Keep your horizons straight and your verticals true

Few things make a photo look amateur faster than a crooked horizon. The sea appears to drain out of one side of the frame, and buildings seem to be falling over.

Level in the camera

• Turn on the electronic level on your Sony camera; the line turns green when level.
• Enable the grid and line up the horizon with a grid line.
• On a tripod, use the bubble levels on your head or legs.

Fix it in editing

Lightroom’s Straighten tool lets you draw along the horizon, and the Auto button in the Geometry panel levels most images automatically. Leave a little extra space when shooting, since straightening crops the edges.

Verticals in architecture

When you tilt the camera up at a building, vertical lines lean inward. Keep the camera level and parallel to the façade, step back, or use Lightroom’s Upright vertical correction.

When tilt is intentional

A strong, deliberate tilt of 15 to 30 degrees, known as a Dutch angle, can add energy to action or nightlife scenes. A slight 2 degree tilt never looks intentional, only careless.