Tilt-Shift Photography Photoshop Tutorial

30 May, 2009 8bitmag Photoshop, Tutorials

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Tilt-Shift miniature faking is a creative technique whereby a photograph of a life-size location or object is manipulated to give an optical illusion of a photograph of a miniature scale model. Altering the focus of the photography in Photoshop (or similar program) simulates the shallow depth of field normally encountered with macro lenses making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is.

So lets get started:

Step 1: Photo Selection

When choosing a photograph for the tilt-shift effect, bear in mind that you want to give the impression of a miniature model. Miniature models are usually viewed from above so try and choose a photo with an elevated viewpoint. Buildings, roads, traffic and railways are excellent choices but make sure there is a reasonable wide angle of view.

For this tilt-shift photography Photoshop tutorial, we are using a picture of Times Square during a typical day:

1 original Tilt Shift Photography Photoshop Tutorial

Times Square - Original Photo

Even before the tilt-shift effect has been applied, it’s not too hard to imagine the scene as if it were a model.

To find an appropriate image, we suggest you browse through the flickr tilt-shift fakes pool. Pay attention to licensing terms though – if you are going to manipulate and display your work it will need to be released under the Creative Commons licence.

Step 2. Enter Quick Mask Mode

Open the image in Photoshop and enter Quick Mask Mode by pressing Q on the keyboard, or select the Quick Mask icon as shown in the Tool Palette below:

Quick Mask

Step 3. Choose Gradient Tool

Choose the Gradient Tool by pressing G on the keyboard, or select the Gradient Tool icon. Be sure to choose the Reflected Gradient option (the fourth icon along before the Mode drop-down).

3 gradient tool Tilt Shift Photography Photoshop Tutorial

Choose Gradient Tool

Step 4. Draw A Line

Draw a vertical line; the start point will be the centre of the in-focus area, and the end will be where the transition from in-focus to out-of-focus is completed. This step, and the subsequent two steps, will need a fair degree of trial and error. If you look closely at the image below, you will see the line has been drawn from the back door of the silver car up to just under the word Hollywood beneath the street lamp.

Draw Line

Once you release the mouse button the area of focus will appear as a red band across the image, as shown in the next step.

Step 5. View Mask Area

Before progressing, review the position of the red mask. The middle of the mask is where the in-focus area will be, gradually losing focus towards the edges. Note the out-of-focus effect is yet to be applied.

Red Mask

Step 6. Return To Standard Mode

Press Q on the keyboard to exit Quick Mask Mode and return to Standard Mode, or press the icon on the Tool Palette as shown below. The area to apply the focus effect to will be surrounded by the “marching ants” selection lines:

Return to Standard Mode by Pressing Q

Step 7. Open Lens Blur Interface

Choose Filter > Blur > Lens Blur:

Lens Blur

Step 8. Review Effect And Tweak Settings

Hopefully, you will now see a pleasing focus effect. The Photoshop default settings for Lens Blur seem to work well, but experiment with them to improve the effect. If you are unhappy with the position of the focus area, go back to Step 4 and try drawing a line in a different place or with a different centre of focus.

Lens Blur Settings

Step 9. Exit Lens Blur Interface

Assuming you were happy with the image preview in Step 8, click OK to accept the settings:

Exit Lens Blur

Step 10. Remove Selection Boundary

Press CTRL-D on the keyboard to remove the “marching ants” selection bounday:

Ctrl+D Remove Select

Step 11. Open Hue/Saturation Adjustment Interface

You may want to boost the colour saturation, to improve the effect. Remember that model scenery is often brightly painted so enhancing the saturation helps trick the eye. Press CTRL-U on the keyboard or select Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation:

Choose Hue-Saturation

Step 12. Boost Saturation

In this example, we boost the Master saturation to +40.

Saturation +40

Step 13. Open Curves Adjustment Interface

It may help to increase the contrast of the image slightly using the Curves adjustment. Press CTRL-M on the keyboard or select Image > Adjustments > Curves: