In this quick tutorial we’ll show you how to use a tilt-shift lens to shoot a ‘toy town’-style miniature effect.
Converting a real-life scene into one that looks like a model is a great creative technique. ‘Miniaturising’ a scene is one of the most popular uses for a tilt-shift lens, and can be used to make viewers look again at a subject that’s been shot a million times before.
Tilt shift-lenses have a variety of uses. From technical architectural shoots, where they can prevent the effect of parallel lines converging, to simply extreme selective focusing, tilt-shift photography can take your camera to a whole new level.
The mechanics of a tilt-shift lens allow free movement between the lens and camera. The lens features two different planes: first there’s the ‘tilting’ element at the front, which can be tilted back and forth to change the plane of focus; then there’s the shift element at the rear, which enables a scene to be recomposed while the camera remains still.
SEE MORE: 5 things you need to know about using tilt-shift lenses
We used the Nikon 24mm f/3.5D ED PC-E lens here. As with all tilt-shift lenses, it is a prime lens, and can only be focused manually.
One good feature is that it can be rotated, so both tilt and shift can be applied either horizontally or vertically (or anywhere in between). This makes it very versatile and enables you to vary the effect to your liking.
The main downside of all tilt-shift lenses is that they are specialist items and so are very expensive to buy – the one we used has a street price in the region of £1465/$2200.
If you fancy giving them a go without splashing out hundreds of pounds or dollars, they can be hired for a weekend for around £50/$60 from companies such as Calumet Photographic.
SEE MORE: Tilt-shift photography – how to use 1 lens for 6 very different effects
How to use a tilt-shift lens to make a toy-town effect
01 Get up high
To successfully shoot a ‘toy town’ tilt-shift shot, you have to find a high vantage point where you can look down on the scene. Do not go too high for your focal length as the scene will become too small to recognise. We shot the swimming pool at Bath University from the viewing corridor.
SEE MORE: DIY Photography Hacks – how to make a tilt-shift lens from an ordinary optic
02 Tilt and shift
Use the shift and tilt functions on the lens to position it so it’s looking at a part of the scene that you like. Turn the dial at the rear of the lens to recompose the image if needed then, using the frontal dial, tilt the lens up, away from your focal point for a narrow band of focus.
03 Use Live View
Focusing can be difficult if, like us, you’re using a lens that has a fixed focal length and is manual focus only. Using Live View is far more accurate. Switch to Live View via the ‘LV’ button. Use the plus and minus buttons to zoom in digitally so that you can focus clearly. A tripod will help here.
SEE MORE: 7 Dos and 3 absolute Don’ts of using Live View
04 See into the future
Use the ring on the lens to set your focal point before the athletes come into view. When shooting sports where people will be moving, it’s always a good idea to pick a place where you know people will be – the finish line of a race is a safe bet. We focused on the centre of a lane in the pool.
SEE MORE: Why your tilt-shift lens is more than just a miniature effect maker
05 Freeze the scene
A reasonably fast shutter speed is essential for tilt-shift photography. For a convincing ‘model’ look all the figures in the scene need to appear completely motionless. Sports are typically very fast-paced, so the shutter speed must be high enough to freeze motion; we shot at 1/640 sec.
06 Put in a finishing burst
Shoot in continuous shooting mode (CH on the shooting mode dial). Due to the fast movement of the athletes and the challenges of focusing the lens, firing off a burst of shots will ensure you capture a sharp shot. (This also goes for photographing most sport without a tilt-shift lens.)
SEE MORE: How to fake a tilt-shift effect
Make it more vibrant
To really bring out the tilt-shift effect, increase the contrast and vibrance of your images, as this will make your scene or subject look more like a toy (since toys tend to be very brightly coloured). This can be done in-camera using your Picture Styles, or afterwards in Photoshop.
For our shot, we bumped up the Vibrance to 40 in Camera Raw. We’d have pushed this even further had we shot in a less colourful location.
READ MORE
Camera composition tips: 1 subject, 6 ways to shoot it
11 common lens errors (and how to avoid them)
3 simple ways to affect depth of field: free photography cheat sheet
Digital camera effects from A-Z
The post How to use a tilt-shift lens to create a miniature effect appeared first on Digital Camera World.