Taking a photograph is easy. Taking a “good” photograph is something completely different. There are many parameters to consider, and something like converging lines can affect the quality of a shot in certain cases. Fortunately, digital photography allows different types of “post-shoot” corrections, and thanks to the tool ShiftN you can correct the converging lines of a scene extremely easily, achieving a kind of “false angle” that compensates for that of the original photo.
If you have ever tried to take a photograph of a building or another kind of large structure, you may not have been satisfied with the result because of something as simple as the effect caused by converging lines. A photographer has different resources to reduce the effect of these lines (if necessary), but they tend to be too expensive for the enthusiast photographer. Add to that the explosion of photography with compact cameras, and cameras integrated into other mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The other option is to try to modify the image digitally. The classic dance of image editing tools begins in the user's mind, but this time we have an application exclusively dedicated to correcting converging lines.
How to Correct Converging Lines in a Photograph
It is ShiftN, and it is very easy to use. All you have to do is load the image in question, press the automatic correction button, and save the changes. For the vast majority of cases, ShiftN determines all parameters on its own, but any user interested in playing with the program's advanced options can do so without problems. When saving the image, you can do it in JPG, BMP and TIFF formats, and you will find other options such as applying a slight “Sharpen” effect, and automatic cropping of the image. When correcting converging lines, the program generates white spaces because the perspective of the image is no longer rectangular, hence the need for cropping.
The program is free, very lightweight, has no apparent secondary requirements, and its interface supports Spanish. You can download it from the official site. On that site you will also find more information about ShiftN's advanced functions, along with other recommendations. The results of images processed with ShiftN may not be ideal in some cases, but with some manual adjustment you may find the exact correction. After all, ShiftN is not what you would call a professional tool, and some users might prefer a much more robust solution. For the rest, ShiftN offers a three-click solution, something very tempting these days. The program works from Windows Vista onward, including Windows 10.
