I bought a tilt/shift lens for its intended use of avoiding converging lines when shooting architecture. However, I’ve found that it is much more fun to use it “incorrectly” in numerous situations. When used this way it can provide an easy way to make a good photo great or at least much more interesting. It can also be useful for blurring out what may be distracting in an image to draw more attention to the subject. In this image I shot in Oaxaca, Mexico I shifted the lens all the way to the left to create this dreamy effect…

and again just outside of Oaxaca for an abstract landscape that focuses the viewers attention on just the pyramid…

For this next shot of a bocce ball court I could tilt just a little so everything is in focus or tilt way too far for this look….

One big problem with T/S lens’ is that they can be very expensive. A cheaper alternative would be a “lens baby” lens but they probably don’t have the same image quality of a $2000 Canon or Nikon lens. An even cheaper way is the new tilt-shift filter in the new photoshop CS6. I’m old fashion so I like to do everything I can in camera but this filter works surprisingly well. Happy snapping!

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You can view my work here: www.kellyfajack.com

Article written by Kelly Fajack

Photographs © Kelly Fajack

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