I know the tilt shift is getting discussed a lot on here lately. I think it's great that people are trying new things. I don't see myself picking one up anytime soon and I don't usually look at my work and say damn I wish i had a tilt shift here. Except for this 1 photo in a set I'm currenlty editing.
Anybody know of a good tutorial or piece of software that simulates the effect? I would like to try on a shot i recently took.
Just google it. Sorry, just had to as its widely available online.
But, for those that want the super awesomized spencer boerup version, here goes (Photoshop CS2 or greater required):
1. Open selected photo in Photoshop.
2. Enter "Quick Mask Mode" by pressing Q.
3. Select your gradient tool (G) and make sure you select the gradient bar at the top that has a gradient going in both directions.
4. Make your selection. You should start your gradient on the part that you DO NOT want to blur (ie: face, or in sergios case, the feet). You should now see a red mask gradient.
5. Deactivate "Quick Mask Mode" by pressing Q. You should now see the "moving ants" which show you your selection.
6. Do NOT press anything else, but go straight to Filter > Blur > Lens Blur.
7. Inside the Lens Blur tool, make sure your gradient map is not selected. If you do not know what this is, you probably dont need to worry about it. Apply the intensity of the blur. In this case, your "Radius" is what effects it the most. Apply.
**Depending on your CPU speed, this may be quick or dreadfully slow.**
8. You should now see your blurred TSE effect on your photo, with the selection still active.
Thats all, but here is what makes the next step important.
9. With the selection still active, create a new layer from selection (CTRL+J, or command+J for mac).
10. With your new layer, apply a slight curve to it, and then bump the saturation a good 20 points or so (for 12mp+ images, anything less apply to your taste). This part helps solidify the effect, since generally the TSE effect in lens adds contrast and saturation to it as well.
Hope this helps. I'll be accepting royalties and donations. You can send them to my Uncle, he is the Sheik in Dubai that has been talking with Cathy. Sam knows him too so it's all legit.
Any form of Gaussian blur looks like crap. Also, do NOT adjust opacity of the new "blurred TSE" layer, it will look like crap. If it's too blurry, go back and change the radius of the blur.
While this approach is effective, and IMO the most "real", it still does not come close to what a true TS does, since TSE adds distortion and other neato effects.
I've yet to find a tilt-shift emulation that looks like the real thing. And these things always assume full tilt, and not a focal plane that cuts diagonally through the scene (something that can't be emulated easily if at all).
Well here they are. I use the 10-22 on my 5d and even wide open the dof is just huge so these needed some help. Not best shots of the day by far - in the 5th hour and starting to rain, but i think the effect helped out on these. Thanks for the tips.
