10 Astonishing Tilt-Shift Videos

April 16, 2010 · 126 comments

in Inspiration

I’m sure you have seen some amazing tilt-shift photos – if not, tilt-shift creates an effect that turns normal sized objects or scenes into miniature-like. It is done by special tilt-shift lenses that have very limited depth of field. To start playing with this technique you need to buy a tilt-shift lens, attach to your dSLR camera and start shooting.

In this post we wanted to feature some of the best videos applying this technique. To make such amazing pieces you can see below, just take your time lapse tilt-shift photos and create video using some video editing software (it is most popular technique) . Scroll down your our 5 quick tips on creating tilt-shift videos.

Check out our Fake Tilt-shift Photoshop Tutorial!

Astonishing Tilt-Shift Videos:

The Sandpit from Sam O’Hare.

gottardo nord from fb1 visuals.

Small Life in Saxon Switzerland from Christoph Schaarschmidt.

5 Quick Tips to Create Tilt-Shift Time Lapse Videos:

1) Get some tilt-shift lens (we assume you have the camera). If you want just to experiment – ask your friends, maybe they have this type of lens as they are pretty expensive.

2) Think about some interesting scenes to shoot. Scene should include some moving objects as they look very interesting in your ‘miniature’ world. People, cars etc works great!

3) Experiment how fast to take shots. there are no standarts how much frames per second you should take, just play arond and see what works for you best.

4) Try to shoot from above. Remember – you are trying to create miniature effect!

5) Search for some great music track as it helps to create right feeling. You can also play with frames, even add some effects that match music when editing video.

Toy Soldiers from Alta Media Productions.

Small Worlds – Preview. from Keith Loutit.

Seascapes 2009 from robi vincze.

Tilt Shift Test #1 from Jaemie Manners.

GUNDAM: Tilt-Shift from RYO.

tiltshift me from rabid deniroe.

Small Life in Southampton, England from Mark Rigler.

Do you have some great looking tilt-shift photos sitting around on your hard drive?  How about bringing those photos to life by having them photo mounted on unique materials such as bamboo, acrylic or aluminum?

Tagged as: photography, tilt shift, timelapse, tips, video

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has written 18 awesome articles for us at Photoble

  • jnlftp

    amazing videos!

  • http://www.jamesmattison.co.uk james mattison

    great videos… but where are the other ten?!

  • Anonymous

    Oh, sorry – typo – only 10 today. Check out later for mere!

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  • jnlftp

    amazing videos!

  • http://www.jamesmattison.co.uk james mattison

    great videos… but where are the other ten?!

  • photoble

    Oh, sorry – typo – only 10 today. Check out later for mere!

  • Anonymous

    God I want to play with tilt shifting a mark II

  • lilyg

    God I want to play with tilt shifting a mark II

  • Anonymous

    These are some really great videos

  • pswj1

    These are some really great videos

  • http://twitter.com/jmleclercq Jean-Michel Leclercq

    Great videos !! Thanks for sharing.

  • http://twitter.com/jmleclercq Jean-Michel Leclercq

    Great videos !! Thanks for sharing.

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  • Sotonshades

    Wow, really increadible stuff there. I especially liked “Small Life in Southampton, England” as not only am I from there, but I was actually able to recognise my miniturised self in one of the shots! Quite a perculier thing to see yourself like that, but very cool

  • Anonymous

    Ha, ha – this is cool – I can imagine how cool is to see yourself in such videos!

  • Anonymous

    You are welcome – I’m glad you liked this post – subscribe to our feed for mere to come!

  • Shades

    Wow, really increadible stuff there. I especially liked “Small Life in Southampton, England” as not only am I from there, but I was actually able to recognise my miniturised self in one of the shots! Quite a perculier thing to see yourself like that, but very cool

  • photoble

    Ha, ha – this is cool – I can imagine how cool is to see yourself in such videos!

  • photoble

    You are welcome – I'm glad you liked this post – subscribe to our feed for mere to come!

  • Nick

    great videos, tilt shift photography can be so captivating and almost mesmerizing to watch. great selection here!

  • Lulinix

    I wonder what is the exact thig that changes in the image that makes us percive it like minatures. I mean what is the diference to our ayes between real size things and minatures.
    Also how would a person talking shoot with this lense look like.. like a close up..

  • Nick

    great videos, tilt shift photography can be so captivating and almost mesmerizing to watch. great selection here!

  • Lulinix

    I wonder what is the exact thig that changes in the image that makes us percive it like minatures. I mean what is the diference to our ayes between real size things and minatures.
    Also how would a person talking shoot with this lense look like.. like a close up..

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  • Anonymous

    you do understand that you do not need a special lens to achieve this effect, it can be done in still photography using simple techniques in Photoshop or just about any photo manipulating software and for film it can be achieved through video editing software like Premiere Pro.
    Great videos regardless but nothing that requires deep pockets to achieve

  • GarryO

    you do understand that you do not need a special lens to achieve this effect, it can be done in still photography using simple techniques in Photoshop or just about any photo manipulating software and for film it can be achieved through video editing software like Premiere Pro.
    Great videos regardless but nothing that requires deep pockets to achieve

  • Anonymous

    Normally, when we see a large object that’s, say, over forty feet away, and it’s in focus, we would expect to also see anything beyond that also in focus. This isn’t true for a tiny close up object (say, two feet away) that takes up the same field of view–if we focus on them, we’ll see objects further away go out of focus. The tilt shift lens simulates this effect on large, faraway images that we normally only see on small, close up images.

    This can also be done in Photoshop. Just select the areas that you want to push out of focus, and add a slight blur. for a better effect, do a gradient blur that starts close to the “in focus” object and gradually blurs more the farther away it is. To really do a good job, select the area so as to follow the shapes of objects in a way that draws a line such that everything on the line appears approximately equidistant from the camera lens.

    Other touches can be used to add to the illusion. One is to decrease the detail slightly everywhere except for a thin slice where everything is “superfocused”. Another is to add a very slight, subtle “plastic wrap effect”–tweaking the detail until it looks right. That can make things look more “toylike.” A little bump up in color saturation can help with that, too. Emphasizing specular highlights in the image helps, too.

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  • ibcnunabit

    Normally, when we see a large object that's, say, over forty feet away, and it's in focus, we would expect to also see anything beyond that also in focus. This isn't true for a tiny close up object (say, two feet away) that takes up the same field of view–if we focus on them, we'll see objects further away go out of focus. The tilt shift lens simulates this effect on large, faraway images that we normally only see on small, close up images.

    This can also be done in Photoshop. Just select the areas that you want to push out of focus, and add a slight blur. for a better effect, do a gradient blur that starts close to the “in focus” object and gradually blurs more the farther away it is. To really do a good job, select the area so as to follow the shapes of objects in a way that draws a line such that everything on the line appears approximately equidistant from the camera lens.

    Other touches can be used to add to the illusion. One is to decrease the detail slightly everywhere except for a thin slice where everything is “superfocused”. Another is to add a very slight, subtle “plastic wrap effect”–tweaking the detail until it looks right. That can make things look more “toylike.” A little bump up in color saturation can help with that, too. Emphasizing specular highlights in the image helps, too.

  • http://jmconcepts.net jesse

    i love f-stop!

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  • http://jmconcepts.net jesse

    i love f-stop!

  • Anonymous

    You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension….
    Those words hold true as illustrated above. Fascinating and fun to watch. I would like to see feature films using this technique. It may be simple to some but requires some profound thought to be effective.

  • lenlawrent

    You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension….
    Those words hold true as illustrated above. Fascinating and fun to watch. I would like to see feature films using this technique. It may be simple to some but requires some profound thought to be effective.

  • Anonymous

    you have such a great artistic mind the the way you bring reality to almost a toy state wonderful

  • bartzk

    you have such a great artistic mind the the way you bring reality to almost a toy state wonderful

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  • Sandman

    This was so beautiful. I spent my entire lunch break watching all of the videos. Thanks for making my day.

  • Sandman

    This was so beautiful. I spent my entire lunch break watching all of the videos. Thanks for making my day.

  • randy

    I wondering about the music track. Good ones it seems would be copywrited? What are the legalities for publishing this on the net?

  • randy

    I wondering about the music track. Good ones it seems would be copywrited? What are the legalities for publishing this on the net?

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  • http://www.tropixel.com.au Design

    I always wondered how people achieve that effect. Very cool technology – would love to get my hands on one of those cameras…

  • http://www.tropixel.com.au Design

    I always wondered how people achieve that effect. Very cool technology – would love to get my hands on one of those cameras…

  • http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/Hermitbiker Hermitbiker

    …. fantastic examples of tilt-shift technique used in videos, pretty darn cool !!

  • Hermitbiker

    …. fantastic examples of tilt-shift technique used in videos, pretty darn cool !!

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  • Anonymous

    woaahhhhh

  • l1andrew

    woaahhhhh

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  • http://www.youtube.com/user/raouldukee RaoulFreytag
  • http://twitter.com/speirwe Sigrid

    wow

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/raouldukee RaoulFreytag
  • http://twitter.com/speirwe Sigrid

    wow

  • Open

    Read the intro got excited, watched 2 vids and they bored me to death. Looks fascinating if it were 1985.

    I write this only in case someone else doesn’t have a “wow” response.

    Thanks for the exposure but I just don’t get it.

  • Open

    Read the intro got excited, watched 2 vids and they bored me to death. Looks fascinating if it were 1985.

    I write this only in case someone else doesn't have a “wow” response.

    Thanks for the exposure but I just don't get it.

  • http://www.myblessings2.blogspot.com Kelly B

    That is soooo cooool! Never knew how to do it. Thanks for sharing!

  • http://www.myblessings2.blogspot.com Kelly B

    That is soooo cooool! Never knew how to do it. Thanks for sharing!

  • Bill

    to me the only thing in the videos making everything appear “toy-like” and Miniature” is the use of speeding up the video and filming from a very panoramic vantage point. At the same time, the still frames are pretty effective.

  • Bill

    to me the only thing in the videos making everything appear “toy-like” and Miniature” is the use of speeding up the video and filming from a very panoramic vantage point. At the same time, the still frames are pretty effective.

  • http://www.ridhuan.com/blog Ridhuan

    Wow I’m so amazed.. At first I really thought everything in the video are miniature models.

  • JisDangerous

    I think it takes a true passion for photography to appreciate what they are displaying here. Like me? I loved this! I think its brilliant!

  • http://www.ridhuan.com/blog Ridhuan

    Wow I'm so amazed.. At first I really thought everything in the video are miniature models.

  • JisDangerous

    I think it takes a true passion for photography to appreciate what they are displaying here. Like me? I loved this! I think its brilliant!

  • http://www.invisibleinkwebdesigns.com/weblog Luke Sheppard

    Hate to be the bearer of bad news but none of these are actually done with a tilt-shift lens, but have been modified afterwards with a bit of guassian blur, unsharp mask and layer masks. You can tell because of the irregular shapes of the sharp areas…

    Still nice but SO common now!

  • http://www.invisibleinkwebdesigns.com/weblog Luke Sheppard

    Hate to be the bearer of bad news but none of these are actually done with a tilt-shift lens, but have been modified afterwards with a bit of guassian blur, unsharp mask and layer masks. You can tell because of the irregular shapes of the sharp areas…

    Still nice but SO common now!

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  • http://ohcelebrity.com/reviewblog/ reviewblog

    awesome- though I wish they would of included Keith Loutits videos off vimeo- the monster truck rally he shot was insane

  • http://ohcelebrity.com/reviewblog/ reviewblog

    awesome- though I wish they would of included Keith Loutits videos off vimeo- the monster truck rally he shot was insane

  • http://ohcelebrity.com/reviewblog/ reviewblog

    awesome- though I wish they would of included Keith Loutits videos off vimeo- the monster truck rally he shot was insane.

  • http://ohcelebrity.com/reviewblog/ reviewblog

    awesome- though I wish they would of included Keith Loutits videos off vimeo- the monster truck rally he shot was insane.

  • Brandon

    I really like the ones titled “Small World” and “Toy Soldiers”, those are really neat.

  • Brandon

    I really like the ones titled “Small World” and “Toy Soldiers”, those are really neat.

  • Brandon

    I really like the ones titled “Small World” and “Toy Soldiers”, those are really neat.

  • arnichou

    lol me too. I realize it wasn’t miniature

  • arnichou

    lol me too. I realize it wasn’t miniature

  • arnichou

    lol me too. I realize it wasn't miniature

  • Anonymous

    Hi, here is a very similar video, we’ve done as a student-project at the FH Duesseldorf:
    http://vimeo.com/10953556

    5 Days at the biggest funfair in duesseldorf in 1 Minute.
    Shot with: Nikon D70 + Nikkor TiltShift Lense 85mm 1.8 and Canon EOS 500d + KitObjektiv frame by frame using still-images.

    Edited with: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects

    Cheers, Dirk

  • Anonymous

    Hi, here is a very similar video, we’ve done as a student-project at the FH Duesseldorf:
    http://vimeo.com/10953556

    5 Days at the biggest funfair in duesseldorf in 1 Minute.
    Shot with: Nikon D70 + Nikkor TiltShift Lense 85mm 1.8 and Canon EOS 500d + KitObjektiv frame by frame using still-images.

    Edited with: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects

    Cheers, Dirk

  • dirkunger

    Hi, here is a very similar video, we've done as a student-project at the FH Duesseldorf:
    http://vimeo.com/10953556

    5 Days at the biggest funfair in duesseldorf in 1 Minute.
    Shot with: Nikon D70 + Nikkor TiltShift Lense 85mm 1.8 and Canon EOS 500d + KitObjektiv frame by frame using still-images.

    Edited with: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects

    Cheers, Dirk

  • KP

    wow thats cool, i dont get how it looks miniature rather than just far away! that sounds stupid but im actually confused lol

  • KP

    wow thats cool, i dont get how it looks miniature rather than just far away! that sounds stupid but im actually confused lol

  • KP

    wow thats cool, i dont get how it looks miniature rather than just far away! that sounds stupid but im actually confused lol

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  • Miss Choi

    That’s pretty dope! Just another example of how bizarre it is that one can manipulate photography in such neat ways. Cool showcase.

  • Miss Choi

    That’s pretty dope! Just another example of how bizarre it is that one can manipulate photography in such neat ways. Cool showcase.

  • Miss Choi

    That's pretty dope! Just another example of how bizarre it is that one can manipulate photography in such neat ways. Cool showcase.

  • Anonymous

    Really Amazing and cool videos

  • Anonymous

    Really Amazing and cool videos

  • http://www.bickov.com/ Alexander Bickov

    Awesome videos

  • http://www.bickov.com/ Alexander Bickov

    Awesome videos

  • pennyscript

    Really Amazing and cool videos

  • http://www.bickov.com/ Alexander Bickov

    Awesome videos

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  • jess

    Thats pretty awesome. I also found this really shocking, yet entertaining video about a diet coke + mentos + microwave experimnet GONE WRONG video on YouTube. The diet coke and mentos and microwave totally explodes and looks like it sends the guy to his death. You can see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVPZSK77yTw or by clicking here . Tell me if you think it is real or fake.

  • jess

    Thats pretty awesome. I also found this really shocking, yet entertaining video about a diet coke + mentos + microwave experimnet GONE WRONG video on YouTube. The diet coke and mentos and microwave totally explodes and looks like it sends the guy to his death. You can see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVPZSK77yTw or by clicking here . Tell me if you think it is real or fake.

  • jess

    Thats pretty awesome. I also found this really shocking, yet entertaining video about a diet coke + mentos + microwave experimnet GONE WRONG video on YouTube. The diet coke and mentos and microwave totally explodes and looks like it sends the guy to his death. You can see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVPZSK77yTw or by clicking here . Tell me if you think it is real or fake.

    <object width=”480″ height=”385″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/pVPZSK77yTw&hl=en_US&fs=1&”></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/pVPZSK77yTw&hl=en_US&fs=1&” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”480″ height=”385″></embed></object>

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  • Francorock

    You are kidding. Right?

  • Francorock

    You are kidding. Right?

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  • Mark Rigler

    Many thanks for the comment about “Small Life in Southampton, England”, where are you in the video? Mark Rigler

  • Mark Rigler

    Many thanks for the comment about “Small Life in Southampton, England”, where are you in the video? Mark Rigler

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    Thank for nice article. 🙂

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  • http://jeremyknedler.com/ Jeremy Knedler

    This is great!

  • http://jeremyknedler.com/ Jeremy Knedler

    This is great!

  • Jorgelee
  • Jorgelee

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  • guest

    hi, perhaps this little clip fits in your amazing tilt-shift collection…if you like it, feel free to post 🙂

    http://vimeo.com/22458913

  • Balaram Briant

    What IS a tilt shift lens? What is the difference between it and a normal lens? I don’t really get whats going on here. It’s cool though.

  • Mhemphill19

    it makes me thinhow insignificant i am

  • John

    Agreed…I am a photographer, and these folks use extremely boring subjects…I hope there are much more creative photographers who come along and make miniaturization fun to look at…

  • guest

    What songs are used in the videos? especially the third on?

  • http://dbakeca.com Dbakeca Italia

    nice videos

  • https://www.clippingpathassociate.com/ Jasmin

    i like your article very much .so many thanks

  • https://www.clippingpath.eu sujon hasan

    These are really nice, You always have such interesting patterns!

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