Instagram is our favorite photo sharing and editing app -- not just because it's free, but because it's packed with fun features. The app's newest update brings us something we've long been doing with various other apps: tilt-shift editing.
Tilt-shift photography, normally done with an actual tilt-shift lens, alters the depth of field of what you're capturing, allowing you to emphasize certain objects in the photo. This effect can easily be imitated using Photoshop, or more easily with an app like Instagram. It isn't true tilt-shifting (some call it tilt-shift faking), but it's very similar to it. The resulting effect blurs the setting around your chosen subject, making the subject look small and toy-like. Pretty simple, right? Simple, but you don't want to tilt-shift just any photo. So, we're going to show you how to produce beautiful tilt-shift images!
1. Choose a Photo
Instagram now has tilt-shift as an option! Use it to transform a boring photo like this.
Tilt-shift works best on images taken from a high vantage point. For example, a mountain landscape with a train running through it, or a busy intersection of a city shot from the top of a buiding. Since we're in the city, we're working with the latter. You can also use the effect on actual toys, or small objects, just as long as you're not too close to your subject.
What you want is a busy background that can be blurred out, so don't pick a subject that's mostly surrounded by the sky. You also want to emphasize your subject, so don't choose a portrait-style photo since all you have in your frame is a single subject. Again, busy works best, but do experiment. Photography is all about breaking the rules!
2. Apply Tilt-Shift
Make sure to angle that box just right.
Instagram's tilt-shift capabilities are pretty simple. The app will display a rectangular box to frame your subject with, and you can adjust the amount of blur around it. You can pinch and pull on the screen to make the rectangle as small or as large as you want, and you can rotate it to change the angle. When you tilt-shift, frame your subject as closely as possible for the most extreme effect.
Because Instagram does not give you a circle or a precise rectangle, it's best if the area surrounding your subject is not too complex. For a more subtle effect, use less blur. To tilt-shift to the max, use full blur.
3. Share
Hefe makes a nice tilt-shift photo filter. Lomo-fi does not.
What's the point of tilt-shift if you can't show off your image? Instagram understands the urge to share, so the final step is to share your creations with the world. Choose one of Instagram's fun filters and hit that share button.
One final recommendation: don't use a filter that blows out your picture too much and blurs the lines in your subject. A good tilt-shift photo shows a crisp subject in a blurry world. So go au natural, or use something subtle. But, most of all, have fun with it.
And, if you're interested in checking out more tilt-shift photography, there's no better place to go then Flickr. Visit the Tilt-shift Miniature Fakes group for more tilt-shift inspiration.
Voila, the final product.
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