PBS Segment #8 – Straighten Tool

Unless you use a tripod with every shot, chances are you have a few photos that need to be straightened. One of the brand new tools in Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 is the Straighten Tool. With this new tool you can simply draw a line and your photo will be straightened! Simply click on the Straighten tool (or hit P on your keyboard). If you want the software to crop the photo and straighten it all in one easy step, just choose Crop to Remove Background under Canvas
Options in the Options Bar for this tool.

Choose the part of your photo you want straightened – in the example below we chose the horizon. Click on one edge of the horizon with your mouse and then drag a line along the horizon until you reach the other edge of the photo. When you release the mouse, the image is straightened! You can choose any part of the photo that should be perfectly horizontal (the horizon works well, as do architectural lines, fences or the edge of a grassy field).

If you chose either the Grow Canvas to Fit or Crop to Original Size options under Canvas Options,
you will be left with white around the edge of your canvas that you need to crop out.