Digital Marble – Polar Coordinate Filter and Planets

How to turn a photo into a ‘Planet’ in Photoshop Elements with the Polar Coordinate Filter:

Start with a true panoramic image that is much longer than it is high. The subject matter (buildings, trees) should be at least a third of the photo. (This photo was taken at Fort Zion, Utah. The buildings are at the Virgin Trading Post.)

Examples of good images: City scapes with skyscrapers; night or sunset pictures.

1. Turn your image into a square. Go to the menu Image – Resize– Image Size. Uncheck the ‘Constrain Proportions’ option. (You might have to check Resample Image first.) Change the height and the width of the image to match each other. Eg. 1000px by 1000px.

2. Flip your image 180 degrees. Use the menu items Image – Rotate –  180.

3. Add the Polar Coordinate effect. Use the menu items Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates – Rectangular to Polar’ – OK

This creates the Planet. You will notice a seam line from where the image has been joined. To remove this select the Spot Healing Brush and airbrush the seam out.

The ‘planet’ can be cropped into a circle and placed onto a solid background if you want it to have a more planet shape!