When you are a panorama journalist you need to be aware that you are not just taking a photo in the direction of your interest. You are taking a panorama that allows you to look around in all directions. You need to be aware of your surroundings. 

Here’s a great list of hints and tips from a panojournalist I respect a lot: Ayrton360. He’s a star in his field and he shared this checklist during the Palmela 2011 Panoramic Photography Conference.

If I wanted to make a short list of the most important rules to make sure the panorama has a good composition, there are the three rules that it would include:

1. Always stand in front of the crowd (remember to avoid other photographers’ line of sight!)
2. Stand where others are not standing
3. Don’t be late

I cannot overstress the rule number 3 :) Here’s an example of me breaking all three rules in July 2009 during the master class with John Malkovich at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary. Ideally I would stand next to him and not on the other end of this beautiful hall. Mr Malkovich is just a tiny set of pixels in distance from here - that’s a shame for a panorama that was supposed to be about him: