If you can't fit a whole landscape into a single picture, take two — or more. Shoot several side-by-side sections of the scene and then piece the prints together to form a panoramic image.

To create this kind of sectional panorama, first decide how many shots you need to take to span the view you want. Then do a dry run, pivoting the camera from one section to the next as you identify visual cues that can help you match up your shots. A bush or a tree can mark where one shot ends and the next begins, but avoid placing important features of the landscape at the edges of a frame. In fact, it's a good idea to slightly overlap the edges of each shot so that you don't have gaps in the final panorama. Then you can simply overlap the finished images.

After you figure out the sequence, start on the left side and shoot each consecutive frame as planned. Keep the camera level and rotate your body at the hips so that your point of view stays more or less the same from shot to shot.

This technique gives you a much wider total view than the panorama mode on your camera, if it has one. (A point-and-shoot's panorama mode has a horizontal span no wider than a regular frame; its top and bottom are just cut off!) You can even shoot a vertical for each section (try four or five), for a taller image that includes more sky or foreground. Put enough sections together and you can create a 180- or 360-degree view!