One of my pet peeves are crooked photos. Â You know the kind… where the image seems to be leaning to the left and right. Â Sure, maybe that’s by design… but often it’s just because of being careless. Â I’d like to offer you several ways to avoid this amateur mistake. Â In fact if you’re shooting a panoramic photo, this type of error can be very problematic.
Check your tripod. Â Many have a level to ensure that your shooting platform is solid.
Add a hot shoe bubble level. There are many of these simple devices on the market.  Just slip one into your camera’s hot shoe. These can help avoid a crooked horizon or any perspective tilt that was unintentional.
Check your menus. Many cameras feature a virtual horizon.  This can help you get a level platform too (even when shooting handheld).
There’s an app for that. When I set up my camera slider for timelapse, a bubble level app can really come in handy.  Thanks to Ron Risman for this idea.
Have a backup. While my tripod may be level, what’s to say the ballhead is.  I often using a camera rail from Really Right Stuff to help offset the camera when shooting panoramas.  This makes sure that the camera body and head are perfectly level when I shoot.
Straighten in post. Â Both Lightroom and Photoshop have easy tools for straightening photos.
Here’s how in Photoshop.
- In Photoshop, select the Ruler Tool (I).
- Locate a line or surface that you think should be horizontal (or vertical).
- Click and drag a line to measure the angle.
- In the Options bar click the Straighten button.