Photography often strives to capture the world around us in keen detail or with an air of grandeur. But there's a unique technique that produces a very different effect. Known as tilt shift, this creative type of photography simulates a shallow depth of field—whether with the help of a specialized lens or post-processing—to create the illusion that everything is happening inside of a diorama.
One of the most charming examples of tilt shift is a video depicting farming activities, like plowing and transportation, as if they were shot with a macro lens. The effect is heightened by a handful of elements, such as the elevated perspective of the videographer, which makes the objects look fairly small inside the frame. Additionally, by lowering the set frame rate, the vehicles and people look sped up, and the naturally bright and saturated colors of the subject matter imbue the scene with a toy-like quality.
With the right setups, this technique can also be successfully applied to other subjects, like a gritty cityscape. While the actual purpose of these specialized tilt shift lenses is to avoid perspective distortion when photographing tall buildings, these tools, as well as the editing styles they have inspired photographers and videographers to let their imagination run wild and make the world look like an adorable stop-motion movie.
Scroll down to see more amazing videos.
Tilt-shift video techniques make life-sized scenes look like they're from an adorable stop-motion movie.
A cement truck, a dog park, and a crosswalk.
byu/antonionb intiltshift
This creative type of photography simulates a shallow depth of field—whether with the help of a specialized lens or post-processing—to create the illusion that everything is happening inside of a diorama.
With the right setups, this technique can also be successfully applied to other subjects, like a gritty cityscape.
An edit of a photo pf Minneapolis I made many years ago.
byu/ThisIsDK intiltshift
h/t: [Reddit]
Related Articles:
Van Gogh Masterpieces Reimagined with Spellbinding Tilt-Shift Effect
Redditor Takes Internet by Storm With a 20th Century Photography Technique
Photographer Reveals What Historic Theaters Look Like From a Performer’s Perspective [Interview]
