All of us have photographed pictures where the long, straight horizon line slants in one direction making it appear as if everything is going to slide right out of the photo. Here are a few tips that can help prevent this from happening the next time you’re out shooting seascape and landscape scenes.

1. Use a tripod. It helps to keep your camera steady, no matter what position you select so your picture can be composed more precisely.

2. Some SLRs accept interchangeable viewfinder screens. The architectural-style grid is a particularly useful one. It comes with etched lines both horizontally and vertically and can be a big help with lining up horizons.

3. A bubble level can also notify you about any tilting. Some tripods come with a level, but if your doesn’t, it is available as an add-on accessory that slips into your camera’s flash shoe.

4. Most of all . . . trust your eye. Sometimes the horizon may not look right, even though the camera appears perfectly level. This sort of thing happens most often with slightly sloping ridge lines, lakes that include opposite shore lines, and similar scenes. Even though technically, these lines should slant a bit, they actually appear tilted in a photograph.

Finally, think of these four points not so much as hard and fast rules but guidelines to consider because sometimes intentionally breaking the rules can result in a stunning image.