How do I use pan and zoom on vertical photographs without editing out most of the photo?

Question

I am trying to make a slide show.  When I have a vertically oriented (portrait) photograph and try to use pan and zoom, the feature eliminates much of the photograph.  It seems the pan and zoom feature only works for horizontally oriented (or landscape) photographs.  Is there a way to use pan and zoom on vertically oriented photographs to capture all or most of the photograph and zoom in from there?

Answer 1

gtavetian
I decided to use a different strategy to convey the principle. It is most likely that your photos will be 4:3 and you may or may not be taking them into a SD widescreen or HD widescreen project. With all those variables, to get the basic ideas across, I am going to use two models with a generalized scheme.
For this post....
NTSC DV Standard Project - Portrait Oriented JPG, in this case 2448 x 3264 3:4. Could be any Portrait Oriented JPEG any pixel dimensions. But best plan ahead for what you have and what you would like.
Manually set the project preset to NTSC DV Standard.
File Menu/New/Project and, in the new project dialog, set for NTSC DV Standard.
Before exiting the final dialog in that area, put a check mark next to "Force Selected Project Setting on This Project". Close out of there.
Next go to the Edit Menu/Preferences/General and remove the check mark next to "Default Scale to Frame Size". Close out of the preferences.
In the opened Premiere Elements Expert workspace, use Add Media/Files and Folders/Project Assets to get your portrait oriented JPG to the beginning of the Timeline.The 2448 x 3264 3:4 will overwhelm the space in the Edit Mode monitor. That is to be expected. The Timeline Indicator is at the beginning of the Timeline @ 00;00;00;00.
a. Click on the Timeline jpg to select it. With Motion Panel/Scale property (with Constrain Proportions with check mark), you want to scale the image so that the whole is shown within the mode space. You want to see the image's bounding box. See the next screenshot. The bounding box is the white outline around the image. It has handles.
After the scaling to get that look, the important information that you want is on the right in the Motion Panel
Position values 360.0 and 240.0
Scale value 14.6%.
The next phase is as before (See post 21 of this thread...but much of that is repeated below and modified for what is being described at this moment)
With Timeline Indicator at the beginning of Video Track 1 (00;00;00;00), go to Tools Menu/Pan and Zoom and click on it to open  the Pan and Zoom workspace.
In the Pan and Zoom workspace, you will see that the feature has created the initial two Focus Frames for you. 
Do not do anything to Focus Frame 1 in the bin below the image window.
Click on Focus Frame 2 in the bin below the image window and set the Focus Frame as wanted.
Click on New Frame in the panel to the left of the image window  to create a third Focus Frame which will appear in the bin. Set Focus Frame as wanted.
Click on New Frame in the panel  to the left of the image window to create a fourth Focus Frame which will appear in the bin. Set the Focus Frame as wanted.
Click Done to the Pan and Zoom workspace so that you are back in the Premiere Elements Expert workspace with its Timeline.
In the Expert workspace,
Move the Timeline Indicator to the last frame of the selected pan and zoom clip 1. In Applied Effects Tab/Applied Effects Palette/Motion Panel expanded, (Toggle Animation should be active at this point), make sure Position settings are 360.0 and 240.0 and Scale = 14.6% (with Constrain Proportions used).Then go to Tools Menu/Freeze Frame and set the freeze frame for 3 seconds and hit Insert in Movie.
Then move the Timeline Indicator to the first frame of the selected pan and zoom clip 1. In Applied Effects Tab/Applied Effects Palette/Motion Panel expanded (Toggle Animation should be active at this point), make sure Position settings are 360.0 and 240.0 and Scale = 14.6% (with Constrain Proportions used). Then go to Tools Menu/Freeze Frame and set the freeze frame for 3 seconds and hit Insert in Movie.
Render.
The Timeline content sequence from start to finish should be:
Freeze Frame 3 seconds First Frame of pan and zoom clip 1
Pan and zoom clip 1
Freeze Frame 3 seconds Last Frame of pan and zoom clip 1
Freeze Frame 3 seconds First Frame of pan and zoom clip 2
Pan and zoom clip 2
Freeze Frame 3 seconds Last Frame of pan and zoom clip 2
A Dissolve/Cross Dissolve Video Transition (1.00 seconds) is placed between end of Freeze Frame  Last Frame of pan and zoom clip 1 and beginning of Freeze Frame 3 First Frame of pan and zoom clip 2.
Additional pan and zoom portrait oriented jpgs to the Timeline would be treated as above.
What was done above can be applied to any photo with any project preset. The basic idea is to
a. Start with determing the whole picture Position and Scale values as described with the Default Scale to Frame Size option disabled.
b. Do pan and zoom with Pan and Zoom Tool in its workspace
c. Return to Premiere Elements workspace to apply your Position and Scale values to the last frame of pan and zoom clip so that the last frame presents in full clip view. Then go to the first frame of the pan and zoom clip, and apply the Position and Scale values to it so that the first frame presents in full clip view.
d. If you want the whole view to present for more than that one frame, do the freeze frame at each end, with the wanted duration.
e. Apply emblessments as wanted, such as video transitions, an animated graphic flying through the last scene, etc.
We could take this same clip into a NTSC AVCHD Full HD 1080p30 project and do the same, except the Position and Scale values and the Scale % determined at the beginning and used subsequently will be different than in the NTSC DV Standard project.
Please check out the above and see how you do with it. If problems, please indicate where and we will work through them.
Thanks.
ATR