the resulting panorama or HDR panorama created and make adjustments to it before the final merged image is generated.
Merge photos to create panorama and HDR panorama
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- For standard exposure photos, select Photo > Photo Merge > Panorama or press Ctrl (Win) / Control (Mac) + M to merge them into a panorama.
- For exposure bracketed photos, select Photo > Photo Merge > HDR Panorama to merge them into an HDR panorama. You can also perform Single-step HDR Panorama merge with Smart Previews. Review the requirements for merging to HDR panorama.
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In the Panorama Merge Preview / HDR Panorama Merge Preview dialog box, choose a layout projection:
Spherical: Aligns and transforms the images as if they were mapped to the inside of a sphere. This projection mode is great for really wide or multirow panoramas / HDR panorama.
Perspective: Projects the panorama / HDR panorama as if it were mapped to a flat surface. Since this mode keeps straight lines straight, it is great for architectural photography. Really wide panoramas may not work well with this mode due to excessive distortion near the edges of the resulting panorama.
Cylindrical: Projects the panorama / HDR panorama as if it were mapped to the inside of a cylinder. This projection mode works really well for wide panoramas, but it also keeps vertical lines straight.All of these projection modes work equally well for both horizontal and vertical panoramas / HDR panoramas.
Cylindrical layout projection for wide panoramas/ HDR panoramas
Cylindrical layout projection for wide panoramas/ HDR panoramas -
You can use Boundary Warp slider setting (0-100) to warp panoramas / HDR panoramas to fill the canvas. Use this setting to preserve image content near the boundary of the merged image, that may otherwise be lost due to cropping. The slider controls how much Boundary Warp to apply.
Higher slider value causes the boundary of the panorama/ HDR panorama to fit more closely to the surrounding rectangular frame.
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Select Fill Edges to automatically fill the uneven edges of the merged image.
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While previewing the panorama / HDR panorama, select Auto Crop to remove undesired areas of transparency around the merged image.
Auto Crop to remove areas of transparency, shown in white in this illustration
Auto Crop to remove areas of transparency, shown in white in this illustration -
To group the source images and the panorama / HDR panorama image into a stack (after the images are merged), select the Create Stack option. The merged panorama / HDR panorama image is displayed at the top of the stack.
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Once you've finished making your choices, click Merge. Lightroom Classic creates the panorama / HDR panorama and places it in your catalog.
You can apply all Develop module settings to panoramas / HDR panoramas just as you would apply them to individual images.
Requirements for merging to HDR panorama
To successfully merge your selection of images to an HDR panorama, ensure that all the requirements listed below are met. If any of these requirements are not met, Lightroom Classic displays the 'Unable To Detect HDR Exposure Bracket Size. Merge To Non-HDR Panorama Instead?' message when you try to merge the images.
- All the images in your selection must contain the exposure metadata - Exposure time, f-number, and ISO.
- Each set of bracketed exposures in your selection must have the same number of images. For example, if you chose to bracket with three images, then all the sets in the selection must also use three images.
- Each set of bracketed exposures in your selection must have the same exposure offsets. For example, if your first set has exposure offsets of (0, -1, +1), then all other sets in the selection must follow the exposure offset pattern. The image sets can have different exposure values; only the exposure offsets pattern must be consistent across all the sets.
- Each set of bracketed exposures must be captured contiguously . For example, if you've considered a bracket size of three while capturing the images then the first three images in the sequence become part of a bracket set, the next three images in the sequence become part of another bracket set, and so on.
- Within a set of bracketed exposures, the images must not have the same exposure value.