Advice on alignment
Aug 27, 2018 16:50:48 #
I took this image from an open car window while driving near Owl's Head, Maine. It is just a snapshot documenting our trip but after some minor cropping and removing annoying telephone lines, I was perplexed by what horizontal alignment to choose. At present, the post on the right top is reasonably vertical, but is that the best choice or should I try some perspective modifications or something else. I doubt that the image is worth all this effort, but you know how it is when you get started. Thanks for any suggestions (I think).
Aug 27, 2018 17:00:57 #
The buildings in the back need to be horizontal & plumb - which they do seem to be. I'd leave well enough alone
Aug 27, 2018 17:03:55 #
Sometimes the ground is just not level. The photo looks fine just the way it is.
Aug 27, 2018 17:04:46 #
twowindsbear wrote:
The buildings in the back need to be horizontal & plumb - which they do seem to be. I'd leave well enough alone
Looks like the sign in the front left is crooked.
Aug 27, 2018 17:04:56 #
twowindsbear wrote:
I agree, especially with the building being in the center. The large vertical pole is straight. The vehicle looks natural and is complimented by the sign's angle, which appears to be natural and on sloped land.The buildings in the back need to be horizontal & plumb - which they do seem to be. I'd leave well enough alone
Aug 27, 2018 17:25:47 #
Most lenses, especially zooms and even prime wide angles have those distortions near the edges and learning to use that distortion is part of the game. Some viewers like it, some don’t.
Aug 27, 2018 17:31:29 #
Designdweeb wrote:
Most lenses, especially zooms and even prime wide angles have those distortions near the edges and learning to use that distortion is part of the game. Some viewers like it, some don’t.
The ground was sloping down to the road on the left but the signs were essentially parallel to the ground. Shot up close with a P900 at 43mm (equivalent).
Aug 27, 2018 17:40:09 #
orrie smith wrote:
Sometimes the ground is just not level. The photo looks fine just the way it is.
Yes, there are areas say in California where the ground is tilted likely due to Earthquakes for miles around to say the horizon line so you can't really "fix" your images as trees grow straight up usually due to (and inverse to) gravity. One such area that is pictured on TV often is the Trona Pinnacles / Searles Dry (salt) Lake area, the terrain is tilted East of the Sierra-Nevada Mountains near Hwys I-395 and SR-178 due to many huge earthquakes in the past and continuing slowly today. Another weirdity is the San Gabriel Mountains look much taller from the Los Angeles side than the Mojave Desert side. That is because the land is raised on the desert side relative to the coastal side. This due to the San Andreas, San Gabriel, and other major fault systems in So. California. Also alluvium and water has no way to get to the Pacific Ocean through the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains from the desert. I'll bet no one thought they would be getting a geography or geology lesson.
Aug 27, 2018 17:44:46 #
Designdweeb wrote:
... Some viewers like it, some don’t.
That abolutely nails it!
Stop trying to please everyone, and instead get the picture YOU like. Rules Of Thumb are to help learn what you like, but are the wrong way to compose and frame any specific shot.
Accept the fact that everyone is an individual and has different likes and dislikes. Trying to shoot something noone will dislike means doing mediocre work of no import whatever.
It is your picture, so align it to please your taste, and ignore the infinite number of other ways to do it!
Aug 27, 2018 17:47:05 #
Designdweeb wrote:
Most lenses, especially zooms and even prime wide angles have those distortions near the edges and learning to use that distortion is part of the game. Some viewers like it, some don’t.
Though really good prime and including a few zoom lenses may have very little geometric or perspective distortion down to about half "normal" focal length. Say >24mm for a FF or film camera or >17mm for a APS-C camera. P&S and Bridge Cameras same idea but different focal lengths.
Aug 27, 2018 17:56:53 #
lamiaceae wrote:
Yes, there are areas say in California where the ground is tilted likely due to ...
There are VERY FEW places where the ground does not tilt. California is not special. Maybe Kansas and the North Slope are special, by being flatter than flat. But even the ocean won't provide a flat horizon if enough is included.
If it is your image, tilt it the way that looks best to your tastes. If ten people on UHH say it is wrong, just accept that they are, for your image, wrong!
Aug 27, 2018 17:59:13 #
lamiaceae wrote:
Though really good prime and including a few zoom lenses may have very little geometric or perspective distortion down to about half "normal" focal length. Say >24mm for a FF or film camera or >17mm for a APS-C camera. P&S and Bridge Cameras same idea but different focal lengths.
Focal length does not change perspective distortion.
Aug 27, 2018 18:00:30 #
cdayton wrote:
I took this image from an open car window while dr... (show quote)
This is a joke--right?
Aug 27, 2018 19:58:32 #
Aug 28, 2018 06:03:25 #
Always use a building - unless it's one of these modern architectural wonders that makes you wonder how it stays up at all. Increase the image size if necessary to get a decent length on which to use the straightening tool. If your horizon tool only works in the one plane turn image 90°, straighten, then turn back.
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