Field guide
Straightening a horizon without guessing
A visible sea horizon is simple; architecture, hills and wide-angle scenes can contain several lines that are not meant to be level.
01
Choose the physical reference first. Water horizons should be level, while receding rooflines and roads follow perspective and should not be forced horizontal.
02
Use a long guide across the reference. Measuring two distant points reduces the influence of a wave, branch or local lens distortion.
03
Preview the automatic crop before committing. Even a small rotation cuts corners, and the important subject may sit in the area that must be removed.
04
Check people and verticals after the horizon. A level background can still feel wrong when lens distortion or camera pitch makes central architecture lean.