[tweetmeme]A portrait itself can be nice, and good looking. But if you like taking photos of people, I’m sure you have experienced the boring light which sometimes appears. Fortunately, our dear friend Photoshop can help us making almost any portrait look better. You know, like the ones you see in magazines, where they claim L’oreal makes you look all better.

If you have a boring portrait, or just want to make one more exciting, follow these 6 easy steps.

The image I used in this tutorial can be downloaded at here, courtesy of Chris Burfoot.

Step 1

First off, we want to select all the highlights by pressing Ctrl +  Alt + 4 (Mac: cmd + alt + 4). 
Choose Layer (1), New and Layer via Copy. Set the blendingmode in the layer to Screen (2), then the picture will get brighter. This layer only consists of highlights, so it’s especially the bright areas which will get affected by this.

Step 2

Now we want to blur the skin, but leave the rest of the picture untouched, and filled with details.
Go to Filter (1) and choose Convert for Smart Filters to only apply the effect on selected areas.
Click OK when the box pops up. Go ahead and choose Filter (1), Blur and Gaussian Blur….
Set the Radius to 8 pixels (2), and click OK (3). Your picture may need more or less blur, but i found that 8 fits most pictures. So if you are unsure what looks best, just go with 8.

Step 3

In this step, we want to remove the blur from the hair. Click one the layermask Smart Filters (1) and choose Brush Tool (2). Use a soft brush (a soft brush is hardness set to either 0, or something very low. I used 0) and set the master diameter to about 200 px (3) and make sure to set the foreground color to black (4).
Paint on the hair. It can be hard to tell where you have painted, but here’s a trick which makes it alot easier. Press Shift + Alt while clicking on the layermask (1). Now your painting becomes red.

Step 4

Choose the Zoom Tool (1) and zoom in on the persons face. Again, choose the Brush Tool (2), but this time use a smaller diameter, about 50 px (3). What you need to do now is paint on the eyes, nostrals and a little bit around them, the mouth and other details, which you don’t want to get blurred. You also need to paint along the face and neck. If you paint wrong, you can just press the X key to change the foreground color to white, and paint over. When you are done, go ahead and press the Shift + Alt key again on the layermask.

Step 5

Choose Layer 1 (1), hold the Ctrl-key (Mac: cmd-key) and press the ‘J’ three times to make the picture brighter. It is important to notice that particular move is very individual. On the picture I made for this tutorial, I only copied the layer twice, otherwise it would have been to bright in my opinion.
Click the Create new fill or adjustment  layer (2) and choose Curves… (3). Click half way up the line (4), and three/fourth (5) to lock the highlight and middletones. Next, grab a spot one/fourth up the line (6) and drag this down to make the shadows a little bit darker. Click the layermask (7), choose the Brush Tool (8), and use a big (200px-370px) black (9) brush on the darkest areas of the hair. This is individual, you might like to lighten up the dark areas, but i found that it doesn’t suit all pictures.

Step 6

At last we want to give the picture more powerful colors, as they sometimes get a little mat.
Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer (1) and choose Hue/Saturation…(2). Make the Saturation (3) to +25 (again, this step can also vary, but +25 is a good universal value). As you can see, the colors can get to powerful some places, so: Click the layermask (4), and choose Brush Tool (5) and black (6) as the foreground color. Set the Opacity to 50% (7), and paint on those places which has too much color.

And that’s it! Save the picture and go experiment on your other portraits!

[tweetmeme]Today we are going to make an old film style grainy black and white photo using adjusments filters, noise filters and much more. We will look at the difference between different adjustment filters like ‘black and white’ and the saturation adjustment. Which one will we use? Well lets find that out!

Step 1:
Search for a nice picture. For this tutorial I will be using a photo of a beach (im living on Curacao at the moment so the beach is my life). I got this one from sxc.hu (a very good FREE stock site). Of course it would be nicer to take one that you made yourself.

Open it up in photoshop and name it original.

Step 2:
It will be a black and white project so thats what we will do first. Im going to show you the difference between some adjusment filters.

Black and white:
Press on the black and white circle so it opens up the slider for the adjustments.

Select the ‘Black & White’ filter. When you open it you see alot of black to white sliders, just like in the image below. Every slider will make a color in the picture more intense white or black. As you can see we are able to customize it. However there are no standard variables so you will need to play with it until you are satisfied. Ensure you make the focus point the most intense. In this image, I wanted the beach and the island at the back to be the most eye catching part of this photo.

Hue/saturation:
The hue/saturation filter is also an option for creating a black and white image, but you can’t customize it. If you use this option just push the saturation slider all the way to -100. Now you also have a grayscale image but when you do this the image becomes flat. So we won’t be using this for this tutorial. Using the method above will allow you to have much more control over the tones within your image.

Ok, now you should have a black and white image! time for the next step.

Step 3:
Lets finish the “photoshop” work by adding a curve adjustment filter. Again you need to play with it because its different with every image. Experiment with how the curves can change the tones within your picture. Make sure you don’t overdo this step, just some slight changes are good enough.

Step 4 (optional):
Well my image didn’t have a good focus so I blurred the image. When you do this, duplicate your original layer, and then on the new layer go to filter>blur>blur, and then erase the layer around the parts you wanted sharp. Now I have my focus points fixed. Because this step is optional I won’t be spending alot of time in it. So lets go to the next step.

Step 5:
Lets add some noise. Create a new layer (cmd/ctrl + Shift+ N) and click image > apply image. Now you have the blurred layer and the original on a new layer. You need to do this or you will be placing your noise on the wrong layer.

Go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise…

Again don’t overdo this, a little bit noise is good enough. I put mine on 2,5%.

Well thats it, I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I hope to see you for my next tutorial, Request are welcome!

[tweetmeme]Most of us now use a handy little tool in Photoshop for correcting an stylizing our photographs, That’s right, ACTIONS! You got to love ‘em.
But if you’re like me; you want your subject to pop, and actions sometimes seem to flatten the colors of your image especially of your subject. So hopefully this quick tip will help us all out.

First, lets take a look at our image. The whole process of fixing an image this way should only take a few minutes once you get the hang of it.

It looks alright but their faces seem to washed out so we going to ahead and ad some color.
First thing we need is a new layer, so you can add one by going to Layer > New Layer.

(Note: be sure the adjustment layer you create is above the image you want to colorize )

Now we can grab a nice cream color and get ready to paint on the layer we just created.

Now paint on our new layer wherever you want the color to pop on your subject (i.e the face).

So far so good. Now, we need to see what we’re doing, so pull the opacity down to see where everything is.

When I’m adding color like this, I normally erase the color where the eyes are, and maybe the lips. But thats up to you, I think though that it helps to have the adjustment layer effect only what you need it too, in this case the face.

We’re almost done! Just go and change the blend mode on your new layer from Normal to Soft light

To add some depth, I may add a little touch of a light red on their cheeks.

Now we’re done! If you want your can erase the edges of the colored layer and keep the colors only in the face.

And there you have it, hope you all enjoyed this quick tip for adding a healthy glow to your images!

[tweetmeme]Neons were invented by accident over 300 years ago when a scientist shook a test tube. At the time though, their discovery was useless because they had no understanding of electricity. It took another 200 years for the concept to be rediscovered, and they called their invention ‘The New Gas’, or, as it was known in Greek, ‘Neon’.

Regardless of how many times I see this image, its realism still amazes me. Neon’s are a great way to feature a title, logo or any other text, and in this tutorial we learn how to transform a simple piece of text into an unbelievable glowing neon, complete with wall mounts and a brick wall to hold it up.

In order to complete this tutorial you will need to download the brick wall image. This is a members only download, but it is free to join.
You may also like to use the Museo typeface that I used in this tutorial. You can grab this for free on MyFonts. Just click ‘Buying Choices’ and you’ll see that Museo 300, 500 and 700 are all available for free. I used Museo 300 in this tutorial.

This tutorial was originally developed by abduzeedo, so I must give credit to them. I’ve been in contact with Fabio, the founder of abduzeedo, and we’ll be working together to bring you more photoguides video tutorials of the amazing abduzeedo tutorials in the future. Thanks again Fabio!

All questions, queries and comments are welcome down below, and feel free to share your own creations either in the comments section, or by putting them up on the PhotoGuides Flickr group.

Good luck!

[tweetmeme]Adding a reflection is one of the simplest, nicest effects you can apply to an image. Better still, it only takes one or two minutes. In this PhotoShop Quick Tip we go over how to add a reflection to an image or graphic in just a few simple steps.

Step 1:
Open up your image in Photoshop. For this tutorial, I’m using the PhotoGuides logo

Step 2:
Duplicate the layer you wish to create a reflection of, and select the layer on the bottom.

Step 3:
Enter transform mode by pressing control+T or command+ T, right click and select ‘Flip Vertically’.

Step 4:
Drag the newly flipped layer below your current layer. The image is now in place to have the reflection applied.

Step 5:
Add a Layer Mask to the flipped image. This can be done by clicking the icon shown in the image below.

Step 6:
Use the gradient tool with the colours as black and white, and draw a gradient from the top of your reflected image to the bottom.

Step 7:
Finally, reduce the opacity of the reflection layer to around 30-40%.

That’s all there is to it. Adding a reflection is a very easy process, and the results are stunning. Once you’ve done this once or twice, adding a reflection will become almost second nature, and you’ll be able to whip one up in just seconds.
Good luck!

[tweetmeme]Lately LetterPress has become a real trend in web design. For those unfamiliar with the effect, LetterPress gives the impression that words and letters have actually been pressed or bevelled inwards. It’s not hard to see why it’s so popular. LetterPress is stylish, very simple, and it’s third dimension allows it to catch the eye without being overpowering. It’s very easy too, and only takes a few minutes. Here’s how to apply the LetterPress typography effect in photoshop.

Step 1:

Open a new canvas in photoshop and paint a new colour to the background. Radial Gradients work well here. As you can see I’ve chosen a gradient of light greys, with the lightest colour glowing from the bottom of the canvas.

Step 2:

Type your word in and choose the colour of your text. The colour should be white, black, or a lighter or darker version of your background colour. As you can see, I’ve chosen white which conforms with the grey background.
The LetterPress effect works significantly better on larger sized text, and bold fonts work much more effectively. I’m using Museo with the weight as 700 and the size at 150pt. The settings in the next few steps apply mainly to text around 150pt. If your text is smaller, just use smaller sizes and depths. Likewise for larger fonts, use larger numbers in the settings.

Step 3:

Add a gradient overlay to your word. Set the colours to black and white, and reduce the opacity to around 5-10%. Your gradient needs to be subtle, and the lighter colours work better at the top.

Step 4:

Add an Inner Shadow to the text. This will give the effect that the text has been pressed into the surface. The depth of the inner shadow determines how far inwards the text is pressed, but I tend to find that less is more. Set the colour to black and reduce the opacity to 40%. The size and depth may change slightly depending on the size of the text you’re using (the size I used was 150pt). I’ve gone with a depth of 2px and a size of 4px. Also setting the angle at 120 degrees tends to be the most effective. The angle we use here will depict the position of the light source. 120 is a fairly natural angle, and it also helps to add the third dimension.

Step 5:

Add a light Drop Shadow. The shadow helps to give the effect that the edges are curved, as though they are beveled inwards. In order for the effect to be optimal, we need to once again consider that less is more. I’ve gone with a distance of 0px because all corners of the text will be beveled, as well as an angle of 120 degrees to be consistent with the light source and the inner shadow. Also, the colour is very important. In order to make the lighting of the text realistic, your shadow needs to be darker than the darkest colour in your background. This can easily be achieved by setting the colour to black and reducing the opacity to between 30% and 60%, depending on the darkness of your colour. That way, if you’ve got a red background, the shadow will appear dark red. Likewise with blue and every other colour.

Step 6 (optional, but worth doing):

Add some noise to your background. This light noisy texture adds to the realism off the pressed in letters. It looks like paper, or a notepad, or something else you’d imagine letters could be pressed into. I’ve gone with uniform, monochromatic noise with the amount set to 3%. Once again, i’m being minimalistic.

But I’ve got small font and it looks crappy with these settings:

Just use smaller numbers for the settings. I’ve based my figures around a font size of 150pt. If your font is significantly smaller, then just use 2 or 3 for the inner shadow depth instead of 4, or whichever number makes it look good.

That’s really all there is to it. The LetterPress effect is very simple to apply and produces great results. It’s simple, modern and incredibly stylish. Just remember to be minimalistic and all should be well.

[tweetmeme]If you’ve ever seen the show Heroes then you’ll no doubt remember the stunning eclipse intro. It’s only a few seconds long, but in my opinion it’s one of the best intros on television, mainly due to its simplicity and its stunning design. In this tutorial, we learn how to recreate that solar eclipse image in a slightly retro style using nothing but photoshop.

In order to complete this tutorial, there is a grunge paper file you’ll need to download, which is available for free to all Photo Guide members. Remember though, it is free to join.

This has probably been the hardest tutorial I’ve produced to date, mainly because of its length. I was very lucky not to go over 10 minutes. I think it took about 30 minutes to create the image, and then 3 nights of editing it together and recording voiceovers (I recorded around 200 voiceover tracks for this episode which I think is a new personal record). It was certainly worth it though because it produces such a stunning image.

I must give credit to Abduzeedo for this great tutorial. I’ve been in contact with Fabio, the owner of Abduzeedo, and he’s allowed me to create screen casts like this of his tutorials, so I’m looking forward to bringing you even more screen casts like this one.

That’s really all there is to mention. Good luck and feel free to share your creations in the comments below.

[tweetmeme]In photography, bokeh is one of the most incredible implementations of Aperture, as seen in this inspiring collection. The shallow depth of field causes any light in the background to blur into a floating orb.
In this tutorial, we go through how to create bokeh using Photoshop, with simply beautiful results.

Bokeh is derived from the Japanese word ‘Boke’ which means blur or haze. In the late 1990s though, when ‘boke’ photography was becoming popular, the word was changed to ‘bokeh’ to help us english speaking people say it properly.

I honestly believe this is one of the greatest tutorials on PhotoGuides to date, partly because it shows you how to create such a beautiful image, but also because it opens peoples eyes to the power of the brushes engine, and this demonstration can expand peoples abilities on Photoshop enormously.

The method I teach in this tutorial was originally developed by abduzeedo. When I was experimenting with how to create digital bokeh, I felt their tutorial showed the best way to do it, and thus decided to simply share their method in the podcast (with permission of course), so thanks for letting me share it.

As usual, the Photoshop source file and a high quality download of this tutorial is available for free to all PhotoGuides members.
You can also download the digital bokeh image from the tutorial as a wallpaper over here in the freebies section.

Good luck!

[tweetmeme]Scrapbooks are a great way to preserve a memory. In this tutorial you’ll learn how to create a high resolution digital scrapbook on photoshop, including torn paper, sticky tape, handwriting and spilt ink.

This is a method I created in mid 2008 when I was designing pages for the school magazine. I had to create 5 pages for the year 12 class, featuring a selection of photos from their valedictory dinner and all of the students names. As a result, this technique can be used to create great full page spreads. The paper file is almost A3 quality, and the sticky tape and torn paper is realistic enough to be viewed in large.

There are a number of files you may need to complete this tutorial yourself. The paper file and the sticky tape file are available to members only, but you can join for free. Once you’ve logged in, the ‘Members Get More’ image above will turn into download links for these files.

You can however download the fonts and brushes via the links below:

Download the Ink Spill Brushes

Courtesy of Inobscuro.

Download the PC friendly Handwriting Fonts

Courtesy of Free Fonts.

In this tutorial I create a scrapbook themed on ‘The Simunye Project’. This is a community service experience I went on to South Africa in early 2009. If you’re interested in hearing more about The Simunye Project head over to The Simunye Project website. You might also like to have a look at Simunye 3096, a time lapse video I created about my experience.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the tutorial. I find that the little components of this tutorial can be very handy when creating other pieces on photoshop (the torn paper section in particular).

Good Luck!

I’ve heard rumors that the podcast version is a lot more excellent.

[tweetmeme]President Obama’s ‘Hope’ poster is one of the most recognisable pieces of street art of all time, and is being called a cultural phenomenon. Created by Shepard Fairey, this poster became instantly viral and played a huge part in the success of Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign. In this tutorial you’ll learn how to apply the same effect to your own photo using nothing but Photoshop.

This certainly is the most complicated tutorial I’ve produced to date, and that’s largely because this effect (as far as I’m aware) has never been replicated on only photoshop. Through my research the only tutorials I found incorporated Adobe Illustrator. As a result, I had to experiment and create my own method.

Download the original photo.

This is the original photo I’ve used in the tutorial.

Download the Obama Pattern (right click > Save as)

In order to create your own ‘Hope’ poster, you’ll need to download this pattern by right clicking the link and selecting save as. You can easily install this by simply double clicking the file. The pattern should then appear in photoshop.

Download the Nevis Font (Link)

You might also like to download the ‘Nevis’ font, which you can find over at Ten by Twenty. The original uses the font ‘Gotham’, but this is a font you have to purchase. Nevis is the closest free font I could find.

This is the ‘Hope’ poster I created in the tutorial:

Good luck!

By publishing this tutorial, PhotoGuides is in no way endorsing any political party or belief. The tutorial is simply to demonstrate the method used to create this artistic piece.

What’s this blue hyperlink? I think it’s the Podcast Version.

[tweetmeme]When Apple first released OSX, the benchmark for computer design was set to a new level. This was largely because of their Aqua theme.

In this tutorial you’ll learn how to recreate the famous Aqua wallpaper in just a few minutes using photoshop.

Once you’ve created your image you might like to fiddle with the hue, saturation and brightness of your background layer. I find that adjusting these properties (especially dragging the brightness right down) adds new dimensions to these wallpapers and allows you to create fluent and unique designs. This tutorial certainly has a lot of potential.

Here’s the version I created in the tutorial:

Good luck!

There’s a Podcast version too, and it likes you.

Ever since apple started the campaign a few years ago, iPod graffiti has been immensely popular and is one of the most recognized and effective trademarks in advertising today. In this guide you’ll learn how to create your own iPod graffiti photo in a few simple steps.

Once you’ve got the basics covered you’ll be able to explore a wide range of customizations to make your photo truly unique.

There are a few resources you’ll need to try this for yourself:
The original photo, by Néstor Baltodano
or you could search Flickr for your own.
Grunge Brushes
More Grunge Brushes
Grunge Corners (very handy)

This is the photograph created in the guide:

Also, if your internet doesn’t like this Vimeo version and its high quality and size, it might get along better with the Youtube Version.

Good luck!

[tweetmeme]Make sure you click this blue bit of text for the Podcast version of this tutorial.

Tilt Shift Photography is the latest ‘big thing’ in the photo world. It uses a very shallow Depth of Field to transform a scene into a tiny toy from a tiny world. It may only be in my eyes, but lately it’s popping up all over the place and is showing some truly spectacular and eye catching results. However, Tilt Shift Photography is very difficult to create in camera. It involves a special lens and of course a lot of money to buy it. Here then is a guide for all you Photoshop owners so that you can create the incredible effect on your own photos with a few simple steps.

Here then is a video guide to creating your own Tilt Shift photos using Photoshop. Remember there’s also a text and image based guide for you to follow along to.

Also, if your internet doesn’t like this Vimeo version and it’s high quality and size, there’s a youtube version as well.

Jefferson Memorial	Sydney Harbor

The first time I saw a Tiny Planet it amazed me. It was one of the coolest things I’d seen. I figured though that creating one of these would take hours of Photoshop rendering of the highest level.
But it doesn’t. It takes less than a minute!
All you need is a panoramic photo and Photoshop, and the most basic of understandings.
Here then is a guide to help you make Tiny Planets of your very own.

Step 1: Is my photo ok?

Yes, I’m sure it’s lovely. But it might not be right for making a tiny planet. The first thing you’ll need is of course a wide panorama. Two shots stuck together though won’t do it. You’ll get great results with a whole 360 degree panorama but these are hard to take or find.
I’m using this 180 degree panorama taken by Syko. I found it on flickr and you can have a look for one yourself. I’m using this photo because it’s wide, it’s simple and has beautiful colours, but above all it’s balanced and the horizon is pretty much central in the image.
hegarty_david from flickr has also offered his 360 degrees panoramas to be used and most of them will work quite nicely.

Thanks to Syko for this image. You can download it too if you’d like to try on this one.

Step 2: But what if it isn’t perfect?

If it is perfect, well done. You can go to step 3.
To ensure you get the best results, the horizon in your image will need to be either on or slightly above the centerline. Everything below the centerline will be stretched to form your round planet, so by moving your buildings or main subject above the center they will appear to be sitting on the planet, rather than warped to the middle.
To fix it there are two simple things you can do. The easier option is to crop a bit of the sky out of the image. If you know more than the basics though, you can go into the Image menu, select ‘canvas size’, and then increase the height slightly. Once this is done you can move the image to the top of the frame, select part of the bottom of the image, enter transform move (Ctrl+T) and then stretch the selection to the bottom of the canvas.

You can either crop out some of the sky or stretch the bottom of the image.

Step 3: Let’s start by making it a square.

To do this go into ‘Image Size’. You can find this under the ‘Image’ menu, or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+I (command for Mac users). You’ll then need to deselect ‘Constrain Proportions’ and change the width and height to the same number.
You’ll then end up with a nice square.

You’ll end up with a nice square.

Step 4: Turn it around.

This is a simple but important step. If you don’t turn your image then your tiny planet will have the sky in the middle and all your land on the outside.
To flip it, just go into the ‘Image’ menu, ‘Rotate Canvas’ and select ’180′

Step 5: Polar Coordinates.

Just click on Filters, Distort and then Polar Coordinates. It will open up a menu.

Click on it.

Step 6: Click Ok.

There are no options or settings you need to fiddle with. Simple enough.

Step 7: Rotate.

This may not be a necessary step.
Rotating some images will just make them look better. With my image for instance, it would look much better if the building was on the top. Thus, I will rotate it 90 degrees clockwise.
Most images I find turn out better with 180 degrees rotation.

For this image, I chose 90 to bring the building to the top.

Oh Cool!

It’s all finished. Here’s what I ended up with.

Thanks again to Syko for the original Image. I think it’s turned out nicely.

Here are a few more I’ve made, with their original photos.

Thanks to mm_leones for this one. You can Download it and try it for yourself.

Thanks to hegarty_david for this. It’s a great photo and you can grab it here.

I really like the clouds in this one.

So that’s how you make a Tiny Planet. After you do it once or twice, it’s a process that takes less than a minute.
Feel free to share your own creations in the comments

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Before we begin…

This guide is also in a video.

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Step 1: Choosing the Right Photo.

This is a very important part of the overall process. Some photos simply don’t work with the applied effect. To create the best Tilt Shift photo possible you need to remember that miniature models are viewed from above. Thus you need a photo overlooking something from a reasonably high angle. It doesn’t need to be hundreds of meters up viewing a whole city though. Even a single street could work nicely. Just make sure you’re high up and everything should function smoothly.

This is the picture I’ll be using. Left to it’s own devices it’s nothing special. The high angle and the cars buzzing around though make it the perfect photo to Tilt-Shiftize.

Overlooking part of Johannesburg, South Africa. My thanks goes to Paul Williamson (a friend of mine) for letting me use this photo. It really is perfect for the job.

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Step 2: Quick-Mask It.

This is a fairly simple part. Just click the little icon and you’ll be in Quick Mask Mode.

Enter Quick Mask Mode

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Step 3: Choose your Gradient.

For this you’ll need to use the reflected gradient (the 4th gradient icon from the left). This will create your depth of field effect so that there is one main focal point and everything else in the foreground or background is blurred.

This will create your Depth of Field effect.

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Step 4: Draw a Line.

Start your line from your main point of focus (that being the object you want most to look like a toy) and then draw down. The start point will be the object in view and the end point will be where the transition from clear to blurry is complete. You’ll need to experiment with the length of the gradient because this is the make or break aspect of your final image. In my image my central point of focus was the car. I drew the gradient roughly to the bottom of the image because this created the best effect in my opinion.

Experiment with this step. It can make or break your image.

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Step 5: It’s all gone red!

You’re in the right direction. This red section just shows you the gradient you drew before and won’t appear on the final image. If you don’t like the length or think it could be better, just draw your line again.

If it isn’t red then make sure you’re still in quick mask mode.

____________________

Step 6: Exit Quick Mask Mode.

This is pretty simple. Just click the Quick Mask button again to exit the mode (or Q if you like using shortcuts). Your image should now change from being red to having the top and bottom section surrounded by ‘marching ants’. The main point of focus shouldn’t be selected.

The parts selected will be blurred out completely, gradually becoming clear as they near your focal point.

____________________

Step 7: Open Lens Blur.

You’ll find it in Filters – Blur. Selecting this will bring up the interface where you can create your blur and thus your tilt shift.

Click it.

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Step 8: Fiddle.

Now your Tilt Shift will start taking shape. Fiddling is all you can really do here. There’s no right or wrong answer because it all depends on your specific image. To change the intensity of the lens blur you’ll need to play with the ‘radius’ bar. In my case I’ve gone for 25. This level of blur I felt pulled of the tilt shift effect nicely and still looked rather natural. Too much and the background would be too blurred and have no real place in the image. Push ‘ok’ when you’re happy with your lens blur.

Play around here until it looks right in your eyes.

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Step 9: Get rid of the Marching Ants.

To do this simply push Control+D, or for mac users push Command+D. If you don’t do this then any further edits will only occur in the selected region.

Simple enough. It isn’t a real step but some people might miss it otherwise and then their photo would be ruined.

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Step 10: Open the Hue/Saturation option.

Selecting Hue/Saturation will open up a small menu that gives you quick and easy control over the colours of your image.

Press Control+U or Command+U if you’re in a hurry.

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Step 11: Increase your Saturation.

A toy world always has much simpler, brighter and more vibrant colours. Increasing the saturation will change the colours to make the objects look more like plastic. Don’t do it too much though or it will just look too fake. The level once again is up to you and unique to your photo.

Once again, determine your amount based on what you think looks good.

____________________

Step 12: Tweak your Image.

This is pretty much the final step. All thats left to do is whatever you think can make the image look better. Advanced photoshop users might like to adjust the levels (control/command+L). Making the dark points darker can have quite a nice effect.
In my case, I fiddled with the levels and also cropped the photo to get rid of part of the sky. I felt there was too much sky which tampered with the illusion of this being a toy world.

____________________

Finished!

Here’s what I ended up with…

Tilt Shift Town.

I’m very happy with how mine turned out.
If you’ve got your own you’d like to share then feel free to post a link in a comment.