
While there are some fun, creative ways to apply this technique, the most practical application for tilt shift lenses in real estate or architectural photography. They are also very effective when shooting panoramas, as the shifting causes very little (if any) distortion. Tilt shift lenses could also be used to shoot photos or videos of your reflection in a mirror, without getting the camera in the shot. This gives the illusion that the town is miniature! In the following example taken in Cinque Terre, Italy, the plane of focus is diagonal, causing buildings that are the same distance from the camera to be both in focus and out of focus. One of the most common uses for changing the plane of focus is when making an image look miniature, also known as the Tiny Town effect. Tilt shift lenses can make fun, creative effects. So when would a photographer choose to use a tilt shift lens? This controls the perspective of the object you are shooting, and can straighten out converging lines. Shifting means to move the lens slightly up and down, or left and right. This means that, while a regular lens can only focus on things the same distance from the camera, a tilt shift lens can focus on multiple objects at different distances from the lens. Tilting allows the photographer to fine tune the depth of field by adjusting the plane of focus. Tilting means to angle the lens so that the plane of focus is not parallel to the sensor. By using these two motions, you have the ability to control the orientation, position, and angle at which the image is hitting the sensor.

This is broken down into two motions: tilting and shifting (hence the name!). But a tilt shift lens allows the photographer to move the lens relative to the camera’s sensor, changing the plane of focus and perspective. In a normal camera lens, the lens is parallel to the image sensor, and they are in a fixed position. While there are ways to create these effects in post-production – even Instagram has a tilt shift filter – creating them in camera can save time and increase the accuracy of the final image.įirst of all, what is a tilt shift lens, and how does it work? It quite literally tilts and shifts! But broken down, they are not too complicated and can make some really interesting creative effects in camera. This type of lens can be intimidating at first because it has more moving parts than a normal lens.
#Tiltshift lens section professional
I’m going to share my secret to accurate, professional looking real estate and architectural photography: tilt shift lenses!
