When doing travel photography particularly in old cities we tend to use our wide angle lenses a lot on architectural subjects. The most common problem then is the perspective distortion of a building’s vertical lines, which is made worse using a wide angle lens in close, making the building appear to be falling away from the camera position. Since most photographers don’t use or even own a tilt-shift lens, out side of architectural specialists, to correct this distortion when on location, we can still correct this effect, in post, with software.
Here’s an example of the falling away effect…
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| f13.0 @ 1/350 sec., ISO 400; Lens @ 24mm |
This is one of my favorite images I took on Palatine Hill in Rome, Italy. In order to capture the whole arch I had to use my short zoom at 24mm; I could not back-up enough to use my longer telephoto, which could have solved this type of distortion. In addition, if I had backed-up a lot that great tree would have been cut into by the arch. Obviously the placement of the tree was critical in this image!
There is a tool in Photoshop that fixes these issues with no problem. The Perspective Crop Tool…Take a look at how I corrected the distortion from that fantastic vacation in Italy….
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| With Correction |
It worked like a charm and was easy to employ; look it up—there are several tutorials on YouTube. Note that you do lose some of the image because a crop is necessary. I was fine with it because I didn’t want any sky showing above the top of the arch anyway.
Not content to leave it alone…
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| Conversion |
So, with the Perspective Crop Tool in good old Photoshop who needs a tilt-shift lens; those things are just really expensive!
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave me a message…’Til next week….
Author: Jerry W. Venz, PPA Master Photographer, Craftsman
Training Site: http://www.LightAtTheEdge.com
Client Site: http://www.TheStorytellersUsa.com
