Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows: The Missing Manual

Correcting Lens Distortion

If you ever photograph buildings, then you know that it can be tough getting good shots with a fixed-lens digital camera. When you get too close to the structure, your lens causes distortion, as shown in Figure 11-8. You can buy special perspective-correcting lenses, but they're expensive (and if you have a pocket camera, they aren't even an option). Fortunately, you can use Elements' Correct Camera Distortion filter to fix photos after you've taken them. It's another very popular Photoshop tool that Adobe transferred over to Elements, minus a couple of advanced options.

Correct Camera Distortion is a terrifically helpful filter, and not just for buildings. You can also use it to correct the slight balloon effect you sometimes see in closeups of people's faces (especially in shots taken with a wide-angle setting). You can even deploy the filter for creative purposes, like creating the effect of a fisheye lens by pushing the filter's settings to their extremes.

Here are some telltale signs that it's time to summon Correct Camera Distortion:

• You've used the Straighten tool (Straighten Tool), but things still don't look right.

• Your horizon is straight, but your photo has no true right angles. In other words, the objects in your photo lean in misleading ways. For instance, buildings lean in from the edges of the frame, or back away from you.

• Every time you straighten to a new reference line, something else gets out of whack. For example, say you keep choosing different ...