How do I straighten a product photo that is tilted by two degrees without ending up with empty corners?
Type the angle into 'Angle in degrees', such as -2 or 1.5, and watch the shelf line or table edge in the preview until it is level. But know from the start that any free-angle rotation leaves small empty triangles at the corners, in 'Expand to fit' and 'Original size, clip' alike. The only way to get clean edges is to crop a little from each side after rotating.
Which way do I turn it?
A positive angle turns the photo clockwise and a negative one counter-clockwise. If the right end of the table or shelf is lower than the left, the photo is tilted clockwise and you correct it with a negative angle. If the left end is lower, correct with a positive angle. Try one degree and look: if the tilt gets worse, flip the sign.
The slider moves one whole degree per step, which is coarse for a slight tilt. The number field accepts decimals, so type 1.5 or -0.5 for fine control.
What happens at the edges in each mode
A 3000 × 2000 photo turned 2 degrees with 'Expand to fit' becomes 3068 × 2104: all of the picture is kept, and thin wedges at the edges are filled with the background color.
The same photo with 'Original size, clip' stays 3000 × 2000: the picture's corners that fall outside the frame are cut, and thin empty wedges still remain at the edges.
Either way the gaps are filled with the background color you pick, or left transparent if you save as PNG or WebP with 'Transparent background'.
How to get rid of the empty corners
- Open the Image rotator and flipper tool and choose the tilted photo.
- Type the small angle in the angle field until the horizontal line is level in the preview.
- Choose 'Expand to fit' so no part of the product is lost, and set the background color close to the photo's own background; white on a white backdrop almost hides the wedges.
- Download, then open the file in the Image cropper and trim a little from each side until the wedges are gone. For a two degree tilt, a few percent off the edges is usually enough.
Worth knowing
- A free angle recalculates the pixels, so fine edges get slightly softer. That is normal and rarely noticeable on product photos.
- If the background is pure white and the product sits in the middle, you may not need to crop at all: white wedges on white do not show.
- Straighten before any crop or resize, so you crop once, on the level photo.
- Saved as JPEG the photo is written at quality 92; PNG keeps it lossless.
Common questions
Why doesn't the tool crop the empty corners automatically?
The tool gives you two choices only: fit the whole picture, or keep the size. Cropping to a clean rectangle is a separate step in the cropper.
How many degrees does it usually take?
There is no fixed number; a tilt that bothers the eye can be a single degree. Start with one and refine with decimals until the line is level.
Can I type 358 instead of -2?
No, the field accepts -180 to 180 only. Type -2.