Step 1:  

​Take a bunch of pictures that overlap by at least 25%.  It's nice to use a tripod with a bubble level, but that's not totally necessary.  For this example, I used my messy office.  (Studies* show that there is an inversely proportionate relationship between cleanliness and creativity.) 



*Fictional studies that I just made up.
Step 2: Open those pictures in Photoshop. 
Step 3:  In the "File" menu, open up "Automate" and Photomerge. 
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Step 4: Click "Add Open Files.  Then plug in the settings you want and hit "OK".  I like the default settings, but you can get cool results doing other things.  Play around with it! Just plan on being patient.  This is a process that takes most computers a minute or two.
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SHABAZZ!  Just like that, we have a completed panorama.  Photoshop did all the alignment and thinking for us.  The future is now!
Wasn't that fun and easy?  Let's try some more advanced Photoshop Automation now.  The cool kids call this "Batch Editing".  It's really handy when you need to make some changes to a whole bunch of pictures- like scaling a bunch of pictures down to make them web-ready or making a batch of pictures black and white.  

In a nutshell, you begin recording a script, make your edits to one photo, stop recording your script, then apply it to the rest of the batch.  Follow along and I'll show you how!  Learning is magic!

Batch Editing With Custom Scripts:

Step 1:  Open your whole batch in Photoshop. 
Step 2:  In the "Window" menu, select 'Actions'. 
Step 3:  In the bottom of the Actions panel, the icon that looks like "create a new layer" in your layers panel is "create a new action".

​Click it.  

(Or don't, I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life.  I'm just saying, if you want to create a new action, that's how to begin.)
Step 4:  Hit the "Record" button.  It's a good idea to name your scripts something that will help you remember them later. I'll name them things like "add grid" or "resize and save" or something like that.  Then make whatever edits you want to make.  Notice how each action gets recorded.

In my case, I made some color adjustments, then re-sized my picture to make them smaller for the web.  Then I saved (into a new folder) and closed my image.  Then I stopped recording.  THIS IS IMPORTANT.  STOP RECORDING after you save and close.
Step 5.  Eat a snack if you need to.  Keep your blood sugar up. (I suggest beef or bison jerky.)
Step 6:  Under the 'File' menu, go to 'Automate' and select 'batch'.  
Step 7:  Under the 'Actions' drop down menu, find the script you recently created and named.  Mine was 'Shrink and Color Correct.' Indicate that you want to use opened files.  Your 'destination' setting determines where these files will save to.  It's not particularly relevant if you incorporated the 'save' and 'close' actions into your script. You can give file naming instructions if you want, but that's not necessary if you're saving to a new folder or location. Hit "OK" and watch the magic happen. 
Step 8:  Profit.