Taking 360 Degree Panoramas With Your iPhone

You can have a lot of fun using your iPhone's camera and various photography apps. In this example, take a look at using the 360 Panorama app from Occipital. You can easily capture an image that includes everything around you, then view it later on your iPhone or any other device. You can also share these via email or social media.

You can also watch this video at YouTube (but with ads).

Video Transcript: Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.com. On this episode let me show you how you can take 360 degree panoramic photos on your iPhone.
There are so many fun ways to use your camera on your iPhone. But a lot of people just stick with the standard photo. Of course you can do slow motion videos, you can do time lapse, all in the camera app. Then there are a ton of different apps that make photography really fun.
One way that I have fun with using my iPhone's camera is to take panoramas. I'm going to show you today. I'm going to use as an example the 360 Panorama app from Occipital. You can download that. It is currently two dollars in the App Store. Of course prices always vary in the App Store. There's lots of other 360 degree panorama apps as well so you can search for one that you like the best. Let me show you how to use this one.
I'm taking my iPhone to the park and I'm going to use the 360 Pano app here and take a panorama. It's simple. I'm just going to basically position my iPhone's camera where I want to start and hit the Start button. Then I'm going to slowly turn. You can turn to the left or the right.
As I turn it automatically takes new pictures filling in the panorama. I don't have to press anything. I'm just actually moving my body very carefully. It helps if you have friends or somebody with you to actually have them stand behind you so they don't get in the way.
Then I'm going to angle up and capture more of the space. So a little bit above what I was capturing before and I'm going to continue circling around. It's easy to get dizzy doing this but the result is worth it. Now I've captured enough of the top and I'm going to go down below and capture more there.
See it is seamlessly stitching these together. So it's putting them together in this panorama. Once I'm finished I hit the Done button to indicate I've taken all the sections I want to take.
Then it's going to take a second there and now I can see it. Instantly I can use my finger to actually move the pano around. I can also hit that button at the bottom that looks like a sphere to actually have the picture move on its own as I move my iPhone around.
So the app also keeps a library of all the panos that you've shot. So, for instance, here's another one that I did of a different park. You can see here that you can capture things that you normally couldn't. Like, for instance, there is no way in a photograph that I can get this full tower here. But in a pano I was able to. You can see I even shot all the way up to the top here so I don't have a gap there at the top.
It's not perfect. You can see imperfections here where it sits together. You can see that sign right there for instance. So its not, you know, fantastic for professional use but it's great for having fun and capturing the essence of the location that you're at in a way that a photograph can't.
So you can see it is also easy to share these with people that don't even have the app. Here I've emailed the pano and it comes up with this little preview here. All I need to do is click here and it launches the website. The website contains basically a web app that allows me to view this panoramic. Even change the view style if I wanted to. So a lot of things you can do. 
You can share it just as easily using Facebook as well.
So even if you don't think that 360 degree panoramics are your thing, search the app store. Find other photos apps in there. There's all sorts of interesting apps that will use your iPhone's camera in really cool ways. You've got a very expensive camera in your pocket but it can do a lot more than an old fashioned camera could.
So look around and have some fun. Create some things using your iPhone's camera.

Comments: 10 Responses to “Taking 360 Degree Panoramas With Your iPhone”

Ron Londner

9 years ago

Excellent video, as always. You've inspired me to check out the pano feature. I like that you pointed out a weakness (the banner over-lap) as well as the strengths. Keep on keeping on!

Roger

Great info on this. I need to check this app and do a little pano stuff. In the past I've used DMD Panorama app for pano and it has some interesting features. You can make videos from the pano. Side note: really like using this app I discovered for night photos - its called nightcap pro - can't believe who well it works. Maybe you can do something on night photos. just a thought.

Gary Rosenzweig

Roger: Nightcap Pro looks like a good app. Just bought it and looking forward to trying it out. Thanks.

Feinman

Thank you!

In order to make this fantastic demo showing you actually taking the panorama shots, did you use the process you describe here?

http://macmost.com/recording-your-iphone-or-ipad-screen-using-your-mac.html

Feinman: Yes. I was actually carrying my MacBook in one hand with the iPhone in the other and a cable in-between. A few passers-by in the park probably thought it was strange.

Chuck

I want this app! However went to apple apps and could not find. How do I find the Occipital 360 photo app. Several other 360 programs in the 20 -30 dollar range.
Can you direct me to the source of this app?
Tx Chuck

Don Knoles

Chuck, I could not find the app at first either. Just search "360 Panorama." Use only those two words and the app by Occi[pital is right there for $1.99. Have fun!

Thanks Don Knoles! Found it. Chuck

Bertha Carnegie

8 years ago

I downloaded the occipital 360 degree app. When I open it all i can see is the message"please connect structure sensor". What does that mean.? i can't do anything with the app while that message is there.

Bertha: Are you sure you downloaded the correct app? The app is named "360 Panorama." It sounds like you may have downloaded one of their other apps that have "Structure Sensor" in the title. If you are sure you have the right app, try contacting them for support.

Comments Closed.

Taking 360 Degree Panoramas With Your iPhone

Comments: 10 Responses to “Taking 360 Degree Panoramas With Your iPhone”

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