Playing With Perception:The Tilt-Shift Effect

When photography became popular in the 1800s, people were wowed by the fact that they no longer had to rely on the judgements and flourishes of the artist. What I mean is that a photo is an image of a real thing. It simply shows you what the camera lens sees without bias.

But, uh, how true can that really be? Photojournalists strive to be unbiased, but we know that by simply choosing the subject to shoot the photographer is making an artistic decision. Subjects can be posed, costumed, given props, and directed to do whatever it is the photographer wants.

So, just because a photo has been taken does not mean it is telling the truth. Take the ever-growing popularity of tilt-shift photography. What the image above LOOKS like is a photo of a model airport: tiny little model planes placed on a tiny cardboard tarmac with carefully painted yellow lines and some kind of green felt for grass. But what it IS, is an ACTUAL airport! This shot, presumably taken from the air, features REAL airplanes on a real tarmac with real grass – what tricks the eye is the camera lens. A Tilt-Shift lens to be exact. So while the camera doesn’t lie, it can still play with our perception.

Take a look at some of these great examples of tilt-shift photography. Also, here’s a link where you can learn how to turn your photos into tilt-shift shots using Photoshop (real tilt-shift lenses are pretty expensive). There is even an iPhone app, called Hipstamatic, that comes with a tilt-shift setting!