[Rob Barron]

This is a software approach to getting a shot that looks like it was taken with a 10mm lens but in fact was not. The effect is simply achieved using the distort tool in Photoshop. This is a quick tutorial to show you how:

Here we have a photo of the Whernside Viaduct in Cumbria, UK. It is pleasant enough but rather lacking in impact as it is a bit too horizontal across the picture. However it was taken with a 17mm lens on a Canon 20D and I didn't have anything wider to make the close area look larger and add a more dynamic line to the shot.

What we want is for the near end of the bridge to loom large so that we get a greater sense of depth as the bridge disappears off into the distance.

To start with, we need to make a copy of the picture onto a new layer so that we are safe if things don't go as well as we want them to. We can easily delete this layer and we are back to the original. Just press Ctrl+J and you'll see a duplicate layer showing on the layer pallet, like this:

We can achieve that using the Distort Tool.

You can find this here:

Ok, now we are going to drag the top and bottom left corner handles but before we can do that we need a lot more space around the picture. So we need to have the picture at full frame and then zoom out.

First double-click on the Hand icon on the tool bar, this makes the picture as large in a window as it can fit. Now hold down alt+spacebar and click a couple of times on the picture.

Now you have plenty of room to drag the handles up and down. Let's start with the top corner. Drag this straight upwards and you will see the picture distorting before your eyes. I recommend pulling quite high because when you adjust the bottom handle, it will pull back down a little.

Now do the same at the bottom and you will see the screen looking something like this:

Once you have it looking how you want, just click on the Tick button at the top (see picture above) or hit Enter on your keyboard. You will now see your final result looking something like this:

I hope you agree it's a much more dynamic picture now with diagonals leading our eye through the picture giving it depth and impact.

Of course you can never completely replace a good super-wide-angle lens, they produce shots that are fantastic to look at. But this is a good place to start if you haven't got one but want to give some of your pictures a bit of impact. The main thing you need is something in the foreground that could be enlarged proportionately to the rest of the picture.

Have a go and see how you get on.

Cheers,
Rob

[_MB_]

Works surprisingly well.

[Ken Hawk]

Top class as always Rob.

Ken