When to straighten (Page 3): I tend to straighten very early, because I find any undesired tilt VERY distracting. I prefer to crop early for either aspect printing or content, although...

ATCurry

I tend to straighten very early, because I find any undesired tilt VERY distracting. I prefer to crop early for either aspect printing or content, although this doesn't always happen because of a change of mind/vision. Corners are important, and knowing where they are before a lot of PP makes a big difference in time and effort.

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

I straighten in RAW, usually in my first crop in LR, which, since crop is the top adjustment in the right menu, is naturally my first step. Very occasionally I'll go back and straighten a jpg after I've exported it, but that's usually after I've lived with it for awhile. I am trying like heck to get to the point that I need as little cropping as possible so I don't lose pixels. My camera's normal aspect ratio seems to be 2X3 (Canon Rebel T2i) so I try to keep to that most of the time.

Bill_de Loc: US

I straighten, if necessary, and crop first. Why make adjustments to parts of the image that won't be there in the end. Some software automatically fills in the spaces that straightening leaves. But if you do these 2 steps up front this is not an issue.

---

twowindsbear

How about holding your camera level in the first place????

Turn on the 'rule of thirds grid' and use that to align your camera with a level or plumb element in your scene.

Activate the 'level' feature in your camera that indicates left to right level as well as front to back level.

Saves a LOT of PP'ing!

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

gvarner wrote:

When do you straighten a photo - during RAW editing or after? I use Elements 14 and can do it either way. Regardless of when I do it I end up with photo dimensions that are not the same as the original. My D7000 native format is 4x6. Should I resize it to a 4x6 ratio or just crop it to that? Thanks in advance for the advise.

I straighten, crop etc. for composition. I shoot with the thought that at times this is desired especially when fixing converging lines. Then print and mat for the ratio I cropped to.
I do it with a copy in JPEG. A RAW copy is adjusted for exposure etc.

gessman Loc: Colorado

gvarner wrote:

When do you straighten a photo - during RAW editing or after? I use Elements 14 and can do it either way. Regardless of when I do it I end up with photo dimensions that are not the same as the original. My D7000 native format is 4x6. Should I resize it to a 4x6 ratio or just crop it to that? Thanks in advance for the advise.

Ideally, as if it matters, to state the obvious, straightening is best done during shooting. Here's a url to a thread from 2013 that a uhh member, "searcher," contributed regarding what happens to an image when it is straightened and succinctly demonstrates why it is important to "shoot straight" when time permits:

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-145626-1.html

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

gvarner wrote:

When do you straighten a photo - during RAW editing or after? I use Elements 14 and can do it either way. Regardless of when I do it I end up with photo dimensions that are not the same as the original. My D7000 native format is 4x6. Should I resize it to a 4x6 ratio or just crop it to that? Thanks in advance for the advise.

I straighten near the end of the editing process. My reasoning is that I don't want to prematurely straighten or crop my photos because once I crop or straighten, I can't go back if I later decide that I want to crop or rotate my image differently. Just before I crop and straighten, I save my otherwise completely edited file. That way, should I later need a different aspect ratio for publication or some other reason, I have the full edited frame to work with.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

billnikon wrote:

On my D500 I have a grid overlay for straightening, it works extremely well. I have yet to us PP for that since buying the D500.

Does that only work on the JPG or RAW as well?

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

I first use Adobe Camera RAW to make any corrections Imight need. Then I load the file into Photoshop and straighten it first. Then go onto any other changes I may decide to make. IN PS CC you can tick the box and PS will fill those areas that would be cropped out when straightening. Most times its just fair but other times its amazing how good it does.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

I don't think it saves much time. Leveling is one of the easier and faster things to do so why not do it early in the process? Then you will always see the shot the way it was and not have to do the mental gymnastics or lose something you worked on in PP.

catchlight.. Loc: Wisconsin USA- Halden Norway

Most importantly, convert the image to a smart object before leveling. any twist or size adjustment will loose pixels and look soft.

...filling the edges are a no problem with content aware.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

I have always used the viewing grid overlay but sometimes have to use "Transform" in PS to get the perspective I envisioned when I made the original image.

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

I straighten first using photoshop elements 13 with auto-fill. I then crop since the auto fill often distorts the periphery of the photo. I then do my post processing using Topaz Studio. Clarity was my favorite plug-in and it was added as a free adjustment in Studio and is very easy to use.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

billnikon wrote:

On my D500 I have a grid overlay for straightening, it works extremely well. I have yet to us PP for that since buying the D500.

Joking aside - my Panasonic G5 has a levelling tool which, when switched on, shows me when the camera is straight. However, I do prefer to use the "thirds" grid as I also use that for composition, and as an overlay it is less intrusive. Of course, all these tools are so easily available with an EV.