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I need to exactly align maps of the same area. Because they come from different sources, they need to be scaled / slightly rotated / skewed to match the features. I can do it manually, but my work could be sped up if there was a way to simply select 3 "source" points on one image (e.g. corners of some streets), then, on a second image, select the corresponding 3 "target" points, and have PS automatically transform the first image to align with the second. Is there a way or a tool (plugin, perhaps) to do this?

EDIT: sample "source" and "target" images: enter image description here

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I made an extension for Photoshop called "Perspective Tools v2" (paid) that helps with different perspective-related challenges and here's how I'd this task using it. It's not a 1-click solution and will require 4 points, not 3, but I think it's accurate and faster than doing this manually.

Let's say I want to move "East 42nd St" sign to the place of "Madison Ave" effectively changing its perspective. First I create a path with 4 points, describing a part of the image that I want to extract: enter image description here

There's a function on the extension called De-perspective, that'd unfold a 4-points path to a rectangle, creating a smart object: enter image description here

Then I create another 4-points path, describing where I want to warp current layer to: enter image description here

And use a Warp function on the panel, so my "East 42nd St" is warped to new position: enter image description here

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  • Its okay to give links as long as you are a ballantly clear of authorship and you are ontopic.
    – joojaa
    May 29, 2019 at 9:57
  • ah, I'll add it then, thank you
    – Sergey Kritskiy
    May 29, 2019 at 10:02
  • Thanks, I own Perspective Tools, I'll give it a try. One question: in your example, the path forms the outer edge of the region you're transforming. On my maps, the reference points (street corners) are not near the edges, but deeper "within" the map, but I still want to transform the whole map, i.e. I want to transform a region bigger than the reference path I'm drawing. Will it work like that?
    – MrSparkly
    May 29, 2019 at 16:51
  • Could you please add a pair of before-after images to your question? It'll be easier to understand and answer this way
    – Sergey Kritskiy
    May 29, 2019 at 18:44
  • I guess the questioner wants to insert a new piece to an existing raster image map. He wants to pick three points of the new piece and then three points of the existing map. The picking must allow free zoom and pan between the picks. Then he clicks button "Shift, scale and rotate to fit" . In math the basic problem is a group of linear equations - six unknowns, six equations. The questioner doesn't want to type any numbers, it must be visual! Graphics of course adds its own flavour, if one wants something smoother than nearest neighbour style resampling.
    – user82991
    May 30, 2019 at 14:13

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