Distortion

Distortion refers to an abnormality in image or sound quality. In photography, image distortion can occur in a photograph for a number of different reasons, including (but not limited to) a photographer’s error, a camera’s malfunction, the use of improper equipment or an off element within the scene being photographed.

For example, an amateur photographer can have distortion in his photos if he sets the camera’s aperture incorrectly, his hands are shaky or he uses the wrong film speed for a given situation. Similarly, if a scene has extreme backlighting or the wrong lens is used, the subject of the picture may also show up distorted on the negative and the final photo.

While amateurs tend to produce distorted pictures when they first begin to experiment with different photographic techniques, even the photos of the most professional photographer can suffer from image distortion. Consequently, image-editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, has become a powerful tool in clearing up some distortion.

However, the degree to which distortion can be cleared up depends on the type of distortion a picture has. For instance, although the distortion caused by the red eye effect can be easily corrected by editing software, other types of blurriness may not be so easily fixed.