In my recent Street Photography in Greece article I mentioned that I used DxO ViewPoint 2 to apply perspective adjustments to many of my street photography images. A number of readers contacted me outside of the discussion forum and asked me if I could demonstrate a couple of common adjustments that I do with this software as they were unfamiliar with it.
Before we look at two simple types of adjustments I’d like to remind readers that this article is not intended to compare perspective control functions in different software programs. Nor am I inferring that this software is superior to other options available. DxO ViewPoint 2 is simply the program that I choose to use for these types of adjustments.
Let’s have a look at how two specific types of common perspective adjustments can be done using DxO ViewPoint 2. One of the most common perspective adjustments photographers make with their images is to force vertical parallels, especially when shooting with wide angle lenses. Here is the original file of one of the images that appeared in my Street Photography in Greece article, and how it appears when it is initially opened up in DxO ViewPoint 2.
It is important to remember that the decision to adjust an image using any kind of perspective control software should be made before the photograph is actually taken. This is because you will purposely frame the image differently to allow for the anticipated changes in perspective.
In the case of the above image I purposely included part of the door archway on the right hand side, and the second set of windows on the building on the left hand side. I knew that these parts of the original photograph would not be visible in the perspective-adjusted image but I needed some cropping room for the perspective adjustments. It is also very important to consider how much taller a subject in your image may become when perspective adjustments are applied. Leaving more ‘headroom’ or sky in an image is a critical consideration when planning how to frame an image to allow for perspective adjustments. If you look at the amount of sky in the left hand image of the ‘before and after’ comparison you’ll see how much taller the yellow building is and how much sky has disappeared. The closer you are to a subject, the greater the amount of potential perspective adjustments an image may require. A good illustration of this can be found in my Images of Greece article if you compare images 5 and 5a.
My client business focuses on industrial photography and video productions that are most often related to safety. As a result I take a lot of photographs of posted safety bulletins, signage on factory walls, and safety stickers on machinery. To have these images look their best in video productions it is important that I adjust both vertical and horizontal parallel orientations.
I had a similar need with one of the images in my Street Photography in Greece article. Let’s have a look at how the original image appears when opened up in DxO ViewPoint 2 when the four-point perspective adjustment is used.
I now have a completed image, ‘square’ and cropped that I can ‘Save’ or ‘Save as’. Making adjustments to get these types of subjects ‘square’ in the frame takes about 15-20 seconds. Using the grid and cropping the image can add another 15-30 seconds.
These are the two most common, simple adjustments I do with DxO ViewPoint 2. I am certainly not an expert in the use of this program and readers who want to check its capabilities out further should visit the DxO website, and/or download a free trial version. At the time of writing this article DxO ViewPoint 2 was available for $79.00.
Article and all images Copyright 2014, Thomas Stirr. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction or duplication including electronic is allowed without written consent.