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by Clive R. Haynes FRPS
When we photograph a scene and tilt the camera either upwards or downwards we inevitably introduce a distortion of perspective. This effect is often simply not noticed in a general landscape scene or in pictures of people, however when photographing buildings we become acutely aware of an exaggerated perspective caused by excessively converging verticals.
This problem is swiftly corrected in Photoshop.
Before correcting you may find it beneficial to add some extra 'canvas' to the image, do this via Image>Canvas Size>add around 20% more width & height. Ensure that the area showing is at the centre of the nine small rectangles in the Canvas Size dialogue box and click OK. This little, nine-square box tells Photoshop where to place your image on the canvas. This will now give some 'elbow room' to see what's going on.
It may be very helpful to use the 'Grid' feature in Photoshop to act as a reference.
To show the grid in Photoshop 6 go via Ctrl+Alt+@ or by View>Show>Grid
To show the grid in Photoshop 5/ 5.5 go via Ctrl+@ or by View>Show Grid
This is a 'toggle action' and by repeating the route the grid will be turned off (the 'Hide' option will show).
Select All either by Ctrl+A or via Select>All
Next go to Edit>Transform>Perspective
Use the corner 'handles' to make the desired correction and press 'Enter' when OK.
TIP : Don't over correct. That is to say it's often preferable to leave a little convergence as this does give a sense of perspective. A dead vertical building, especially if viewed from a low viewpoint, tends to look very unnatural.
This article was reproduced with the kind permission of Clive R. Haynes FRPS.
Other articles of interest by him can be found at
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