Tilt-shifting Tips

Here are a few things I've done to make my tilt-shift miniatures look more realistic.

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This is the original picture that we are going to edit with Photoshop CS.

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This is the final product. Click on the thumbnail or better yet, the full size link to have a closer look. It looks pretty good. =)

This post is a follow-up of my previous entry. If you haven't seen it yet, please go there first before proceeding to click on "Read more" below.

Read more

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1. Use Levels or Auto Levels so you start off with a nice photo.

Image -> Adjustments -> Levels
Image -> Adjustments -> Auto Levels

In this photo, notice that the white building on the left is whiter and the sky at the top-right hand corner is less "dirty". The color of the building is also less harsh.

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2. Use Surface Blur to smooth out details that shouldn't be present in miniatures.

Filter -> Blur -> Surface Blur

I used Radius: 10 pixels, Threshold: 10 levels for the photo above. Notice the trees and the grass patch are less defined now.

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3. The photos usually look most realistic when the foreground is in focus so take your photos this way if possible.

This is the tilt-shift effect. For those with Photoshop CS, the guide is here. For those with Photoshop 7 and below, use this one.

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4. Raise the contrast to make the colors more solid and uniform to resemble handicraft material. Do not overdo it.

Image -> Adjustments -> Brightness/Contrast

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5. Adjust the colors to make the photo more artificial.

Images -> Adjustments -> Hue/Saturation
Use this to change and lighten colors and shades, thus removing detail, making your photo more artificial.

Images -> Adjustments -> Color Balance
A good example would be raising the Green midtones (or reducing other color midtones) to change the colors of grass or trees in your photo to match the color of fake grass and tree in real miniatures.

At the end, if it's an outdoor shot, raise the Yellow highlights to simulate the yellow spotlights used to illuminate real miniatures. Adjust it so that the shadows casted resemble those in a real miniature.

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If it is an indoor shot, fiddle with the Hues to get a white light to simulate fluorescent lighting. This isn't done very well in the above indoor example because the lighting is actually from outside (ie. the sun) but hopefully, you get the idea.

Disclaimer: This is just a simple guide and I am not responsible for whatever you might do to your photos. So if you accidentely miniaturised your entire honeymoon photoset over the originals, it's not my fault. But please do post it to this Tilt-shift miniature fakes Flickr group so I can take a look. =)