goofy buildings

[flight1]

What causes these distortions in photos of buildings? The images were taken with an A-70 digital camera. What can be done to correct the photos? Thanks for your help. Tom

[T Paul]

You will need to post a photo so we can see the problem...just make sure the file is under 100k or it won't load.

I will take a stab in the dark though. The main problem in photographing buildings, especially if you are at maximum zoom or maximum width with your lens is Barrel or Pincushion distortion.

Barrel distortion -- the slight convex curve that appears on straight lines in images -- is the necessary artifact of a camera's zoom lens. But you can use Photoshop to minimize barrel distortion in your images.

As opposite the Pincushion distortion is associated with Telephoto lenses (or maximum zoom) and the images appear pinched (bent inward) toward the center. The Pincushion is often less noticeable than barrel.

Here's how:

CreativePro Tutorial

LarryBolch Tutorial

Correcting Optical Distortion

Barrel Distortion Correction by DPReview

Hope this helps,

~T

[flight1]

I will try again to post an image. Tom

[flight1]

One more goofy building.

[catia]

Use the perspective transformation on these. You might need to rotate the image so that a main horizontal line in the image is at zero degrees first. Here is your last post with just the perspective transformation applied.

Catia

[Kevin Connery]

What causes these distortions in photos of buildings?

That's the way you 'see' it, actually, though it's not the way you remember it.

Next time you're someplace with tall buildings, look up--how do they actually appear? Are the lines straight up and down, or do they appear to converge?

Whenever you tilt a camera so that the film/sensor isn't parallel to something, it "distorts". But it does that in Real Life, too, when the eyes aren't "parallel"--looking up, along the side of a wall, down some railroad tracks, etc. We just filter it out subconciously.

As noted, the perspective control tools in PS will help. If you can, keep the camera level with the subject/wall, though, and it'll work better. (When you can fit the whole thing in, at least.)