Correct lens distortions in Camera Raw

About lens corrections

Camera lenses can exhibit different types of defects at certain focal lengths, f-stops, and focus distances. You can correct for these apparent distortions and aberrations using the Lens Corrections tab of the Camera Raw dialog box.

Vignetting causes the edges, especially the corners, of an image to be darker than the center. Use controls in the Lens Vignetting section of the Lens Corrections tab to compensate for vignetting.

Barrel distortion causes straight lines to appear to bow outward.

Pincushion distortion causes straight lines to appear to bend inward.

Chromatic aberration is caused by the failure of the lens to focus different colors to the same spot. In one type of chromatic aberration, the image from each color of light is in focus, but each image is a slightly different size. Another type of chromatic artifact affects the edges of specular highlights, such as those found when light reflects off water or polished metal. This situation usually results in a purple fringe around each specular highlight.

Original image (top), and after fixing chromatic aberration (bottom)

Correct image perspective and lens flaws automatically

The options in the nested Profile tab of the Lens Corrections tab of the Camera Raw dialog box correct distortions in common camera lenses. The profiles are based on Exif metadata that identifies the camera and lens that captured the photo, and the profiles compensate accordingly.

  1. In the nested Profile tab of the Lens Corrections tab, select Enable Lens Profile Corrections.

    Note:

    To have Lightroom automatically remove lateral chromatic aberration and correct color fringing, check the Remove Chromatic Aberration option in the nested Profile tab of the Lens Corrections tab.

    You can also manually correct purple and green color fringes using the defringing controls provided in the nested Manual tab. For details, see Correct image perspective and lens flaws manually.

  2. If Camera Raw does not find a suitable profile automatically, select a Make, Model, and Profile.

    Note:

    Some cameras have only one lens, and some lenses have only one profile. The lenses that are available depend on whether you’re adjusting a raw or a non-raw file. For tips for working with lens profiles and a list of supported lenses, see the support article Lens profile support. To create custom profiles, use the Adobe Lens Profile Creator.

  3. If desired, customize the correction applied by the profile by using the Amount sliders:

    Distortion

    The default value 100 applies 100% of the distortion correction in the profile. Values over 100 apply greater correction to the distortion; values under 100 apply less correction to the distortion.

    Vignetting

    The default value 100 applies 100% of the vignetting correction in the profile. Values over 100 apply greater correction to vignetting; values under 100 apply less correction to vignetting.

  4. (Optional) To apply your changes to the default profile, choose Setup  > Save New Lens Profile Defaults.

Correct image perspective and lens flaws manually

Transform and vignette corrections can be applied to original and cropped photos. Lens vignettes adjust exposure values to brighten dark corners.

  1. Click the nested Manual tab of the Lens Corrections tab of the Camera Raw dialog box.

  2. Under Distortion, adjust the following:

    Amount

    Drag to the right to correct barrel distortion and straighten lines that bend away from the center. Drag to the left to correct pincushion distortion and straighten lines that bend toward the center.

  3. Under Defringe, adjust any of the following:

    Remove global purple and green fringes with the Eyedropper tool

    To correct color fringing with the Eyedropper tool, do the following:

    1. (Optional) Zoom into the fringe area to facilitate accurate color picking.
    2. Press and hold Command (Mac) or Control (Win) to show the Eyedropper tool on the image.
    3. Click purple/green fringe colors. 

    The purple/green Defringe sliders are automatically adjusted for that color. If you click an area that is too neutral to set the defringe color, you see an error message.

    Remove global purple and green fringes with Defringe slider controls

    Purple Amount/Green Amount

    Specifies the amount of defringing applied to the selected Purple Hue/Green Hue. The higher the amount, the more color defringing is applied.

    Purple Hue/Green Hue

    Applies defringing on the selected Hue range. Drag either end-point control to expand or decrease the range of affected colors. Drag between the end point controls to move the hue range. The minimum space between end points is ten units.

    Note:

    Zoom in on an area that contains very dark or black detail against a very light or white background. Look for color fringing. To more clearly see the color fringing, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as you move a slider to hide any color fringe corrected by the other color slider.

  4. Under Vignetting adjust the following:

    Amount

    Move the Amount slider to the right (positive values) to lighten the corners of the photo. Move the slider to the left (negative values) to darken the corners of the photo.

    Midpoint

    Drag the Midpoint slider to the left (lower value) to apply the Amount adjustment to a larger area away from the corners. Drag the slider to the right (higher value) to restrict the adjustment to an area closer to the corners.

Correct Chromatic Aberration in Camera Raw 7.1

Camera Raw 7.1 provides a check box to automatically correct blue-yellow and red-green fringes (lateral chromatic aberration). Slider controls correct purple/magenta and green aberration (axial chromatic aberration). Axial chromatic aberration often occurs in images made with large apertures.

Remove red-green and blue-yellow color shifts

  • In the Color tab of the Lens Correction panel, select the Remove Chromatic Aberration check box.

Remove global purple/magenta and green fringes

In the Color tab of the Lens Correction panel, adjust the purple and green Amount sliders. The higher the amount, the more color defringing. Take care not apply an adjustment that affects purple or green objects in your image.

You can adjust the affected purple or green hue range using the Purple Hue and the Green Hue sliders. Drag either end-point control to expand or decrease the range of affected colors. Drag between the end point controls to move the hue range. The minimum space between end points is ten units. The default spacing for the green sliders is narrow to protect green/yellow image colors, like foliage.

Note:

You can protect edges of purple and green objects using the local adjustment brush.

Press the Alt/Option key as you drag any of the sliders to help visualize the adjustment. The fringe color becomes neutral as you drag to remove the color.

Remove local color fringes

Local brush and gradient adjustments remove fringes of all colors. Local defringe is available for Process Version 2012 only.

  • Select the brush or gradient tools and drag in the image.
  • Adjust the Defringe slider. A positive value removes the color fringe. Negative values protect image areas from defringing that you apply globally. A value of -100 protects the area from any defringing. For example, applying a strong global purple defringe can desaturate or alter edges of purple objects in your image. Painting with Defringe -100 over those areas protects them and keeps them at their original color.
Note:

For best results, perform any Transform lens corrections before applying local color defringe adjustments.

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