Photoshop update: Content-aware straightening tool


New Photoshop CC update allows straightening images without cropping

Before and afterThe latest Photoshop update has solved one of the big problems with the straightening tool, making it easy to keep your horizons straight without cropping out large portions of your photography. And it just takes one extra click to enable content-aware straightening.

While previous Lightroom and Photoshop updates made it it really easy to straighten your images, the down side has always been that straightening images involved cropping the photo, which often mean cutting off important elements or, at best, ending up with elements so close to the edge of the image they would be covered by or jammed against any frame or mat.

With the new Photoshop CC 2015.5 update, that’s no longer a problem.

It works just like it always has (click on the cropping tool and then pick the straightening ruler); however, you need to check the “content-aware” box  in the upper toolbar just to the right of the straightening ruler. Then you pull the straightening line across the horizon just as you always have to tell Photoshop what line should be used to rotate the image to the proper point.

Photoshop content-aware straighten toolPhotoshop will then give you the crop box it thinks works best. Just make adjustments, not worrying that some portions of the new frame look empty.

When you hit “Enter,” the image will be straight and Photoshop will rebuild the empty portions of the image based on nearby content. It’s amazing.

This is an example of why the online Adobe photographer’s subscription is so valuable: Every new updated feature is automatically added to your software, allowing you to increase your efficiency and automate steps in your workflow. And it’s only $9.99 per month.

Be sure and watch the video below to see how the new Photoshop CC content-aware straighten tool works.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7m0U-6i2Uw[/embedyt]


About Andy Crawford

Andy Crawford has been a photographer and writer for more than 20 years, with thousands of images and articles published in magazines and newspapers around the country. He now focuses on Louisiana photography, landscapes, HDR photography, urban prints and other fine art photography. He also is a portrait photographer.