Faking Tilt-Shift Photography in Photoshop

Most of the time, I try to stick with topics that will apply to most people, but I'm afraid I'll have to break that little rule by talking about Photoshop.  I know not everyone has Photoshop, but it may be possible to do tilt-shift editing on other online or cheaper programs.  I invite you to research similar photo editing and manipulating programs on your own to see if you can find a more affordable Photoshop alternative.  I'm not familiar with any alternatives personally, but if you do find any, feel free to comment and inform me of your discoveries.

Now, back to the main event: tilt-shift photography. If you've never heard of tilt-shift before, don't feel bad.  I was only introduced to the term a couple week ago myself.  Basically, tilt-shift an effect that leaves some of the photo in focus and blurs the rest.  It sounds unremarkable, but it creates the illusion of "minatures."  I know that description is pretty vague, so here are a few great examples of tilt-shift photography that better illustrate the effect:

Pretty sweet, huh?  

It seems like it would be an extremely difficult effect to achieve, but as I looked up online tutorials, I found that there weren't as near as many steps as I was expecting.  Rather than typing out all of the steps I followed, I'll just give you a link to the tutorial that I used when first trying out this effect a few days ago:  http://www.tiltshiftphotography.net/photoshop-tutorial.php

I would like to point out, however, that although there aren't many steps, it does take a great deal of trial and error to get the effect to work correctly.  First, it can be tricky finding a photo that actually works for tilt-shifting.  Ideally, you'd want a wide shot that was taken from a slightly elevated perspective.  Second, getting the area of focus where you want it can be frustrating.  I would suggest getting a lot of use out of the "step backward" command if you find you don't like the area you selected.  Even for people much more experienced than myself at tilt-shifting in Photoshop, experimentation is key.  You can't do exactly the same thing for each photograph.  It simply won't work.

As I mentioned earlier, I am still a total hack at tilt-shifting.  I had to dig pretty deep into my personal photo archives to find suitable shots to edit, and it took me awhile to achieve that miniature effect.  My edits still don't look quite as much like a miniature-scale model as I had hoped, but I still think it adds a lot of interest.  Here are a couple examples of my tilt-shift attempts:

A wide shot of Sioux Fall Park that I took back in 2006 or 2007.  It worked really well for tilt-shift editing.

The Husker marching band.

Another shot of the band.  I think this photo was actually my first attempt at tilt-shift.  Not quite mini enough, but it still looks cool.

This is not my photo, but it is my photo editing.  I think I was able to achieve more of a "mini" look in this particular shot.

I still have some work to do with this effect, but it was so cool that I had to bring it up.  If you have Photoshop, I would definitely suggest trying this effect out.  Even if you don't have any photos that work for this kind of editing, you can still experiment with it.  Do what I did, and surf the internet for the right kind of photo, and try to improve your editing skills.  That way, you'll be prepared when one of your shots does meet the requirements for tilt-shift!


UPDATE:

I finally managed a tilt-shift photo that makes me proud.  I went to a Husker game earlier this season and took a good shot of the marching band.  The photo was better suited to tilt-shift (it was not zoomed in as far), so I took it into Photoshop and got a much better result than the marching band tilt-shift attempt above.  Here it is:

UPDATE #2: I haven't edited this post for a couple years, but I thought of a tilt-shift-esque effect that is incredibly simple.  On Instagram, if you select the "teardrop" button and choose the rectangle option, it will allow you to have a rectangular, horizontal section of your picture in focus.  The parts of the photo above and below will be blurred.  This is essentially the same thing you do in the tutorial linked above.  You can enhance the effect by also selecting a filter that provides greater saturation and contrast.  It may not be quite as startling as an edit done in Photoshop, but it is basically a two-step, super easy alternative.

Fun With Panoramas

When I purchased my current camera, I quickly noticed that it had a "panorama" setting--a feature that wasn't offered on any other camera I had ever used.  As you probably know, panorama shots can be pretty spectacular, so I was certainly motivated to learn how to use this setting.  I only dabble in shooting panoramas, so this won't be an instructional blog post per se.  Instead, I just want to make you aware of the panorama setting and what it can offer.  

I'm still learning about panoramas myself, so I'm not sure if the panorama setting works the same way on all cameras.  On my camera, you create the shot by taking a series of three pictures.  First, you can choose whether you want to take the pictures from left to right or vice versa.  Second, you take each picture, trying to line up the end of the previous picture (which is usually semi-transparent and on the edge of the camera screen) to the beginning of the next picture.  After three consecutive shots have been taken, the camera processes the shots and stitches together the panorama for you.  As I said before, I'm not certain that all cameras do this in the same way.  Some cameras allow you to put more than three shots together to form a panorama, and some people choose to create/edit the panorama with computer programs like PhotoStitch.  I would suggest playing around with your camera, reading the manual, or making use of Google if you are uncertain about how to use the panorama setting on your particular camera.

In my little experience, this setting can be finicky.  You have to have a tripod or an extremely steady hand to line everything up correctly.  One of my early panorama attempts left me with a bizarrely warped horizon, and another led to obvious lines between the three individual photos.  I feel that my use of this setting has improved, but I'm definitely still getting accustomed to it.  Here are a few examples of panorama shots that I have taken since getting my camera in March. I would suggest clicking on the photos to enlarge them.  

A very early panorama attempt.  Just a shot of my neighborhood.  

Here's a good example of what can go wrong when taking a panorama shot.  Lincoln doesn't actually have a crazy curved horizon...

Another panorama of Lincoln.  I think the wide angle makes for a very interesting shot of downtown.

This is towards the Haymarket area of downtown Lincoln.  Kind of an interesting sky shot as well.

I'm obviously still learning about this setting myself, but I would still encourage you to try it yourself.  Well-done panoramas like the ones below can be really impressive and awesome if you have the a subject that would make a good wide shot.  I can't take credit for the ones below (all Google finds), but I wanted to show you some more professional images as examples.

Photo Backup

Few things would be more devastating to someone who enjoys photography than losing all of their photos in a computer theft or failure.  For this reason, it's extremely important to backup all important photos somewhere safe in case something happens to your computer or laptop.  I thought it would be a good idea to touch on this subject because of a recent computer issue that my family is facing with our home desktop computer.  Yesterday, a nasty virus (the Windows Vista Restore Virus, I believe) totally wrecked our computer.  My dad spent hours trying to fix it, but it seems impossible to remove the virus completely without professional help.  Even if we do take our computer to the experts for repair, it's uncertain as to whether we'll be able to recover all of the photos and other files that were saved on our hard drive.

This little technological crisis prompted me to start backing up the photos on my own computer.  I already had most of my pictures uploaded in one place or another, but for peace of mind I wanted to put them all in the same place.  I have a Mac, so I have little fear that my computer will crash or get "sick."  However, Macs are not invincible, and it's still possible for me to randomly drop my computer onto a hard surface or to have it ripped off.  To prevent a complete loss of my photos, I decided to upload all of them to an internet photo album so I could access them from another computer if need be.  There are multiple ways to backup pictures, but the main two that I use are:

1) Creating hard copies of my photos by burning them onto discs.

2) Upload photos to Internet photo albums.

I have many of my more important photos burned onto CDs so that there is a physical place where the photos are stored.  This method works, but I'll warn you that buying the discs will cost you money and space. Depending on the quantity of files, you may need a large number of discs to backup all of your photos.  A more popular way to backup photos is probably by uploading them somewhere online.  Personally, I use www.photobucket.com.  It allows you to upload large quantities of photos at a time, customize your privacy settings, and organize/personalize your albums however you want.  Naturally, there are many other websites with similar features, and you can choose the one that works best for you.  I would not recommend using Facebook or Myspace (if anyone still uses it...) as a storage place for your photos.  Those websites dummy down your photos, so although the photo is saved, it won't be saved at its original size or quality. Keep in mind that having your photos stored online can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.  On the positive side, you can view your photos anywhere that you have internet access.  On the negative side, if you don't have internet, you won't be able to get to your pictures (which is when a hard copy would come in handy).

I realize that the topic of backing up files isn't exactly thrilling, but I still felt obligated to bring it up. What some may view as common sense might not be so obvious to others, so it can't hurt to review this subject.  As I have said before: don't put all your eggs in one basket.  Always have your most precious photos backed up somewhere reliable!  If you don't want to use discs or an online photo hosting site, use a flash drive, separate computer, or anything else you can think of that will protect your photos.  Whichever method you choose, just make sure that it would prevent you from losing all of your important files in the event that something like this happens:

Photography as Wall Art

In past blog posts, I have suggested a couple different ways that photography can save you money.  They were:

1) Taking a picture of a picture rather than investing in a scanner (click here to read).

2) Taking your own family/senior portraits instead of paying a professional (click here to read).

My mother recently suggested another topic that involves a money saving technique: using your own photos as art in your home.  Rather than spending money on expensive paintings or framed photos from a store, you can print out your own photos and frame them yourself.  My mother has done this in our own home a few times and has gotten compliments from people who had no idea that she had taken the photos herself.

Not only is it cheaper to get your photos printed out at home or Walmart/Walgreens, but your own photos will offer more versatility.  If there is a specific subject you want featured in the photo, you can take it upon yourself to get the shot you need (your subject can be anything, but nature and still life are your best bets).  Using your own pictures also allows you to match the mood and and coloring of your room perfectly.  If a sepia toned photo would look better in the room than full color, you have the option of editing the photo to suit your needs.  That's definitely not always true with a store-bought print.  It's even possible to match the season.  My mother switches out the photos in our living room to better reflect the weather outside.  It looks weird to have flowers on your wall in the middle of January.

Finally, if you want the photo to have a more artsy feel, applying effects is usually necessary.   Effects that soften or fade the color, such as sepia, black and white, fancy focus, ortonish, cross process or combinations of these will usually do the trick.  A photo is generally more attractive as an artistic piece if it looks less "real."  Below are examples of photography that might work as wall art.

Taken by my Mom.  As you can see, it has a softer, warmer tone rather than sharp,  bright colors.  

Taken and edited by me.  This one works as a more artsy piece because of the selective coloring and glowing edges.

Taken by my sister.  It's simple and pleasing to the eye.  

Taken by me.  This would be a good wall hanging for winter.  It's relatively simple and the black and white effect makes it more neutral.

This one was taken by my mother.  I'm not 100% sure, but she may actually have this photo up in our house.  She has a 3-picture frame that shows various pictures of daycare children playing outdoors.  If this one is used, I think she also added a white vignette to make the photos more ethereal.

Taken by me.  This is a picture of my sisters curtains, but it's ambiguous enough that it could be used as a still life shot.  The effect also neutralizes and softens the color.

Taken by my sister.  The effect she applied to this makes it good for a wall hanging.  I'm not sure exactly which effect she would have used for this one, but it gives it a grainy, sepia-like tone that adds interest.

Taken by my sister.  The colors in this particular photo are probably muted enough as it is, so no editing would necessarily be needed.  This would be a good choice if you wanted a boating or beach theme in the room.

It's a little difficult to give examples for this topic because people's taste and need varies so much.  All of the photos shown above could be edited further to fit the color and style of a particular room.  Anyway,  to summarize, here's what I suggest:

1) Use a relatively simple photo.  Personally, I don't think overly busy photos look as good.  For wall hanging you don't necessarily want something too distracting.


2) Edit the photo to match the look of your room.  Most of my suggestions involved toning down or softening colors, but ultimately you can do whatever you want.  


3) Print the photo in the size you need either at home or at a store that offers a printing service.


4)  Frame it yourself.  Matting the photo isn't absolutely necessary, but you could do that, too.

Overall, it's a fairly simple process that will save you a lot of money.  Prints are ridiculously high priced, so if you use your own photo and (ideally) a frame you already have, you can save yourself a ton of money.   Plus, having your own photos on the wall is nice personal touch you can add when decorating your home.  What could be more original than having your own photography or artwork on the wall?