How to use the Transform Panel in Lightroom

Let’s face it, sometimes the lines in our photos aren’t perfectly straight.

Gasp!

It’s true but you’re in luck because there is an easy fix. Lightroom has a great feature for correcting lines, the Transform Panel.

The Transform Panel, located in Lightroom’s Develop Module after the Lens Correction Panel and before the Effects Panel, is a handy little tool that tends to get overlooked. It is great for fixing those distracting lens distortions that usually come when using a wide-angle lens.

With a few simple steps, your image can go from a little wonky to perfectly straight in just a few simple steps.

Below you’ll find a quick video showing you how I use the Transform Panel when straightening out lines and distortion. I’d also like to take a moment to clarify some options you’ll find in the Transform Panel.

Within the Transform Panel, you will find five Upright options you can use. This is what the options do:

Auto: Fixes vertical and horizontal distortion.
Guided: Instead of just one guide, this allows you to create two or more.
Level: Fixes horizontal distortion.
Vertical: Fixes vertical distortion.
Full: Combines auto, level and vertical corrections.

Under the Upright options you’ll find seven sliders: Vertical, Horizontal, Rotate, Aspect, Scale, X Offset and Y Offset. Use the slider to manually adjust the perspective within your photo.

Sometimes correcting lines and distortion is a subtle fix like the example I’m using here and sometimes it’s a major fix. Whichever it is for you and your image, I guarantee it won’t be as difficult as you may originally think.