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Note from Heidi: Yeah, I've got a bit of a perfectionist in me. It drives me crazy sometimes, but luckily, I've got Photoshop! I can create perfectly sized photo mats, fit my journaling exactly where I want it to go and have it look perfectly straight. Speaking of "perfectly straight," did you know that you can straighten a photo, too? I didn't either, until I saw this tutorial by Brandie Valenzuela. I used to be perfectly happy with my not-so-straight photos, but now, I notice "unstraightness" wherever it occurs! Thanks a lot, Brandie! Straightening your photos can be a subtle change, but once you see the difference, you'll be a perfectionist with your photos and your scrapbooks will thank you.
How to Straighten a Crooked Photo
This free digital scrapbooking tutorial was created using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 with Windows, but should be able to be adapted easily to other systems. If you have questions about how to do this, just ask on our Message Board!
It's happened to all of us. Sometimes you take the perfect photo, only to realize later that it wasn't level. You don't have to make do with this imperfection when creating your digital scrapbook layout - follow these steps to crop your photo and free it from its crooked ways!
First, open your image and create a new copy of your photo. However, this time, give it some extra transparent background space. To do this in Photoshop, click Select> All (or on your keyboard, click Ctrl+A), then Edit> Copy (or Ctrl+C), then File> New (or Ctrl+N).
In the box that pops up, the actual size of your image will already be shown. Locate the width and height area, and select Inches, if not already showing. Increase the width and height by two inches each. Be sure that Transparent is selected. Now select OK. Then, select Edit> Paste (or Ctrl+V). This will paste your image into the center of your new document, giving it a two-inch transparent border.
Next, you will place a horizontal guide line on your photo, so you can accurately straighten your photo. I find the easiest way to do this is to have your rulers showing on your document. If you don't have your rulers showing, go to View> Rulers (or click Ctrl+R on your keyboard).
With your Move Tool (in your Tools Palette, top right tool), click in the top horizontal ruler and drag out a guide onto your image. Place the guide in a location in your image where you will be able to judge the proper leveling of your photo. I placed my guide just above the top of the horizontal bar on the sign post.
To move the photo so that it is perfectly level with your guide, click Edit> Transform> Rotate. Place your cursor near one of the corners of your photo, so that your cursor becomes curved with two arrows on the end. Click and hold your mouse, while rotating your photo until it is level. Release your mouse when you see that you have achieved the amount of leveling that you want. If you are satisfied with the result, hit Enter on your keyboard. If you are not happy with it, simply hit Esc on your keyboard to redo this step.
At this point, your photo probably looks very crooked - even more crooked than before. To get it nice and straight, you will crop the photo, but first, let's get it ready. Again, with your rulers showing (as described above), add four guides to your image: Place two horizontal guides at the two innermost corners and two vertical guides at the two innermost corners.
After adding your guides, look at your image shown in the middle area of these guides. After cropping, this will be your image. If you are not satisfied with what you see, click and drag your guides until they are in the proper places. Then, make your cropping easier by making it "snap" to your guides. Click on View> Snap To> Guides.
Next, select the Crop Tool from your Tools Palette. Locate the inside of one of the corners that has been created by the guides. At this area, click, hold, and drag your mouse to the opposite corner, moving it as necessary so that the dotted lines created by your Crop Tool match up to the guides. Release your mouse button. The area that will be discarded after the cropping will appear darker than the rest of your photo. If you are happy with this result, hit Enter on your keyboard. If not, hit Esc to cancel the cropping and start this step over.
And there you have it, all finished. Now, the sign in my photo is level and straight - just the way I wanted it! Now I'm ready to create my digital scrapbooking layout!
Free digital scrapbook tutorial written by Brandie Valenzuela
P.S. Love your photos? Show them off with some of these cool things!
Brush up on your basics:
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Scrap Girls, Etc. is a weekly column pulling bits and pieces from all over Scrap Girls. Stay tuned each week as Scrap Girls' Jane-of-All-Trades Heidi Dillon brings you tutorials, musings, recipes, interviews, design/software tips and tricks, layout walk-throughs, and who knows what else!
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