Help with H&V alignment

[.SimO.]

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone. I need assistance with adjusting the alignment on my images. All four of the shots I have posted just don't "feel" right to me. I am utilizing Light Room 3 for post processing and the software allows for angle and balancing adjustments. My issue is, which lines do I follow for leveling the shot? I try and get the composition how I want it but when I am framing a shot, I seem to tilt or move when pressing the shutter. Even with my tripod, I will find myself moving the angle just a hair.

Now i'm sure my composition isn't great but I am continuing to work on it along with the actual subjects. These four shots were taken yesterday during my Random Adventure Moment(RAM). Simplified, I take my camera, drive to a random location and walk from there and take shots of what I think is "interesting".

These shots were taken with my Canon Rebel T3i and my Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8. I had my 430exII speedlite on-camera(I know, I know) to help with fills when needed.

1.
I followed and aligned vertically with the left side of the post but with the lines of the field in the background, it doesn't look right.


2.
I aligned with the far right vertical corner for this shot.


3.
Leveled with the edge of the roof where the icicles are and this keeps messing with my head on the angle.


4.
I just struggled with this both horizontally and vertically. Help.


Thanks for your input and hope this made enough sense.

 

[runnah]

Here are two and I drew lines to show you what part of the photo I used to level them.

 

[.SimO.]

View attachment 34233View attachment 34234Here are two and I drew lines to show you what part of the photo I used to level them.

Ah, thank you. Are there rules or guidelines to leveling a photograph? It's easier for me when there is a simple object in focus but when I have most of an image in focus, that gets to me.

 

[deeky]

I think part of the problem is lens distortion, not necessarily tilt. Looking at #4, I couldn't get the exif data. I'm guessing you were shooting at the short end of your focal length. You can see the distortion looking at the posts of the structure. Rather than all leaning the same way, they splay out in opposite directions. You can also see it in #3.

#2 is a perspective issue because you are shooting up at an angle. Think about railroad tracks that appear to get closer together the farther they are from you. When you shoot up at a steep angle like you did here, the top acutally looks smaller than the bottom, which throws your alignment out the window. I would straighten it according to the nearest corner (right side of brightest face), and then use a skew tool if you have one in lightroom to stretch the top of the shot wider.

Here's what I came up with very quickly.


8422858035_7700c46b98a by breckmiller, on Flickr


The others can be fixed as well.

 

[.SimO.]

I think part of the problem is lens distortion, not necessarily tilt. Looking at #4, I couldn't get the exif data. I'm guessing you were shooting at the short end of your focal length. You can see the distortion looking at the posts of the structure. Rather than all leaning the same way, they splay out in opposite directions. You can also see it in #3.

#2 is a perspective issue because you are shooting up at an angle. Think about railroad tracks that appear to get closer together the farther they are from you. When you shoot up at a steep angle like you did here, the top acutally looks smaller than the bottom, which throws your alignment out the window. I would straighten it according to the nearest corner (right side of brightest face), and then use a skew tool if you have one in lightroom to stretch the top of the shot wider.

Here's what I came up with very quickly.


8422858035_7700c46b98a by breckmiller, on Flickr


The others can be fixed as well.

Apologies on the missing exif information. I guess I should have put all that on there so i'll take note to get that this evening when I get home. I try to never have the lens zoomed in or out all the way but now i'm wondering if I actually did... I definitely see what you are saying on number 4. Maybe i'll look into correcting it on LR but my perception of what it should be might just do more destruction to the shot.

In regards to the 2nd image, thanks for the points you made. I will definitely focus more on adjusting to the closest corner in the image. That might help quite a bit and I guess that definitely makes more sense then adjusting to the far right of the image, lol. Thanks for the input and suggestions!!

 

[WesternGuy]

.SimO. - as far as "general rules" go, I tend to follow a very simplistic one - I level what should be level, such as horizons and lakeshores, edges of fields, etc. and I try and make vertical what should be vertical , e.g., edges of tree trunks, posts, poles, etc., sides of buildings, etc. - well you get the idea. A lot of this type of correction can be done in the Crop Overlay panel using the straighten tool.

As far as distortion caused by the lens or angle of shooting, e.g., your clock tower above, I tend to agree with deeky. You can also use what are called keystone corrections in your lens correction panel. I haven't used LR 3 in quite a while, so I am afraid I don't remember the exact details of how it is done as I updated to LR 4 - maybe it is not that different, but I am sure if you Google "keystone corrections Lightroom" you will find something to help you. HTH.

WesternGuy

 

[.SimO.]

Much appreciated! I'll definitely have to look into the keystone corrections as you stated. Thanks for the suggestions of simple rules. I think I just get overwhelmed when there are multiple lines to follow.

Truly appreciate all the information provided from everyone.