Yet Another Cycling Forum

Random Musings => Gallery => Phototalk => Topic started by: mattc on 27 October, 2020, 06:33:13 pm

Title: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: mattc on 27 October, 2020, 06:33:13 pm
A few years ago it was all the rage - taking pictures of real-life that made it look like model railways.etc

What was it called? And did we just get bored of it??

Lots of Love,
Photography Ignoramus
Title: Re: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: Kim on 27 October, 2020, 07:02:36 pm
Tilt-shift lens?
Title: Re: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: Salvatore on 27 October, 2020, 07:46:17 pm
Do you mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_faking ? AKA miniature effect or toy effect
Title: Re: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: mattc on 28 October, 2020, 06:34:05 pm
yes and yes! (tilt-shift was on the tip of my tongue. Of course.)

 :thumbsup:

(Hopefully this will be something to entertain Dad in continued isolation. We were talking photography at the weekend, but frankly I know nothing about the subject,  and he doesn't know about anything made in the last 30 years! )
Title: Re: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: Wombat on 08 December, 2020, 12:03:45 pm
Tilt-shift lens?

Or to be more accurate, faking using a tilt shift lens in entirely the wrong way...  A tilt/shift lens will avoid that effect, in fact that's half its raison d'etre.

I'll declare my view here, I absolutely hate that effect, it absolutely screams "fake" to me, in a very shrill tone.

Yes, I do possess a tilt/shift lens, and no, I'd never use it ass back'ards.  If I want a narrow depth of field to isolate my subject, I'll use a large aperture.

I think its all a side effect of folk thinking a phone can do everything a proper camera can.  No, it can't.  Its a useful thing, but for creative photography, of limited use.
Title: Re: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: Jakob on 29 December, 2020, 09:21:13 am
As a example of it used wrong:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50117553878_84250fcb2f_b.jpg)
I tilted (and shifted) the front element of my 4x5 to attempt to get the vertical lines straight and instead ended up with weird field of focus.
4x5 camera movements still baffle me a bit :D
Title: Re: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: Aunt Maud on 29 December, 2020, 06:12:32 pm
Keep the lens panel parallel with the film plane and you shall have no future issues. If you wish to avail yourself of the focal plane benefits of a view camera, the Scheimpflug principal is worth investigating.
Title: Re: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: Jakob on 30 December, 2020, 12:21:03 am
Keep the lens panel parallel with the film plane and you shall have no future issues

Well, I know that now. Kinda knew then as well, just forgot about it and I only checked focus on the front corner and interior of the building.
Had I looked down a bit lower, it would have been obvious.
Title: Re: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: Aunt Maud on 30 December, 2020, 01:54:40 pm
Indeed, nothing quite like looking at the image before opening the shutter.

I never tipped the camera up and relied solely on the rise of the front and the size of the projected image circle to do the work. Tilting the camera up won't ever compensate for a lens with a small image circle. But I guess you knew that too.
Title: Re: That weird field-of-focus technique thingy??
Post by: Wombat on 21 January, 2021, 03:01:36 pm
Keep the lens panel parallel with the film plane and you shall have no future issues. If you wish to avail yourself of the focal plane benefits of a view camera, the Scheimpflug principal is worth investigating.

Wot he said...

Understanding the Scheimpflug principle is in my view, essential for anyone messing about with camera movements.  I read all about it many years ago, long before I ever have real need of it, but its stuck with me (unlike many other useful bits of knowledge which seem to have evaporated with the passing years).