Adding Lens Distortion As A Creative Effect
Lens corrections compensate for barrel distortion, pincushion distortion, and vignetting created by our lenses. Most of the time, photographers click the checkbox and have Lightroom automatically remove the distortions. Yet there are times when you want to accentuate distortion to emphasize a subject or feeling in an image. Adding distortion is a useful artistic effect for certain images.
Note: I use Lightroom in this video as an example. The principles are the same and apply to any photo editing application that has lens correction controls.
The automatic lens corrections compensate for lens distortion and vignetting.
Barrel distortion is amplified to draw more attention to the musician’s ring.
Musician With Skull Ring And Five String Instrument In Florence Oregon
Contact Scott to commission a print or license this image.
What happens when Lightroom’s AI landscape masking doesn’t recognize the subject you want to edit? Sometimes, the missing selection is exactly what you need.
In this video, I combine Lightroom’s vegetation and mountain masks with inversion, subtraction, and a radial gradient to isolate the architecture at Machu Picchu. The result adds depth to the scene and guides attention without requiring painstaking brushwork.