OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Tilt-Shift Effect
Make a Photo Look Like a Miniature Model With Blurred Top and Bottom
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How the Tilt-Shift Effect works
This tilt-shift effect turns an ordinary photo into what looks like a model railway scene: a narrow band stays sharp, everything above and below it melts into blur, and a saturation boost makes cars, buildings and people look like painted toys.
How to use the tilt-shift effect
Drop in a photo and the miniature version appears straight away. Move Focus position so the sharp band sits over your subject, measured from the top of the frame, then narrow or widen it with Sharp band height. Blur strength controls how soft the edges get, and Extra saturation pushes the colours towards the bright, plasticky look of a scale model. Download the result when it looks right.
Why it fools the eye
A real tilt-shift lens tilts the plane of focus so only a thin slice of the scene is sharp. Our eyes associate that very shallow depth of field with close-up photos of small objects, so a city street shot this way reads as a tabletop model. The illusion works best when the photo is taken from high up, looking down at an angle, with plenty of small repeated detail such as cars, roofs or crowds.
Picking a good photo
Views from bridges, rooftops, towers, hills and aircraft windows work far better than eye-level shots. Bright daylight with strong colours helps, and so do scenes with a clear middle distance to put the sharp band across. Close portraits and flat landscapes rarely look miniature.
Private by design
The photo is processed on a canvas in your browser and never uploaded. Very large photos are scaled to 2,400 pixels on the long side so the blur stays fast.
FAQ
What is the tilt-shift miniature effect?
It is a photo technique that keeps only a narrow strip of the picture in focus and blurs the rest. Because our eyes link that shallow focus with close-up shots of tiny objects, full-size scenes start to look like scale models.
Where should I put the focus band?
Put it across the part of the scene you want to read as the model, usually the middle distance where cars, buildings or people sit. Leave the foreground and the sky in the blurred zones above and below.
Why doesn't my photo look like a miniature?
The effect needs a high viewpoint looking down. Photos taken at eye level keep a natural sense of scale however much blur you add, so try a shot from a balcony, bridge or hill instead.
Does the blur look the same as a real tilt-shift lens?
It is close but not identical. A real lens blurs according to the distance of each object, while this tool blurs by position in the frame, so tall objects crossing the band can look slightly wrong.
See also: all Images tools, Audio, Video & Screen, PDF, SVG, Simulations & Screensavers, Generative Art, Chart Makers, 3D Model Viewers, Drawing Pads, Mockups & 3D Making, Diagram Makers, 3D Science, Tracker Music.
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