Opinions wanted: photos of mountain ranges...

[FowlersFreeTime]

I'm heading back to Sedona this weekend, and trying to get my kit together. Here is a post from my first trip 2 years ago:

Landscape - Sedona, Arizona USA, Sept 2024

Took a trip to Sedona AZ to celebrate my friends' wedding. However, one does not simply go to Sedona without taking in the amazing landscape! Here's Day One at the Airport Mesa overlooking Sedona. Balanced camera on a rock and set self timer to 10 seconds so I could run into frame: I...

www.alphashooters.com

I want to improve my photography and ensure that the pictures are good enough to print large (like 24x36" or perhaps a panorama format). The one idle thought that keeps coming back to me is this: If the subject is a mountain or mountain range, is it better to take a single wide angle shot of a mountain range, or take multiple photos and stitch them in post afterwards?

For reference, though most of you know already, I'll be using my A6700 and probably the Sony 16-55mm G lens for everything. However, I do have wide and telephoto lenses and a few filters at my disposal. Might take tripod, but really don't want to add weight to my kit since hiking in 90 degrees Fahrenheit is on the weekend agenda.

 

[iamdlewis]

Single shot vs pano I think depends on the objects in the foreground. A single shot is going to (at least for me) be better if there are things close that can have movement as the chance of stitching together without some strange artifact becomes much more difficult. Of course if you can do both do both.

If you go without a tripod be sure to shoot the pano wider than you want in order to give you the most play with cropping the stitch. Just in general that is a good idea even with a tripod unless you have some tool to help with the shooting process.

Also don't force yourself to try and get that print image if the conditions are not great. With mountain ranges the sky helps so much with final results. Like this image wouldn't work if the sky was empty or far less interesting clouds.

Red Rock Canyon

I think this is 20 images but I used my polaris tripod head to take the images.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Thanks @iamdlewis I agree, movement ruins Pano: I tried stitching together pictures of a harbor last year and the mismatch of waves made it an exercise in futility. Good point on the sky as well, that is why I am hoping to visit some of the sites at sunset.

 

[Richard A]

Take lots of photos. It doesn't cost you anything. I always take shots that I want to stitch into a panorama in vertical format. Also, I always take my pano shots hand held.