How are mini-planet photos created?

Question

Here are some examples of what I mean on Flickr -- though I would be open to a better source of examples.

Answer 1

The basics is that you start with a 360-degree panorama and apply a polar to rectangular transformation.

I happen to have written introductory tutorials for both:

• How to Make a Panorama - For this you need a panorama software such as those reviewed there. The free ones do an excellent job, so I suggest you start with those
• How to Make a Wee Planet - This one uses Photoshop, so with another software the procedure will be somewhat different.

One easy short-cut is that some recent Fuji cameras actually can produce a seamless 360° panorama right in the camera. Make sure you choose the Cylindrical 360° option under the Motion Panorama function. Otherwise, or if your camera does not have it, then a seem will appear in the results.

Answer 2

As a starting point to finding a good answer, just found these tutorials:

• How to Create Your Own Planets Using Your Panoramas
• Gadl's Answers to some frequently asked questions