I needed to rent some lenses for my wedding on Friday (my last one before baby!) and I decided to add a lens known as the Tilt-shift to my rental just to see what it is like. If you have no idea what a Tilt-shift lens can do click over to this post by Smashing magazine to see some really incredible results. Have you seen this video of a beach in Australia made using a Tilt-shift lens?

I really like what I’ve seen other photographers do with it and I wanted to see how it would work for me. I ended up leaving the rental place just in time to get to the wedding so I didn’t have any time to practice or really learn how it works. I wound up with only a few photos worth keeping and realized I needed to spend some more time practicing.


Yesterday I went for a “photo walk” in an attempt to both get some exercise and play with the lens before I had to return it. I didn’t end up with anything mind-blowingly awesome but I think it’s a lens I would definitely enjoy renting and using more in the future.

I really love to see what the lens can do when shooting portraits, as seen here, here, here, and here.

There are those who say the same effects can be achieved through Photoshop, but I disagree. Unfortunately my mathematical skills prevent me from letting you know exactly WHY I disagree, but I’ve read several arguments back and forth about it and I agree with the “Photoshop can’t fake what an expert can do” camp. Photographers I love who frequently use the Tilt-shift include Jonas Peterson, Jeff Newsom, and Sean Flanigan. Try scrolling through their stuff and spotting when they use the Tilt-shift.

If you have a dSLR and you’d like to shake things up a little bit from your normal routine I’d suggest renting a new lens and having some fun with it. You can try the Tilt-shift, find someone who has a Lensbaby, or you can get really ambitious and look into making your own!

Also: