Creating polar (stereographic) panoramics is much easier than I initially thought. Or at least learning some of the basic tricks to produce the effect are not as technical as the final result make it seem. In other words, the captivating effect needed to create polar panoramic photography (or “little planets” as they are endearingly termed) is much easier than it looks.

Torres Kio - Madrid Planet by Germán González Garrido

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to the basics on how to create polar panoramic images. You can use your own photograph, or grab one with a creative commons license. I found this one on Flickr.

1. Select a panoramic landscape photograph to manipulate. Remember, you can always crop your photo to get a landscape look. That’s what I did with this example. Quick tip: though a 360 degree landscape works best, as long as the image is in at least a 1:2 aspect ratio, you should be fine.

2. Square your photograph by changing the dimensions to the largest side. In Photoshop, go to Image > Image Size and increase the height to match the width. Quick tip: make sure the Constrain Proportions box is unchecked.

3. Rotate the entire image by 180 degrees. In Photoshop, go to Image > Rotate Canvas > 180

4. Create the planet. In Photoshop, go to Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates. Quick tip: make sure you select Rectangular to Polar though the other option provides quite an interesting effect as well.

Some additional tips:

1. To avoid off-kilter landscapes when polarized, you’ll want to make sure the landscape is parallel before changing it to a square. You can straighten and crop with the crop tool by bringing the cursor just outside the crop box to rotate
2. Images that are near identical on either end of the landscape work the best. Images that are not similar will look disjunctioned
3. Crop out any bold lines on either end of the landscape or you’ll notice a large line when you polarize
4. You should definitely feel free to rotate the image once you’ve created your planet. That way you can choose what is on top of the planet.
5. You can find additional tips here

Mérignac Centre by Alexandre Duret-Lutz

Lonely Tree by Josh Sommers

Planet Old Oak at Sunset by Josh Sommers

A New World by Chris Rojas

Bull Planet by Germán González Garrido