Before we start explaining the installation process of this application and what is required for it to work, we need to detail a little more this concept of tilt-shift photography and how it came to be. This small lesson is needed in order for users to understand the fun side of photography that is somewhat underprivileged and underused.
Although the principle (which will be explained shortly) is known to professionals more or less from the beginning of the photography, the mass production and distribution of lenses capable of producing this effect has started in the 1960s, when Nikon first introduced a lens that was capable of tilt. A few years later Canon came up with a lens that could do tilting and shifting.In laymen terms, tilt is the (small) rotation of lens relative to the image plane and shift is the movement of the lens, relative to the horizontal plane. The tilt function uses the Scheimpflug principle, which sounds more complicated than it is.
According to Wikipedia, "Scheimpflug principle is a geometric rule that describes the orientation of the plane of focus of an optical system (such as a camera) when the lens plane is not parallel to the image plane”. Sounds simple enough, right? On the other hand, the shifting part is used to change the apparent positions in space of the subject without having to move the camera. It you haven't run yet, we'll now get to the fun part.
Installation
The Tiltshift Generator application uses Adobe AIR, therefore users need to have it installed. One of the great advantages of this type of software is that it stays really small and can be integrated, if one wishes so, right into a website, with the author permission.
It was originally built for the iPhone, but the developer considered that other platforms can use this little and powerful software, and decided to go with the AIR format, insuring that it will run on anything that can also run Adobe AIR.
Usage
The role of Tiltshift Generator is simple: to replace really expensive camera lenses, at least in a modest sense, and to give ordinary users the possibility to use this type of effect in their photographs.
The software can do two main types of tiltshifting, one being more used than the other one. The most common one and probably the one that provides the best results is the Linear method, although the application starts off implicitly on Radial.
Like the name implies, Linear means that the effect is produced between two parallel lines. In the case of Radial, the effect is produced inside of a circle.
As it can be easily observed in the images below, the Linear tiltshifting producess a lot more beautiful results because it appears to integrate more naturally in a normal photograph. To obtain the best results possible, users will need an image where the subject and its immediate surroundings are not in the same relative plane.
The Radial method can also be used to enhance some images that were not well framed or if some unwanted detail is present on the edges or in almost other part of the photograph, for that matter.
The distance between the two parallel lines used in Linear mode and the radius of the circles from the Radial mode are both adjustable, but they vary with the resolution of the picture. If the image is too big (bigger than 1600 px), then users will not be able to adjust the distance and radius beyond a certain point. This problem can be resolved by reducing the resolution of the image in question.
The tiltshift effect is not obtained only through applying a simple command as it's closely tied to a series of other parameters that need to be changed in order to obtain a proper result. These parameters are the same, no matter if users are on Radial or Linear modes. All are important and there are very few times when one of those values remain untouched.
The parameters are color controls, like Saturation, Contrast, Brightness and Vignetting. Most important are Saturation, which modifies the quantity of color and its intensity in a picture, and Vignetting, which darkens the corners and sides of the photographs.
Ultimately there's no perfect recipe for transforming an image. It boils down to common sense and artistic touch. Some photographs will need almost no intervention and others will require even more image editing apps.
The Bad
Tiltshift Generator is a simple software. It would need a lot more features in order to be a real contender, although to be fair there isn't much competition out there.
The Good
First of all, it's free. For Apple fans it costs 0.99 cents, but for everyone else is completely free. Given the fact that it produces quality results, just being available at all it's a huge plus.
Conclusion
Tiltshift Generator is a lot of fun and it continues to amaze, no matter if you are a beginner or a professional. Nonetheless, camera lenses will offer superior quality and the overall result will always be better when is back-up by hardware. If you don't want to throw a ton of money on a dedicated tilt-shift lens, then this software is just the thing to make your friends wonder how did you get “that” picture.
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