Crooked Horizons in Your Photos? ? Here is a Five Minute Digital Fix
Remember the good old photography days?
Film camera in hand, you would see that perfect landscape, seascape or sunset and shoot off several shots.
Perhaps a couple of weeks later, once you had returned home and finally finished that 24 or 36 exposure film, it was off to the photo-lab to get the film processed.
You eagerly open the packet of photographs, looking for that superb seascape you took, knowing that it would almost certainly be taken up by National Geographic for their monthly magazine spread.
What do you find?
A not too bad photo, but the seascape horizon is crooked, here's your excuse, I hear you say.. "Well when I took the shot I was standing on the side of a sand dune and quickly trying to get that perfect shot while the little sailboat was still in view".
Does this sound familiar to all you budding Adam Ansels and/or Lord Snowdons?
The photo is relegated back to the packet never again to see the light of day.
I had many of those packets of not so perfect photos until the digital photography age arrived.
The Digital Darkroom has arrived
The advent of the digital camera and in fact, before that, computerized image manipulation software such as Adobe Photoshop has completely revolutionized the way we can now resurrect a stunning image from what at face value might have appeared to be just one of those snapshots to be relegated to the shoebox under the stairs.
What I'm going to show you in this article is just one method of taking a mundane snapshot and producing a great shot in as little as five minutes.
The example I'm going to use, is one that I have seen so many times, and have already mentioned above, namely, shots that have crooked horizons, whether this be a landscape, seascape, sunset or whatever.
The source of the image may have come from a scanned negative, scanned print or digital camera image all converted to an image format (most probably .JPG pronounced "jaypeg") that can be opened in your image manipulation software.
Correcting a crooked horizon
The human eye is remarkably perceptive at picking out features in a photograph that are made up of essentially straight lines and that those lines are not parallel, either horizontally or vertically, with the overall print itself.
These straight lines may well be the horizon, but they may also be an object in your photo that has straight lines such as buildings or walls etc...
I will be using Adobe Photoshop CS, but almost all other image manipulation software packages have similar tools so the method described should be repeatable with your own software package.
The method used will employ a little known relationship between two Photoshop functions, the Measure tool and the Rotate Canvas command.
Step ? 1
Open up your image in your image editor (in our case Photoshop) and select the Measure tool which if not visible on the Photoshop toolbar can be found by hovering your mouse over the Eyedropper tool and "left clicking".
Watch the other options window "fly-out" and select the Measure tool.
Step ? 2
Interestingly enough, we are not actually going to measure anything in the real sense of the word, nor use the Measure tool as it is usually used (i.e. measuring the distance between two points within the photograph).
With the Measure tool active, "left click" and "hold" on a spot on the left hand side of the photo (remember our example is a seascape) where the horizon meets the sea.
While still "holding down" the left mouse button, drag to the right hand side of the photo and find a corresponding point where the horizon meets the sea and then release the mouse button.
What happened? .. Well you will see that a white line has been drawn on top of the photo with what looks like little "+" anchors at each end. The line is parallel with our crooked horizon.
Step ? 3
Now the marvel begins!! Select the Image->Rotate Canvas->Arbitrary ? command and the Rotate Canvas pop-up window will appear.
What you will notice (in the case of Photoshop anyway) is that it has "pre-filled" the pop-up rotate options with the exact rotation information to correct the crooked horizon, 1.5 degrees counter-clockwise in our example on our web-site. Click OK and see what happens ..
The photo has been magically rotated the right amount to correct the crooked horizon!
Step ? 4
All that is required now is to do a tight "crop" on the overall photograph and save it.
And there you have it!! Less than five minutes of digital image manipulation to take that mundane snapshot into a photograph that is very pleasing to the eye.
If you find the steps taking are a little hard to understand in this text based article, you can click on the link at the end of this article to see the same method explained on our website with the aid of example graphical images.
© Gary Wilkinson 2005 - All Rights Reserved
You can see this correction method complete with example images at Cor recting Crooked Horizons in Photos
Feel free to re-print this article provided that all hyperlinks and author biography are retained as-is.
Gary Wilkinson is a photographer, photographic restorer and the owner of a photographic retail business.
He is also the publisher of the http://www.restoring-photos-made-easy.com website, where other methods of correcting common photographic restoration problems are discussed.
 Google News Updated : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:50:43 GMT Paulson Indicates Need to Purchase Bank Equity `Soon as We Can' - Bloomberg
Bloomberg - By John Brinsley and Rebecca Christie Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson indicated that pumping government funds into banks is a priority and said financial markets will remain volatile. US to buy shares in struggling banks Obama welcomes Paulson plan to buy equity in firms Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:21:05 GMT Mugabe Hands Ministries to His Party - New York Times
New York Times - By CELIA DUGGER JOHANNESBURG - In a step likely to lead to the collapse of a painstakingly negotiated power-sharing deal, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, in office for 28 years, has unilaterally declared that his party will retain the most powerful ... Mugabe 'gives Zanu-PF key posts' Zimbabwe's Mugabe hands key ministries to his party Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:57:49 GMT Morgan Stanley, Goldman May Gain Investment From US Treasury - Bloomberg
Bloomberg - By Christine Harper Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest independent US investment banks, may reap cash infusions as part of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan to buy stakes in financial institutions, ... As Stock Falls, Morgan Looks to Japanese Bank Morgan Stanley hangs on Mitsubishi's $9bn pledge Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:30:39 GMT McCain calms supporters, urges respect for Obama - Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times - 'NO MA'AM': Sen. John McCain takes a question from a supporter who called Democratic rival Barack Obama an Arab at a town hall meeting in Lakeville, Minn. McCain-Palin's hot rhetoric risks GOP backlash McCain Lauds and Attacks Obama in Same Day Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:04:20 GMT Palin violated ethics law, inquiry concludes - International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune - By Serge F. Kovaleski NEW YORK: Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, abused her powers as governor of Alaska by pressuring subordinates to try to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired, according to an investigation ... Palin ethics lapse cited Alaska probe finds Palin 'abused her power' Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:58:28 GMT Thai protest leaders released on bail, vow new rallies - AFP
AFP - BANGKOK (AFP) - Leaders of Thai anti-government protests were granted bail Friday after surrendering to police and immediately vowed new rallies, raising fears of mounting turmoil days after deadly street clashes. Video: Raw Video: Tear Gas Fired at Thai Protestors PAD leaders surrender to Thailand police Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:31:03 GMT Stevens's Reputation 'Sterling,' Powell Says - Washington Post
Washington Post - By Del Quentin Wilber Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell told jurors in the corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens yesterday that the powerful Alaska Republican had a "sterling" reputation among the nation's military and political leaders. Reporter's Notebook: Powell Takes the Stand for Stevens Powell says Sen. Stevens' integrity "sterling" Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:13:53 GMT Increased Website Traffic |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... How many people have pictures in a shoe box? In... Read More One of the main reasons people buy digital cameras is... Read More ContentEven if you feel that you already know what kind... Read More So your picture came out less then perfect. Blemishes or... Read More The digital camera is but a technological advancement of the... Read More Pre-Production:It's all got to start somewhere, so before you even... Read More There are many different types of photography. You can take... Read More The most important part of buying a digital camera is... Read More Demystifying Digital Camera JargonWant to buy a digital camera but... Read More Using a digital camera to take pictures is great. It's... Read More Dots Per Inch is a useful measure of relative resolution.... Read More The digital camera is a wonderful device that allows a... Read More Last month we bought the Canon Powershot A80 online for... Read More Love is in the air at the Venice Rookery. The... Read More Being such a fascinating device as the digital camera, this... Read More At a Photo Club meeting I attended recently, the President... Read More Tight BudgetsTight budgets are common these days. But the demand... Read More While digital photography offers you the ability to review photograph... Read More Get a good face shot: Use Higher quality cameras at... Read More When should you use hyperfocal focusing? Well, sometimes when shooting... Read More It doesn't matter if your emailing photos of your grandson... Read More Photography 101 Part One Equipment: camera, meter, flash, tripod This... Read More Why Pinhole Photography?It's fun. It's creative. It's educative about the... Read More Have you read the manual that came with your digital... Read More If you are buying a new underwater camera or video... Read More
Adsense
websites
Memories That Get Lost
Getting Your Photos Ready for Sharing
Photography 101 Part 3
Imperfect Photos And How You Can Fix Them
Digital Zoom Versus Optical Zoom
Camcorder Techniques: How To Make Home Movies Your Family And Friends Will Be Excited To Watch
Landscape Photography - Capture the Beauty That is All Around
The Beginner Buyers Guide To Digital Cameras, Or The Ins And Outs Of Megapixels
Digital Cameras Demystified
Easy Tips for Digital Photo Touchups
Why 1.5 Megapixels is Enough
Digital Camera Macro Mode
Canon-Powershot-A80 Review
The Venice Rookery
Is Digital Photography Expensive?
Where Do Great Ideas Come From?
How to Make Your Production Look a Lot Slicker for £40 More
Your Mobile Digital Darkroom ? Five Tools of the Trade
CCTV Camera Tip: Apply Simple Common Sense when Picking CCTV Cameras and Lenses
Hyperfocal Focusing: What Is It And Why Should You Use It?
Optimize Your Photos for the Web
Photography 101 Part 1
Pinhole Photography: Right Back to Basics
Have You Read Your Digital Camera Manual?
A Guide to Underwater Camera Cases
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Canadas Digital Cameras, Digital Camcorders and Cheap Memory Cards Canada
Digital SLR Camera or Digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera is... Read More
Digital Camera Auto Exposure and Auto Focus
The digital camera being a fantastic and technologically advanced device... Read More
How to Buy the Right Digital Camera
When buying a digital camera there are many things you... Read More
Your Mobile Digital Darkroom ? Five Tools of the Trade
While digital photography offers you the ability to review photograph... Read More
How Many Megapixels Do We Need?
Are you having megapixel envy each time you walk by... Read More
Buying Your Child A Digital Camera - What You Need To Know
Purchasing any gift item for your child is a mind-numbing... Read More
Inspired Vision
A picture is worth a thousand words, so goes a... Read More
Tame Those Memories
Family vacations, summer weddings and family reunions are in full... Read More
Applications of Underwater Video Cameras
There's so much you can do with an underwater video... Read More
Where Do Great Ideas Come From?
At a Photo Club meeting I attended recently, the President... Read More
Black and White is Beautiful
Think about Laurel and Hardy for a moment, or Charlie... Read More
How to Buy a Digital Camera
Are you buying your first digital camera? Well, you must... Read More
African Safari Photography Best Five Destinations
Good wildlife safari photography is not only about composition and... Read More
Digital Camera Reviews and Ratings De-Mystify the Choices
Shopping for a new digital camera can be quite frustrating... Read More
Photography: The Basics
Photography comes from the Greek words meaning "light writing" and... Read More
Choosing The Right Digital Camera
Let's get something straight right out of the box. If... Read More
Seven Ways for Saving Your Digital Images Forever!
So, you have taken lots of pictures with your new... Read More
Getting Your Photos Ready for Sharing
One of the main reasons people buy digital cameras is... Read More
Photography 101 Part 2
Basic CompositionNow that you are beginning to understand how your... Read More
Candid Photography
Candid photography is photography that focuses on spontaneity rather than... Read More
Digital RAW Workflow for Beginners
Having an efficient work flow is essential for photographers. In... Read More
Is Film Better than Digital for Weddings?
As a professional wedding photographer I get this question asked... Read More
Imperfect Photos And How You Can Fix Them
So your picture came out less then perfect. Blemishes or... Read More
Studio Photography and Digital Backgrounds
The article given here was written for Adobe Photoshop 5,6,7,CS,... Read More
Megapixel Cameras: How Many Megapixels Do You Need?
Knowing which megapixel camera to buy can be intimidating. There... Read More
Photography |