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While most of us are now very used to shooting photos on our smartphones, a surprising number of people aren’t using them to their fullest. One example of that is the ability to shoot optical illusions using the panorama mode that most smartphones boast. And it’s so easy that anyone can do it… once they know how.
How to Create Optical Illusions Using Panorama Mode
It’s surprisingly easy to shoot optical illusions using the panorama mode on your phone. All you need to do is understand how the panorama mode works, plus some imagination, a steady hand, and some willing participants to either appear in, or shoot the photo.
First, you need to understand how your phone’s panorama mode works.
While this smartphone camera mode has lots of different uses,panorama mode can really help with travel photography.
Essentially, it captures everything within its frame as you move it from left to right. Simple, right? However, the key thing to remember is that your phone doesn’t understand at which point something has entered the frame. So, if you may capture someone or something in an early frame, and then position it or them on the other side of the panorama before your phone’s viewfinder reaches them, that person or object can appear twice.
Once you grasp this very simple concept, you then just need to find someone willing to either appear in your panoramas or take the shots, plus the imagination to come up with some interesting optical illusions.
Before you even attempt to capture a panorama clone shot, take plenty of standard panoramas.
When you have an idea in mind, someone who is willing to be the subject of the clone panorama, and a phone primed and ready to shoot, you can commence.
Find yourself a space with plenty of room but nothing likely to move wildly in the background. Then ask your subject to place themselves in the first position you have agreed on beforehand. Then, with a very steady hand, slowly start shooting your panorama shot.
Once you have caught them in the shot, and (crucially) once they’re out of the frame, have them quickly move behind you (hence the need for lots of space) and place themselves in the second position agreed beforehand. Once they’re in place, continue shooting the panorama, capturing them for the second time.
Different Optical Illusions to Try Using Panorama Mode
There are countless different ways you could use this effect tocreate amazing-looking photographs. I don’t want to list too many, as you should use your own creative flair to come up with your own. However, here are just a few different optical illusions you can create using this simple technique.
I’m the person you can see in all three panorama clones below, as during early experiments, I discovered that my partner has a better phone camera and a steadier hand. For the record, these were shot on a Samsung Galaxy S24 (the S24 vs. the S24 Ultra).
Show Someone Falling Off Something
One of the easiest but most visually pleasing panorama clone photos you can create involves having someone falling off something. This is an example of a two-frame panorama clone, as you’re showing a progression of events.
There’s me standing on a chair, and then, oops, there’s me having fallen off it. The other two examples of panorama clones discussed here are both one-frame panorama clones, as they’re attempts to capture a single moment in time.
Show Someone Doing Two Different Activities
This panorama clone photo requires some preparation beforehand, as you’ll have to set the activities up and have any equipment to hand. Given that we were using our garden as the backdrop, we opted to show me doing two different garden activities.
The only preparation needed was placing the watering can behind the photographer for easy pickup. I also took the rake with me to deposit behind the photographer to avoid it finding its way into shot.
Show Someone Interacting With Themselves
Seeing that the whole point of these panorama clone photos is to create an optical illusion, having your subject interact with their clone in some way is extremely effective. In this example, in the first instance, I am launching a Frisbee across the garden, and in the second, I am preparing to jump to catch it.
Sports are very effective here, as they’re an easy example of people interacting in a simple way. However, there are countless different options to experiment with.
None of these panorama clone photos have been edited beyond some simple cropping to remove redundant space not being used. If yourphoto editing skillsare up to it, you can do much more once you have the initial shot in the bag. However, any major edits impact the purity of these shots, as you may as well forget the panorama part, and just edit your clone into your photos.
Tips for Generating Cool Optical Illusions With Panorama Mode
While the principle of using your smartphone camera’s panorama mode in this way is extremely simple, there are some tips to follow if you want to create a successful optical illusion using it. Feel free to experiment to see what works and what doesn’t work, but some basic pointers include:
Once you understand the process, and have some cool ideas in mind, you should, with practice, be able to pull off some amazing panorama clone shots. You could then attempt to up the ante by adding a third position or multiple people who appear twice. Just remember to have fun with it, as photography should always be fun, regardless of the outcome.
