Perspective correction - does this still look "off"

[ndh]

Hi,

Having just added my 2 cents to this thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=251834), I'm going to ask for more opinions on correcting perspective!

I took this shot of a friend with the Louis Riel statue behind the Manitoba Legislature:

http://hebb.cis.uoguelph.ca/~nharvey/images/with_riel_1.jpg
PowerShot A60, 1/999 sec, f/4.0

In an attempt to correct the drunken tilt of the statue and the building, I ran a correction and got this:

http://hebb.cis.uoguelph.ca/~nharvey/images/with_riel_2.jpg

The background looks better, but now my friend's head is all squished at the top of the image. So I pasted the corrected background into the original:

http://hebb.cis.uoguelph.ca/~nharvey/images/with_riel_3.jpg

What do you think - does it look unnatural? Is there more I can do to help this picture?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

(Riel, by the way, was a defender of Métis rights who was hanged as a traitor for his role in an 1885 rebellion against the Canadian government. But he is widely regarded as a hero now.)

[Don Ellis]

The background looks better, but now my friend's head is all squished at the top of the image. So I pasted the corrected background into the original:

What do you think - does it look unnatural? Is there more I can do to help this picture?

Thanks in advance for any advice!


Looks good in the last version... what you need to do is resize your photo after the perspective cropping. Go to Image Size, uncheck your Constrain Proportions box, and set a figure for the height that's about 5% larger than the one that's already there (the width will stay the same). Adjust to taste.

Cheers,

Don

[DanielM]

Someone needs to cut down those darn trees in the background. Louis gets lost in them.

Otherwise, I think it's a decent correction.

[Sailor Don]

ndh,

Given the original image, I would say you did a good fix on the perspective distortion.

I would have shot the original from a greater distance with a longer focal length. Sometimes that's not possible. Like when you step back 10 feet and you end up in the middle of traffic. :wink: I just hate it when that happens.

[ndh]

Hey all,

Thanks for the encouraging feedback!

what you need to do is resize your photo after the perspective cropping.
You're right, I ended up with a noticeably shorter and wider Louis in the final image. I tried what you suggested to restore his original svelte figure (miracle weight loss plan!)

So the final image is:

http://hebb.cis.uoguelph.ca/~nharvey/images/with_riel_4.jpg

[Don Ellis]

Hi Neil,

Looks good... glad the weight loss program helped... now if it only worked in real life. :)

Do you use Photoshop CS by any chance? If so, the Image, Adjustments, Shadow/Highlight feature can lighten the statue and jeans a bit.

I used 15-20% on the shadow detail to good effect.

Just a thought. It's quite nice as it is.

Don