This was an article that was updated on January 20, 2024. Contributions were made by Jim Hamel Darren Rowse and Jay Dempsey.
In many types of photography such as landscape, travel and architectural, the horizon line plays a major role. Even if your photo doesn’t have a truehorizon, it’s likely to contain a line that viewers subconsciously expect to be straight.
You might be surprised that crooked line poses a major problem for beginners (and can also be a challenge for advanced photographers). We are often so focused on our subject that we don’t notice if the picture is crooked. But, the truth is, a slant will be the first thing that non-photographers see.
It can be embarrassing to post a great photo, only for it appear crooked. The good news is, keeping your photos level and your horizons straight is very simple. Two broad approaches can be used:
- Straighten up your shot in the field
- Post-processing can be used to fix a crooked picture
In this article I will show you how to apply orapproach effectively in your workflow.
Sound good? Let’s get started!
How to avoid crooked pictures in the field
You can fix a slanted photo in post-processing but it is always better to get the composition correct on the spot. This will save you time on the computer and prevent you from losing pixels at the edges of your frame.
Let’s begin with some simple techniques and tools that will help you keep your images in order right from the start!
