Weekly Photo Challenge No. 397 - Holiday Season

[cats4jan]

Here is my original
I am not a fan of anything in the background that is not straight...




...so I straightened it



I am not good at selection, so my go-to method of straightening or removing items from a photo is to duplicate the photo and erase on the top one
and move a usable part of the bottom copy - which will go with that section of the photo and fix the problem - into the erased area. 

I then merge the two layers and fix another spot by duplicating the newly merged photo and erasing on the top layer again.

Then I crop the finished product.

I had to use 7 copies of the photo to accomplish this.

The flower pot still seems a bit askew - oh well

Maybe I should learn how to take better photos LOL

Photo taken in local hotel's front lobby

[cats4jan]

Here's one straight 'out of the box' (what box, you ask? yeck if I know)

Same lobby - but this was photo 5 of the tree. Helps if you compose it better.

[preeb]

Dec 19, 2022 19:06:36 GMT cats4jan said:

Here is my original
I am not a fan of anything in the background that is not straight...

 If you can keep the camera level, those lines will tend to stay vertical much better.  Depending on the lens, you may still see some pincushioning or other distortion, but you can greatly reduce or eliminate distorted verticals by making sure that the camera is not tilted forward or back.  I've found that I can do better even if I have to shoot wider and then crop for desired framing.  I habitually shoot wider than I think I need just to ensure that I have enough of what I wanted to survive any subsequent editing.

[cats4jan]

I have not mastered my iPhone. The camera is good enough that I’ve given up carrying my p&s. (Never really had a “good” camera, that is why I’m satisfied with a phone camera.) However, I’m not good aiming that camera phone. Or holding it steady. And I’m still getting my fingers in the photos. My plan, before I gave in to the phone, was to get a decent p&s with a viewfinder because I do better then. However, convenience is now trumping quality.

My needs are different than most. I need a camera that takes photos that will work on scrapbook layouts. I can get away with lesser quality.

I know, I know - much much more info than you needed.

All that being said, it is better to have a longer shot so there is more to work with - just like you suggested. 

[Peterj]

Our Elf on the Shelf decided the shelf was way too restrictive ....