Straight Photos

[robh1920]

I have the hardest time shooting straight photos when I am shooting freehand. The photo attached looks crooked to me. I lined up the AF points on top and bottom then shot the photo. I get home and look at it and looks crooked. I used a straightener, while it still looks crooked, it looks better. Is this photo crooked or am I seeing things? Any tips for a straight photo would help. Thanks.

[110240]

do you have photoshop?

[PIC]

Its off a bit.
If you open with camera raw {regardless of jpeg or raw shooting} ...
there is an alignment guide that makes the process automatic.

An experieced photog sees the entire frame and composes to fit.
The less experienced see only the center.

[robh1920]

Yes I have CS 3. I used that straightening tool in CS3 on the RAW format. I obviously did not follow a straight line on the building.

Is there another tool I dont know about.

[timbertoes]

What you see is caused by the inability to keep the film plane parallel with the whole of the building. I.E. you have to tilt the camera upwards to get the building in the frame.

Perspective distortion.

for a direct camera correction, it requires a tilt/shift lens or a view camera, using tilt/shift. it's not your fault :)

[110240]

dont know if it works on raw files in cs3 if you ctrl T (free transform) then hold ctrl while you move around and click (you get a little square box) - you can tilt and shift the image.

[venchka]

Crooked how? Not level left and right or vertically? Or leaning backwards? To level, I would make the horizontal line above the door square. If you want to correct the backward tilt, use a tripod and level. And get a view camera.

It's strange, I have to rotate almost all of my pictures -1.4 degrees. I know another person who rotates her's +1.22 degrees. Go figure.

[kenw]

the aforementioned perspective correction should get you there. it is the digital version of a tilt-shift lens in this application.

[robh1920]

Is the pespective viewer in cs3 or in the RAW portion?

Thanks for the Input on the photo. I was driving in from west Texas and got out to shoot it in 20 mph winds at about 30 degrees. My hands were numb.

[toverman]

Originally Posted by venchka

Crooked how? Hot level left and right or vertically? Or leaning backwards? To level, I would make the horizontal line above the door square. If you want to correct the backward tilt, use a tripod and level. And get a view camera.

It's strange, I have to rotate almost all of my pictures -1.4 degrees. I know another person who rotates her's +1.22 degrees. Go figure.

Maybe it's because one of your legs is shorter than the other.

Previous posters had good advice about fixing this situation. You could also get further away from the building and use a longer telephoto, but then the distortion would be compression from front to back rather than slight distortion of the edges of the structure.

[robh1920]

As many of them that are crooked, thats a real possibility.....

Im sure its me rushing to get a shot of a subject that can not move. I feel like it has to be the way I am holding my camera and my angle on the subject.

[CaptainTom]

Is it not possible that the view finder is misaligned somehow ???

[robh1920]

No, unfortunatley, if I am able to steady and rest the camera somehow they turn out fine. Its when I hurry. I think its going to be my holding technique. Also I think I am just off center of the structure which gives a bad prespective. rhphotography.smugmug.com has a firestation in it from FDNY (under bricks and morter) It looks crooked on the bottom but the top has a pipe that is straight so I think it is the angle I took the photo in that one. Any who. Thats what I will work with for a while.

[billseye]

I'm leaning toward the "one leg shorter" theory.
Or it could have been the 20mph wind.
(more seriosly) I sometimes use my focus points in the viewfinder, as well, but I use them to find the horizontal line, instead of vertical.
bill

[Daniel Bates]

Gridlines might help you (or Nikon's viewfinder grid, if you have the option).