Tilt-Shift: Winchester Mystery House

[theNOIZ]

Winchester Mystery House - San Jose, CA (http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/)

http://shaunnelson.smugmug.com/photos/467887429_HBYDP-M.jpg

http://shaunnelson.smugmug.com/photos/467883980_5YGp7-M.jpg

http://shaunnelson.smugmug.com/photos/467883888_2ua8G-M.jpg

http://shaunnelson.smugmug.com/photos/467884090_H9g9o-M.jpg

http://shaunnelson.smugmug.com/photos/467883352_HqSk8-M.jpg

http://shaunnelson.smugmug.com/photos/467883416_nHTg2-M.jpg

http://shaunnelson.smugmug.com/photos/467883510_eWf8d-M.jpg

http://shaunnelson.smugmug.com/photos/467883646_ekwZd-M.jpg

http://shaunnelson.smugmug.com/photos/467883821_UMbKi-M.jpg

[Kyle D]

Is it the tilt shift lens that gives these the look of being scale models?

[Candid Arts]

Is it the tilt shift lens that gives these the look of being scale models?

Yes. But I read there is a way to make this effect in PS. I just don't know how to do it.

Does anyone know?

Excellent series btw. Gorgeous building.

[theNOIZ]

Is it the tilt shift lens that gives these the look of being scale models?
To answer your question, it can. You can use a tilt-shift to control your depth of field, or... manipulate an original photo in the digital darkroom. And that's all I've done on these photos is modify the depth of field in Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 and then add some saturation. Maybe someone with a tilt-shift lens can give us some additional information.

[Kyle D]

I found this tutorial of how to do it in Photoshop:

http://www.visualphotoguide.com/tilt-shift-photoshop-tutorial-how-to-make-fake-miniature-scenes/

[theNOIZ]

I found this tutorial of how to do it in Photoshop:

http://www.visualphotoguide.com/tilt-shift-photoshop-tutorial-how-to-make-fake-miniature-scenes/
Here's another tutorial; however, this one is a bit more involved: http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=321

[captain78]

Thanks for the tuts guys!

[GSPeP]

"Scale model look" was also my first impression.

Ohterwise nice pictures. Just a shame that the complete building is not sharp in the pictures.

[Candid Arts]

Here's another tutorial; however, this one is a bit more involved: http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=321

This one works great I think. I posted my tries at it here. (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=119974)

[theNOIZ]

"Scale model look" was also my first impression.

Ohterwise nice pictures. Just a shame that the complete building is not sharp in the pictures.
The combination of tilt-shift DOF and color saturation done in Photoshop are what trick your eyes into thinking that the photo is actually a miniature. Without the blur, the photos wouldn't work as well as they do.

[ian408]

I have lived in the Bay Area all of my life. I've driven past Winchester Mystery House a lot--almost daily for the last few years. But I've never stopped :D

Nice to see a different view of the place that Sarah built.

[theNOIZ]

I have lived in the Bay Area all of my life. I've driven past Winchester Mystery House a lot--almost daily for the last few years. But I've never stopped :D

Nice to see a different view of the place that Sarah built.
You should go! It's really fascinating. There's a lot of photo opportunities in the house and outside on the property.

For anyone that's never heard of the Winchester house, here's a summary: Sarah Winchester was the wife of William Winchester, the man behind Winchester Rifles (the gun that tamed the American West). After the death of her husband and child, Sarah was told by a spiritual medium that she was cursed because Winchester guns had taken so many lives. To confuse the spirits that were said to haunt her, the mansion was constructed around the clock, 365 days a year. No master building plan was ever used, and this created some oddities in the home like the famous stairs that lead into the ceiling. Sarah had the money to continue building the home until the day she died. Her inheritance after Williams death was $20.5 million and she took 50% ownership in Winchester firearms which gave her a daily income of $1,000. This amount is roughly equivalent to $21,000 a day in 2008 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Mystery_House) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Mystery_House%29).

[mercphoto]

Yes. But I read there is a way to make this effect in PS. I just don't know how to do it.
Well, you can probably guess that the answer is "kind of". You can make reasonable approximations of the effect in Photoshop. But if you understand what a T/S lens really does and what it is really capable of you can't truly replicate the effect in Photoshop. There will be things you can do with the lens that you cannot do after the fact. Kind of like how you can't replicate the effects of a polarizing filter in Photoshop.

T/S lenses were originally developed to help make certain types of photographs look more realistic. For example, correcting perspective in architectural shooting. They can also help in certain types of landscape shots. Using a T/S lens to create this "miniature" look is something somebody stumbled upon somehow. :)