# I made a usable photo from a bad shot



## nerwin (Jul 27, 2017)

So I took this photo and completely messed it up. I wasn't perfectly aligned when I took this photo so the lines were messed up and mostly non correctable in Lightroom. I didn't know what to do with this photo so I almost deleted it. But I decided to keep it and see if I could do something with it later.






So after a while looking at it. I decided to mess around with it in Lightroom and Photoshop using transform tool to see if I can actually save it. I made a completely different  image out of this photo using some simple techniques and a little bit of photoshopping.

While it's not the GREATEST photo in the world, I don't mind it and it will be usable to share on Instagram, maybe even Flickr.





I really loved what the transform tool did to the clouds, it definitely added some interest to the photo.  It's almost looks like I completely changed the perspective of the photo as if I took it from a higher elevation. I don't know, I like it. 

It really is amazing what you can do with Photoshop and Lightroom. Sometimes it's just worth keeping even crappy shots, because you never know. You might be able to use it someday.


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## Braineack (Jul 27, 2017)

guided alignment tool could have done that in LR.

the edit is cool -- nice processing too.


im a HUGE fan of vertical lines right now.


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## nerwin (Jul 27, 2017)

Braineack said:


> guided alignment tool could have done that in LR.



That's what I used. But did some additional adjustments using Photoshop. Of course I had to use the content aware tools.


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## Braineack (Jul 27, 2017)

duh, i see the right edge now.   maybe filling in that area with some clouds like the left frame might look good -- that blank area is stupid noticeable now.


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## nerwin (Jul 27, 2017)

Yeah it's not perfect. But It's far better than I expected it would turn out for a photoshop newbie like myself haha. But it was good practice anyways.


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## Gary A. (Jul 27, 2017)

Very good practice.  The manipulated image, to me, is a much stronger image than the original.


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## nerwin (Jul 27, 2017)

Braineack said:


> duh, i see the right edge now.   maybe filling in that area with some clouds like the left frame might look good -- that blank area is stupid noticeable now.



There wasn't any clouds there though. But I can mess around with that.


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## kap55 (Jul 27, 2017)

Manipulated image definitely stands out - I think that it could be a great B&W


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## Braineack (Jul 27, 2017)

nerwin said:


> Braineack said:
> 
> 
> > duh, i see the right edge now.   maybe filling in that area with some clouds like the left frame might look good -- that blank area is stupid noticeable now.
> ...



oh, let realism stop you now!


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## vintagesnaps (Jul 27, 2017)

Yeah but now the clouds are all wrong... I mean, they just look don't look right because the sky doesn't match the building - the proportion is off. I learned that in drawing classes. 

What was wrong with the first one? I might have cropped it some or straightened it a little, but if you were looking up at a building, isn't this how it should look from that vantage point? isn't the original the perspective you'd get?


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## nerwin (Jul 27, 2017)

vintagesnaps said:


> Yeah but now the clouds are all wrong... I mean, they just look don't look right because the sky doesn't match the building - the proportion is off. I learned that in drawing classes.
> 
> What was wrong with the first one? I might have cropped it some or straightened it a little, but if you were looking up at a building, isn't this how it should look from that vantage point? isn't the original the perspective you'd get?



Ah maybe. But no one cared on Instagram. Haha. 

I tried to get the lines straight, but when I did, another line would be off and that didn't look right.


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## nerwin (Jul 27, 2017)

Hmmm. I don't know. Maybe it works. Tried it in black and white too.


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## vintagesnaps (Jul 27, 2017)

Well maybe it would have needed a change in vantage point or framing at the time. I like the clouds reflected in the windows.


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## benhasajeep (Jul 28, 2017)

Ahem - one of these maybe?  

http://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96..._PeGpAGxCZ4LgQny0ExNxJnWgo6A==/Views/2168.png


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## nerwin (Jul 28, 2017)

benhasajeep said:


> Ahem - one of these maybe?
> 
> http://cdn-4.nikon-cdn.com/e/Q5NM96..._PeGpAGxCZ4LgQny0ExNxJnWgo6A==/Views/2168.png



If you buy me one, sure!


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## davidbeckphoto (Aug 28, 2017)

That's awesome - I've used similar tools in Photoshop and they ended up being lifesavers.


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## dennybeall (Aug 31, 2017)

Put the building on one layer and the clouds on another - fix the building and leave the clouds alone....................


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## nerwin (Aug 31, 2017)

dennybeall said:


> Put the building on one layer and the clouds on another - fix the building and leave the clouds alone....................



You make it sound easy.


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## Bobby Ironsights (Oct 28, 2017)

Looks like transform can do what you'd need a view camera or a tilt shift lens to do in by gone days.


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## JustJazzie (Oct 28, 2017)

Very cool! I like the edited version much better than the original. Always fun to learn new things!


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## jcdeboever (Oct 28, 2017)

I don't get it. You changed the perspective in software.


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