User GuideEditing photosLens Corrections

Lens Corrections

Fix flaws caused by the lens. Remove lines that bulge out or bow inward at the center (Distortion), color fringing at the edges of the photo where red and blue drift apart (Chromatic aberration), and purple or green fringes around bright edges (Defringe purple · Defringe green).

When to use it

When buildings, horizons or door frames shot with a wide-angle lens bulge out at the center (barrel shape), or when a telephoto shot makes them bow inward at the center (pincushion shape) — Distortion.
When branches or window frames near the edges of the photo have a red fringe on one side and a blue fringe on the other — Chromatic aberration.
When you shot into the light with a fast lens wide open and a purple fringe appears where a bright sky meets hair or branches — Defringe purple.
When a lime or green fringe appears around lights or shiny metal — Defringe green.

Where to find it

The Lens Corrections panel with Distortion, Chromatic aberration, Defringe purple, Defringe green, the description and Reset lens — The people in the sample photos were generated by AI.

Edit tab → the LENS CORRECTIONS panel below the DETAIL panel (aperture icon). It's expanded from the start.

Sliders and buttons

Name	Range	Default	What it does
Distortion	-100%–100%	0%	+ straightens barrel distortion (a bulging center); − straightens pincushion distortion (a center bowed inward). The photo is enlarged slightly so that the corners don't end up empty as it's straightened.
Chromatic aberration	-100%–100%	0%	Nudges red and blue very slightly in opposite directions to line them up. Adjust it in the direction (+ or −) that makes the color fringing at the edges disappear. Even at the extremes, the shift is only a few pixels.
Defringe purple	0%–100%	0%	Removes only purple and magenta tints right around edges where brightness changes sharply, turning them toward a gray that matches the surrounding brightness. Areas away from edges, or areas that are already nearly gray, are left alone.
Defringe green	0%–100%	0%	Works the same way, removing only green and lime tints around edges (including the lime fringes around lights).
Reset lens (button)	—	—	Returns all four sliders to 0. Available only when at least one of them isn't 0.

The description in the panel: "A positive Distortion value straightens barrel distortion (a bulging center); a negative value straightens pincushion distortion. Chromatic aberration shifts red and blue in opposite directions, so set it where the color fringing at the edges disappears. Defringe removes purple and green fringes around bright edges."

The sliders in this panel are adjusted by dragging. The value is shown as "%" on the right. To return to 0, use Reset lens or Ctrl+Z.

Step by step

Remove purple fringes

Zoom in on the problem area
Click 100% above the photo and drag to where the bright sky meets hair or branches. Purple fringes show clearly when you zoom in.
Raise Defringe purple
Raise it until the fringe disappears (usually 40–80%).
If there's also a green fringe, raise Defringe green
If a lime fringe remains on the other side of the edge, adjust it the same way.
Check the edges of purple and green objects
If purple petals or green leaves are in front of a bright sky, their edges can fade too, so raise it only as much as you need.
Compare before and after
Turn Compare original above the photo (or \ — the backslash key; ₩ on a Korean keyboard) on and off to compare.

Straighten curved lines (Distortion)

Find a line that should be straight
Use a straight line near the edge of the photo, such as a horizon, a corner of a building or a door frame, as your reference.
Adjust Distortion
If the center bulges out, move it toward +; if it bows inward, toward −. Stop when the line is straight.
Check the edges
Straightening enlarges the photo slightly, so a little of the edges is cut off. If needed, reframe with Crop.
Buildings that narrow toward the top (the tilt from shooting upward) are a perspective problem, not distortion. Use Vertical in Crop · Perspective.

Fix color fringing at the edges (Chromatic aberration)

Zoom in to 100% on a bright edge near the edges of the photo.
Move Chromatic aberration a little toward + and toward −. The direction that reduces the red and blue fringes is the right one.
If a fringe of the opposite color starts to appear, you've gone too far, so back off a little.

Result

Removing purple fringes, cropped at 100% — Before

Removing purple fringes, cropped at 100% — After

BeforeAfter

The purple fringes where the sky meets the branches and hair disappear, while the colors of the hair and the sky stay as they were.

The people in the sample photos were generated by AI.

Straightening distortion in a wide-angle lobby photo — Before

Straightening distortion in a wide-angle lobby photo — After

BeforeAfter

The ceiling, floor joints and window frames that bulged out at the center are straightened. The + side straightens distortion that bulges at the center (barrel shape).

Good to know

RAW photos open to match what you saw on the camera

A RAW photo opens already corrected to match the lens corrections the camera applies (darkened corners, distortion). If your camera applies lens corrections, you'll rarely need to adjust Distortion yourself.

Zoom in to 100% to adjust

Chromatic aberration and fringes are only a few pixels wide, so they show clearly at 100%.

See lens corrections before and after with Compare original

The "Before" side of Split view also has lens corrections, crop and perspective applied. To see the photo before lens corrections, use Compare original (or \). Compare original shows the whole original, before cropping.

Edges of purple and green objects

Defringing removes "that color around bright edges", so the edges of purple flowers or green leaves in front of a bright background can fade too. Colors away from edges stay as they are.

Lens corrections are set per photo

Pasting after Copy edits and your own presets leave lens corrections out, so adjust other photos taken with the same lens one by one.

Reset on the Edit tab keeps lens corrections

Reset at the bottom of the Edit tab leaves lens corrections in place, along with crop, rotation and perspective, and resets only the rest. To clear lens corrections too, use Reset lens or Reset all in the top bar.

Lens corrections are also reflected in the Crop view, so you can frame the shot while seeing the corrected result.

Frequently asked questions

Can't I type a number or double-click to return to 0?

The sliders in this panel are adjusted by dragging. Use Reset lens to return all four to 0 at once, or Ctrl+Z to undo one step at a time.

What's the difference between Chromatic aberration and Defringe purple?

Chromatic aberration is red and blue drifting apart more and more toward the edges of the photo, and it's fixed by nudging the colors back into line. A purple fringe is a band that forms around very bright edges anywhere in the photo, and it's removed by taking that color out. Use defringing for purple fringes that don't go away when you nudge the colors.

I raised Defringe purple to 100%, but a little fringe remains.

Wide bands a little away from the edge, or bands with very low saturation, are removed less. Try raising Defringe green as well, and for what's left, lower the Saturation of that area with a mask.

After correcting distortion, the photo got slightly bigger.

Straightening distortion leaves empty areas in the corners, so the photo is enlarged just enough to hide them.