More of miniature Disney World - Tilt-shift style

zackiedawg

zackiedawg

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A while back, I played around with a few shots in tilt-shift style, rendering Disney in the style of a scale model. The best results for this style of processing are shots taken from a higher position, with a slight downward angle to them, which would be the typical angle a photograph of a model would be taken from.

I played around with a few more recently, and thought I'd share them - jury's out on how successful they are...it's always hard to tell when you took the original because you know what it actually looks like! So without further ado, here's a scale-model tour of Disney World:



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Re: More of miniature Disney World - Tilt-shift st

Justin, I think that these worked rather well. I really like them. I like this whole effect in general. I just wish I knew how to attempt it in post processing so I could give it a go.
 
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I'll give you a simple breakdown - there are many different methods, but here's mine:

First, boost the saturation about 15-20% on the original photo. To give the model-like effect, the saturated colors look more 'plastic'.

Then, make a duplicate layer. On the duplicate layer, run saturation up another 20%. Then, add Gaussian blur at around a 5. Using the eraser tool, erase out roughly the middle of the focal area...the spot you want the focus to be clear for. Don't make it in a perfect line...it can be rough edged. Remember that some items taller need to be kept in the focal range calculation (the Grand Prix photo - the starting pole couldn't be blurred at the top because it's in the same focal area I chose to be in focus...so I erased the blur all the way up to stay consistent).

Then, make ANOTHER duplicate layer of the first duplicate layer. Run Gaussian blur at 10. Erase even more away from the center...just leaving the top and bottom of the frame. This way, you have a more layered blur, that gets stronger as you get closer and farther from the lens.

That's it - compress the layers and save. You can also do it by 'masking' layers, if you know how to do that. But this is quick and dirty, and fairly fast...and you don't have to figure out masking if you don't want to. The only other thing you may want before compressing layers is just look at it - decide if you need to erase away any more or less, check that the gradations between blur are smooth (if not, you can adjust the opacity of the eraser tool to 40% or 30% and run along the transition border areas, so the blur transitions more smoothly).

Thanks for the comments. Looking at them fresh today, they do look model-like now to me - however, they look much better when you click to see them full-size...the reduced size versions don't quite have as strong an effect.
 
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Justin, have you noticed if lighting plays a role in this effect along with the downward angle? Those shots all seem to have been taken in bright conditions.
 
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I do think light helps. I can't remember seeing a night shot with this effect. I suppose in order to capture that 'model' look, most scale models would be well lit to photograph, so ample light is probably important to the shot.

Another thing I'm thinking of too - I wonder if it wouldn't be best to 'cool down' the white balance a bit, to simulate more of an indoor artificial lighting...

Definitely some more experimentation needed with this! And I need to take some more high angle shots so I've got more to work with.
 
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love the speedway shot, that's real model loking
i do not know if only daylight works, i have necver seen any night shots this way that i remember, but it's less popular right now than hdr seems to be
i have a real good link to a technique for this, when i can find it i'll post it here
 
True indeed...HDR seems to be the frisbee or hula hoop of the digital camera world right now! Whereas my tilt-shift style is more like a chemistry set...not quite as popular. :)

But since I'm not an HDR fan, I'll try blazing the different path.
 
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I just love this trick. Such a fun way to play with perception.
 
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Thanks...me too. I just kick myself because I always try to remember to take more downward angle shots, and somehow forget and only come back with a few!
 
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