Quick Tip: Straighten Up!

One of the easiest photo flaws to fix is a tilted picture. A horizon that's not quite horizontal or a vertical line that's not quite vertical can distract the eye away from the subject of a photo. So fix it!

Yikes. (Intentionally tilted in software for purposes of illustration.)

Most image editing programs will have at least a rotate function. You can use this to eyeball a correction. Or--my favourite--if your editing software allows, you can simply find a line in the photo that should be horizontal or vertical and, using the appropriate tool, drag your mouse along this line. The software will then do the rotating for you. Here's how to do it in my favourite software, darktable:

Open your image. In the right hand panel, click over to the basic group (the circle button), and then find the crop and rotate function. Select this function. Place your cursor at one end of a line that should be either horizontal or vertical. Right-click and hold, then (while still holding the right-click button) drag your cursor along the line to the other end. Release the button. darktable should automatically rotate the image for you.

If you're having trouble getting it just right, you can try zooming in to 100% or 200%. I find this often affords a more accurate correction. In this example, I'm using the shore as a guide, zoomed in to 100%:

Straightening a horizon in darktable. Click to enlarge.

Don't let your photos suffer from crooked horizons or diagonal verticals! Your viewers will thank you.

Behold! A (more or less) straight horizon!
18mm (~28mm equiv); 1/250 @ f/5.0, ISO 100


Smartphone Camera versus Compact Camera: Which is Right for You?

As smartphone cameras become increasingly sophisticated, many people are abandoning traditional compact/point-and-shoot cameras and instead relying solely upon their phones for their photographic needs. Is this a viable strategy for the fibre artist? Let's consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Budget

If you already have a cellphone with a decent camera, sticking with it as your fibre art camera certainly makes financial sense. At worst, you might need to buy some more memory, or a cable to transfer your photos to your computer--and chances are, you won't even have to do that.

A compact camera, on the other hand, will cost you some more money if you don't already have one. New point-and-shoots that are worth buying are, on the lowest end, somewhere in the range of $100. Used, you can get a camera much more economically, but it won't come with the same guarantees as a new one. If you're on a tight budget but decide that you want a compact camera, consider buying a used, older model through a reputable store such as Henry's (in Canada) or Adorama or B&H (in the States). Another option would be to look for a free or very inexpensive camera on a local buy/sell/trade site.

Convenience

Chances are, your phone camera is going to win when it comes to the convenience factor. Most people I know have their phones within reach the vast majority of the time. A dedicated compact camera, on the other hand, is not something most people drag around with them. Additionally, you're less likely to notice a missing memory card or a dead battery in a compact camera that you don't use regularly.

That said, you can get point-and-shoot cameras that fit easily into your pocket, so if you're leaning towards a compact camera, don't worry too much about portability.

Mindset

This may not affect everyone, but it's worth considering whether having a dedicated compact camera will get you in a more photographic mindset. Is it easier for you to take better photos when you're using a more traditional camera? For me, when I'm snapping a cellphone picture, I tend to forget everything I've ever learned about photography (don't ask me why). Having a standard camera in my hands (whether a DSLR or a point-and-shoot) just does something to me psychologically that results in better images.

Sensor

This one goes to the compact camera. Almost all compact cameras will have a larger sensor than their phone camera counterparts. A larger sensor typically translates into better image quality, especially in low-light conditions. If you're shooting in well-lit conditions, a larger sensor is still advantageous, but won't make as much of a difference.

Zoom

Almost all compact cameras will have at least some optical zoom. Almost no smartphone cameras will have any optical zoom. If zooming is important to you, then a compact camera is the way to go. Never use digital zoom if you care about your image quality!

Zooming does more than simply enlarge things that are far away. Zooming in has the visual effect of compressing the elements in the photo--of making them appear closer together. A wide angle, on the other hand, will make elements that are closer to the camera look significantly larger than elements further away. (Ever wonder why your nose looks so big in selfies? It's probably because you shot the selfies with a wide angle lens). A zoomed-in portrait is generally going to be more flattering to the subject than one taken with a wider angle. More zoom can also give you a shallower depth of field (in other words, it can help to blur your background), depending upon the aperture used, the distance of the camera to the subject and the subject to the background. Optical zoom is probably the biggest benefit of a compact camera over a smartphone camera.

Ergonomics

This is going to come down to individual preference, but in general, a compact camera is going to be designed to be used as a camera, and will be laid out accordingly. A smartphone is going to be designed to be used as, well, as smartphone, and the camera ergonomics will be less of a priority. I personally find a dedicated camera to be much more ergonomically friendly than a smartphone camera, but your mileage may vary. One benefit of a smartphone camera over a low-end point-and-shoot, however, is touch screen focus: to focus on a specific element of your scene, you can simply touch it. The cheaper compact cameras tend not to have touch screens.

In the end, only you know your needs. At least now, though, you have a few things to consider when making your choice.