Editing in Lightroom: I am curious to know if I took a head to toe picture of a person and find two vertical lines on both sides merging. Do you correct this perspective view in LR...

tenny52 Loc: San Francisco

I am curious to know if I took a head to toe picture of a person and find two vertical lines on both sides merging.
Do you correct this perspective view in LR using Vertical slider in Lens Correction in order to make the person look more natural?
Otherwise, would the person's head or toe look bigger relatively?
I have this problem using a 50mm prime on a full figure picture. Of course, if I use a longer lens, this problem would diminish, but then I have to buy a bigger house

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

tenny52 wrote:

I am curious to know if I took a head to toe pictu... (show quote)

It isn't always necessary to make the picture look "perfect" because that's not how things look in the real world. When you look at a tall building, it has that distorted look naturally because the top is farther away from you than the bottom..

So, getting to your question. I would use the Transform section of LR and adjust the vertical slider. Be aware that doing so will crop away part of your picture.

Jerry G Loc: Waterford, Michigan and Florida

If the converging lines are a distraction from your subject, or are overly obvious, then correct them. Correcting the lines will distort the image of your subject, so be careful you don't add ten pounds to someone.

Bill_de Loc: US

Raise or lower the camera when shooting so that it is level when taking the pictures.

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mborn Loc: Massachusetts

jerryc41 wrote:

It isn't always necessary to make the picture look "perfect" because that's not how things look in the real world. When you look at a tall building, it has that distorted look naturally because the top is farther away from you than the bottom..

So, getting to your question. I would use the Transform section of LR and adjust the vertical slider. Be aware that doing so will crop away part of your picture.

Alo check constrain crop

tenny52 Loc: San Francisco

thank you folks,
my actual question, how to make full length figure look more natural and real?
My wife wants my camera to shoot at her eye level (mostly using my 50mm lens), in order to hide her neck lines

By that perspective angle, her feet will be further and hence shorter and smaller; which yields her head bigger.
By using the Vertical slider and cropping out the white, the image should be more truthful to actual size head to toe.
I think all full length people shots will fall into this perspective phenomenon, unless one use a 135mm(or longer) lens at the person's mid-section.
By the same token, if one took a pic of a painting, unless the camera is at the center of the painting, there will be converging lines obviously shown on the frame, by adjusting the Vertical and Horizon slider, it will bring back something close to be done by a scanner.
So does the print of the model on PB magazine centerfold go through such process?

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

I think you're over analyzing things. Take some pictures. Take them at several distances. Take them with your wife standing next to or behind some object (a potted plant, a park bench, a car door, etc.). Look at the results and go from there.

tenny52 Loc: San Francisco

Howard, do you mean its OK to keep the full length portrait with its prospective-angle look?
Correcting the vertical lines (room corner & furniture) to parallel would not make the person look more truthful?
It is very difficult to shoot a perfect square with the perfect square result, if that is even possible, but a scanner can.
For landscape shots it is probably OK, but for full length portrait?

big-guy Loc: Peterborough Ontario Canada

It sounds like the only problem is to hide the wife's neck lines and the solution does not lie in post processing. Try positioning the camera at the subjects waist level and then have the subject push her face forward a couple of inches. This stretches the skin under the chin and on the neck but looks perfectly natural in a 2d photo. This is a standard tool used when photographing larger subjects and has a slimming effect.

tshift Loc: Overland Park, KS.

jerryc41 wrote:

It isn't always necessary to make the picture look "perfect" because that's not how things look in the real world. When you look at a tall building, it has that distorted look naturally because the top is farther away from you than the bottom..

So, getting to your question. I would use the Transform section of LR and adjust the vertical slider. Be aware that doing so will crop away part of your picture.

Hi jerryc41, I don't find transform in my develop module. Help!

Tom

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

jerryc41 wrote:

It isn't always necessary to make the picture look "perfect" because that's not how things look in the real world. When you look at a tall building, it has that distorted look naturally because the top is farther away from you than the bottom..

So, getting to your question. I would use the Transform section of LR and adjust the vertical slider. Be aware that doing so will crop away part of your picture.

you must be running LR 5 or 6 SA as the now renamed version Classic has even more power to handle this issue. That said, the Auto click will often handle things quite well. The full option sometimes does well and other times make a big mess. Then of course you can manually adjust Horz and Virt to try to zero in.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

tenny52 wrote:

Howard, do you mean its OK to keep the full length portrait with its prospective-angle look?

No. What I mean is shoot some pictures and see if there is an actual problem that must be addressed. I made some suggestions as to how composition might play a part in a solution. Stop analyzing and take pictures ... then analyze if necessary. That's what I meant.

lsimpkins Loc: SE Pennsylvania

big-guy wrote:

It sounds like the only problem is to hide the wife's neck lines and the solution does not lie in post processing. Try positioning the camera at the subjects waist level and then have the subject push her face forward a couple of inches. This stretches the skin under the chin and on the neck but looks perfectly natural in a 2d photo. This is a standard tool used when photographing larger subjects and has a slimming effect.

Adjusting lighting so that the under chin area is in shadow (or at least lower light intensity that the rest of her face) would help, too.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

tenny52 wrote:

I am curious to know if I took a head to toe pictu... (show quote)

That is the problem using a 50mm lens. They tend to exaggerate problems with distortion. Use a different focal length and or stand farther away. Keep the lens parallel to the ground as much as possible.

PGHphoto Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

tenny52 wrote:

thank you folks, br my actual question, how to mak... (show quote)

The problem is the tilt of the lens/camera. If you back up until you can hold the camera level and include the entire subject, you can limit the convergence. Or use a slightly wider lens (but that can compound the distortion if going too wide or are too close to your subject). Magazines shooters match the lens, model distance and angle prior to the shoot and always will PP to get exactly what they want.