Tilt-shifting Your Photos

I discovered a pretty cool technique for you image-manipulators. You, too, can make some of your favorite photos look like they were actually photographs of miniatures… Why, you might ask?

That, I don’t know, but it sure is fun.

Here’s a quote from Wired:

It’s called a tilt-shift effect, and it’s a favorite device of fine-art photographers. The idea is to keep a narrow band of a picture in sharp focus while blurring everything else. The result: a sprawling photo-scape suddenly looks like a scale model. To pull it off you need an expensive tilt-shift lens — or this simple Photoshop trick:

1. Import your image to Photoshop, then press Q to enter Quickmask mode.
2. Select the Gradient tool and set it to Reflected Gradient. Click on the area you want to be in focus and drag the cursor in the direction you want the image to blur.
3. Press Q again to complete the mask.
4. Apply a blur filter from the Filters menu.
5. Marvel at your masterpiece.

Cool, huh? Check out some more, from the dedicated Flickr group: