One of the more fun optical effects you can play around with as a photographer is the “selective focus” or (less accurately) “tilt-shift” effect.
Done using either a tilt-shift lens (which, by the way, is NOT made specifically for this) or by ‘faking it’ in Photoshop, the photographer can blur the fore and background of a vast scene, making it seem like something massive is in fact a tiny miniature scene.
This works best if you’re looking down on a scene at an angle, and worst when you’re looking straight down or taking a photo from ground-level. The results can vary a lot depending on the angle, subject, and method chosen, but the 25 photos below are all awesome examples of selective focus done right.
Scroll down and enjoy pretending you’re a giant:
Have your own ’tilt-shift’ selective focus shot? Upload it to 500px and drop a link for us in the comments. And if you’ve got tips or tricks for others who want to try this for themselves, share those too!
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