helenjenkins Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Hi I am fairly new to photography and I have been reading some of the forums with interest. I am keen to improve my photos and an ongoing comment made by a few people on my photos (quite rightly, I have to say) is that I have a tendency to take shots where the horizon isn't level. When I compose the shot, it seems level to me (obviously) but then when I download them, I've taken it on a tilt. Does anyone have any hints that can help me get past this problem? Thanks Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petemillis Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Helen, it really is just practice. What camera are you using? Does it have autofocus points lined up across the middle of the viewfinder? I often use these and just look to make sure the horizon is the same distance above or below a point on either side of the screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_margolis Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Some cameras have a built-in grid option or at least a horizon line. Check your manual. Even if it doesn't, this is a simple thing to fix with just about all processing software so check the user manual for that, too. Usually it is called Straighten or Align or Horizon, something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles_stobbs3 Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Unles you're looking out over the ocean, lots of horizons arn't horizontal. Use verticals as a guide instead like buildings and most street lamps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_ernens Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 There's a natural tendency to hold one side lower than the other, because of the way our skeletons are made and the fact that we don't see through a central eye. (I forget which side is always lower, but you often see it in films when a non- photographer plays a photographer.) Every beginning photographer who uses a camera they hold up to their eye has to learn to compensate for this. It's much easier with a bigger camera and lens, but beginners usually have the smallest they could find that does the job. So if you have a consistent tilt on every shot, it's not you but a rite of passage you have yet to pass through. The camera makers can't really fix it with an angled grip or anything clever like that, because then those of us who do it so automatically we've forgotten which side used to be lower will all get crooked horizons. So it's like Western musical notation or English spelling - everyone's stuck with it forever. With the camera held correctly (right hand gripping camera, left hand cradling under lens or lens and camera), tuck your elbows in. One will be in more than the other when the camera is level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_henderson Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I have the same issue and I'd guess that 90% of the photographs I make with my Canon and which have a discernable horizon are "right hand down" and plainly they don't look like that through the finder to me! Obviously I can and do correct this in post, but that affects the framing and loses pixels or prejudices quality depending on how I choose to do it. In my MF cameras I overcome this by use of a gridded screen and a hotshoe spirit level- I guess I'm going to need to follow the same route on a dslr. Just a comment on the previous poster's suggestion. It might work with long lenses, but with wider lenses and especially in "landscape" mode it is usually the case that verticals converge either upwards or downwards unless you have the camera perfectly level and sometimes even when you do. In these circumstances, getting the verticals right is a sure means to have the horizon wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffs Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Obviously it`s best to get your shot level in camera,but if not, then try downloading the editing program called Picassa.It has a levelling facility which is so easy to use. Some of the picture is lost at the edges when levelled this way,but if its not too far out of sync in the first place, then it`s a great way to save a nice photo.! http://picasa.google.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenjenkins Posted August 17, 2008 Author Share Posted August 17, 2008 Thank you all for the suggestions and help. In answer to Pete, I have a Canon SX100 Powershot and I don't think it comes with a grid, which would probably help me a lot. The tilt I have is always in the same direction, so it looks like it's going to be a question of practice! I will bear all of your very helpful comments in mind and when I start to compensate automatically, I'll start celebrating. With thanks to you all, Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_lofquist Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Wouldn't it be nice if we could have firmware in our cameras that emulated the old pinball machines and displayed a big "TILT" whenever you weren't properly aligned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugh_davis Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 The advice above is all good, but there have been a few reports that the image readout unit on the camera--viewfinder or LCD--is out of alignment with the sensor; apparently this is more common in DSLRs than P&S cameras, but if it keeps happening consistently, you may want to do a carefully controlled check on a tripod and/or take it in to the store and have them look at it. HWD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_starr Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I find they are no help at all on a rocking ship! I often compose the photo based on everthing in the viewer except the horizon - I get home to find some amazing angles. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Try one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Adorama-5411-Double-Bubble-Level/dp/B00005QFAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petemillis Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Bubble level all very well when using a tripod, but trying to compose through the VF and looking at a bubble viewfinder at the same time..... I suppose if you have a helper it would be ok. Just look through the VF and ask the helper to say "left side down a bit......up a bit.....down a bit.....ok" But bubble level has given me an idea....how about a tiny bubble level incorporated into the focus screen? Could have a horizontal one and a vertical one. Hmmmm. Or even an electronic one with indicator lights that come on when the camera is either perfectly horizontal or vertical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 "Bubble level all very well when using a tripod, but trying to compose through the VF and looking at a bubble viewfinder at the same time..... " Good point Pete. If you are using your camera without a tripod there are also view finder grids. Of course if you don't have ni,ble fingers you have to get those grids installed. My Panasonic Point-and-shoot comes with a display grid. You hit a button and a grid with vertical and horizontal lines pop-up on the LCD view-finder. I suppose manufacturers of SLRs might incorporate this feature pretty soon if there is enough of a demand/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenjenkins Posted August 18, 2008 Author Share Posted August 18, 2008 Thanks for all the suggestions - I love the pinball idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phule Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 [[i have a Canon SX100 Powershot and I don't think it comes with a grid]] Yes you do! Page 127 of your user manual will describe how to turn on grid lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenjenkins Posted August 18, 2008 Author Share Posted August 18, 2008 Excellent - thanks Rob, will look it out as soon as I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phule Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 [[Excellent - thanks Rob, will look it out as soon as I get home.]] FYI: You can download the user manual as a PDF from http://powershot.com if you'd like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenjenkins Posted August 18, 2008 Author Share Posted August 18, 2008 Hi Rob Home again and gridlines activated! Thanks for the help. Helen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_jackson4 Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Helen, in all honesty I really wouldn't worry about this too much when taking a pic... One of the many benefits of digital is that it's trivial to correct this problem in PP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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