How Do I Adjust Lens Distortion in Photoshop?

You can adjust lens distortion in Photoshop using the Lens Correction filter, which allows you to automatically or manually correct for common lens imperfections.

Here's how:

1. Open your image in Photoshop.

2. Go to Filter > Lens Correction. This will open the Lens Correction dialog box.

3. Automatic Correction (If Available): Photoshop can automatically detect and correct lens distortion based on camera and lens metadata embedded in the image.

   • In the Lens Correction dialog box, look for the "Auto Correction" section.
   • Ensure the "Remove Distortion" checkbox is selected. Photoshop will analyze the image and attempt to correct the distortion automatically.
   • If you shot with a common camera and lens combination, Photoshop may recognize it and apply a correction profile. You can manually select the "Make," "Model," and "Profile" from the dropdown menus if needed.

4. Manual Correction: If automatic correction isn't satisfactory or available, you can manually adjust the distortion.

   • In the "Custom" section, you'll find sliders to control various lens distortions:

     • Remove Distortion: Use this slider to correct for barrel (outward bulging) or pincushion (inward squeezing) distortion. Positive values correct barrel distortion, and negative values correct pincushion distortion. Based on the provided text snippet, a value around 52 might be a good starting point for some images, but it will vary depending on the specific lens and shooting conditions. Look for straight lines that should be perfectly vertical, such as columns, and adjust the slider until they appear straight.

     • Vignette Amount: Corrects for vignetting, where the corners of the image are darker than the center.

     • Vignette Midpoint: Adjusts the area affected by the vignette correction.

     • Chromatic Aberration (Fix Red/Cyan Fringe & Fix Blue/Yellow Fringe): Corrects for color fringing that can appear along edges.

     • Transform (Vertical Perspective & Horizontal Perspective): Adjusts the perspective of the image.

     • Scale: Adjusts the scale of the image to compensate for any cropping that might occur after distortion correction.

5. Preview and Adjust: Use the preview window to see the effects of your adjustments in real-time. Experiment with the sliders until you achieve the desired result.

6. Click OK: Once you're satisfied with the adjustments, click "OK" to apply the lens correction to your image.