Lightroom perspective tool - is it reliable?

[kers]

I use Lightroom, but for my architectural work I do not use the perspective tool for I do not know what it does exactly.
Good perspective correction takes account of your position in height in relation to the horizon.
A position LR does not know. So how does it work?
If somebody knows more about it I am interested.

[digitaldog]

https://jkost.com/blog/2024/07/removing-lens-distortions-and-correcting-perspective-in-lightroom-classic.html

[David Eichler]

I use Lightroom, but for my architectural work I do not use the perspective tool for I do not know what it does exactly.
Good perspective correction takes account of your position in height in relation to the horizon.
A position LR does not know. So how does it work?
If somebody knows more about it I am interested.

I do architectural photography and I don't use the LR transform tool much for modifying keystoning. I normally use Photoshop transform for this purpose.

[kers]

Thanks David, I will have a closer look into it and will pubish the results here.

I also use Photoshop and a guide from Rodenstock that explains how to do it right.

[Chris Kern]

For simple keystoning correction, Lightroom works well and its tools are very easy to use.  In addition to comprehensive sets of slider-based and automatic corrections, I often use its guided adjustment tool for architectural photos.  The Julieanne Kost video Andrew cited provides a clear and concise tutorial.

Photoshop has essentially the same capabilities, plus a Perspective Warp tool that can help (within limits) with very difficult geometry corrections, such as those introduced by stitching a panorama.  However I find it rather finicky—which perhaps reflects my limited Photoshop skills.

But there's a limit to how much and how well post-processing can correct geometric distortion.  I've never worked professionally as a photographer, but I suspect someone doing architectural work for a client would be better off investing in a tilt-and-shift lens and a panorama tripod head than trying to get the perspective right in post.  Or by just standing back far enough when it's possible to work with a lens of the appropriate focal length, using a high-resolution sensor, and cropping so the image is usable straight-out-of-camera.

Almost all the photos I've posted here had their geometry adjusted in Lightroom.

[David Eichler]

For simple keystoning correction, Lightroom works well and its tools are very easy to use.  In addition to comprehensive sets of slider-based and automatic corrections, I often use its guided adjustment tool for architectural photos.  The Julieanne Kost video Andrew cited provides a clear and concise tutorial.

Photoshop has essentially the same capabilities, plus a Perspective Warp tool that can help (within limits) with very difficult geometry corrections, such as those introduced by stitching a panorama.  However I find it rather finicky—which perhaps reflects my limited Photoshop skills.

For modifying keystoning, LR tends to rotate the image in the process. This may or may not be desirable, depending upon the image and how critical you are. For me, LR transform does not often provide acceptable results for this purpose, which is why I rely mostly on PS for this. If I do want to rotate the image, I usually prefer to do that myself as a separate operation, rather than use the automated approach of LR, which takes full control away from me.














But there's a limit to how much and how well post-processing can correct geometric distortion.  I've never worked professionally as a photographer, but I suspect someone doing architectural work for a client would be better off investing in a tilt-and-shift lens and a panorama tripod head than trying to get the perspective right in post.  Or by just standing back far enough when it's possible to work with a lens of the appropriate focal length, using a high-resolution sensor, and cropping so the image is usable straight-out-of-camera.

Almost all the photos I've posted here had their geometry adjusted in Lightroom.