To get the photo I wanted here, I used a tilt/shift adapter. If you haven't used one, you might be surprised at the things it can do for you.
I wrote a blog post about this shot, that I think make the value of a bit of "shift" clearer to the average photographer.
https://jimhphoto.com/index.php/2020/10/11/tilt-shift-adapter/
Very informative article Jim. I have never used a tilt/shift lens/adapter at all, primarily as I don't take too many architectural shots. But I now see uses otherwise following your article.
I now wonder if there are opportunities to use outside of the traditional 'straightening verticals' approach. Have you tried using elsewhere as a creative element?
Yes and I might post some more.
What I'm getting at with this photo is the idea of not just straightening the perspective, but including more of what I want in the photo, at the top or the bottom.
The adapter was a pricey gadget, but it has to be light-tight and smoothly adjustable.
Is there some advantage to doing this in-camera rather than digitally? In-camera with a tilt-shift lens was difficult enough for 35mm or medium format film cameras (4x5 and larger cameras were usually designed with this in mind.) It was possible to do in the darkroom by tilting the enlarger and/or the easel but this was a real hassle. Digitally, this is a trivial exercise.
One big advantage of the adapter is that you see the shot for real as you're framing it, you don't have to imagine what it will look like after exotic post-processing manipulations.
If you correct perspective in post you lose image - sometimes a lot. So you'd have to compensate, by including more around the perimeter - by stepping back, or zooming out, which would change the perspective...
I think you could get sort of close, but it wouldn't feel as real and your composition would be compromised. Maybe I'll experiment, but it's hard to beat getting it 'in the camera'.
Most of this is arguable, but one thing is not. Zooming in and out does not change the perspective. It only changes the field of view. The only thing that changes the perspective is the location of the camera relative to the subject. There is nothing exotic about that.
It is true that focal length doesn't affect the optical perspective per se, but what's referred to as the "perspective effect". I think this article makes it all clear:
https://snapshot.canon-asia.com/article/en/lens-basics-5-perspective#:~:....
If you take two photographs of the same thing from the same physical spot using two different focal length lenses, and you crop the wide-angle shot to include the same angle of view as the telephoto, you end up with two photographs that are essentially identical, subject to various other factors like minor changes in exposure, pincushion or barrel distortion, etc. This has nothing to do with tilt/shift. The "perspective effect" the article talks about is something altogether different.
Hey Jim - First, welcome!
This is a new technique here. I hope you won't mind if we pepper you with some questions. While the use of tilt shift for large scale subjects is clear, like Alan, I am thinking about how to use it in my work, specifically my inks. Looking forward to learning more about this.
This particular image is very nice. Glad you are here!