[QUEEN OF HEARTS ...]

STEP 7

I have sharpened the image and applied a linear gradient to darken the sky. It is important to note that the view of this particular building could not be captured any other way to achieve the same result. If I had moved back to encompass the entire view and then cropped down I would be left with less than 5 Megapixels of data and the skyline above the building would be very busy as the buildings behind this beach house would then come into view. The dramatic sense of perspective would also be lost the further I moved away from the building.
Performance Tip

Photomerge also has a 'Group Shot' option. This allows you to merge the best aspects of several images into the same image - especially useful when someone in a group has blinked or looked away. In this group shot below (if you can call one boy and his dog a group) it has been decided to combine two images (captured hand-held) so both the boy and his dog are looking at the camera.





In the Group Shot dialog box you just scribble over the part of the 'source' image you would like to merge with the 'final' image. Although Photomerge will align and blend the component images with the same skill as the Panorama option, the user will be presented with an additional flattened file when Group Shot has finished weaving its magic.




For those users who are still amazed at the results that can be achieved using Photomerge, but who mourn the loss of layers when using Group Shot, they can continue to use the Panorama option - even for group images. This is however only recommended for those photographers who use manual white balance rather than auto white balance in camera.