Correcting for Exposure Differences in Panoramics

Shoot the frames for the panoramics in manual mode to minimize exposure differences.

If there are some exposure differences when creating panoramics, use the following procedure:

If you see an exposure difference after aligning the middle frame with the left frame, click the image of the middle frame in the layers window to activate the image layer for the middle frame, and to deactivate the layer mask for the middle image.

Then perform a levels adjustment to this image layer using the mid-tone slider. Adjust until the exposure variance is not noticeable.

Repeat this step for the right hand frame after aligning the right hand frame.

Another, more precise way is to use the level adjustment on the three channels (red, green, blue).

If you see an exposure difference after aligning the middle frame with the left frame, click the image of the middle frame in the layers window to activate the image layer for the middle frame, and to deactivate the layer mask for the middle image. Then select channels in the layers window. Turn off the blue and green channels so only the red channel is active. Now adjust the levels within the red channel.

Although this shows the red channel for both images (the left and the middle frames), the level adjustment will only affect the middle frame. Adjust until it best matches the left frame. Repeat this process for the blue and green channels (turn on green, turn off red, etc). Again, only adjust the mid-tone slider.

After you complete the channels adjustment for the middle frame, turn on all channels to see the impact. Repeat the process for the right hand frame.