In the age of digital manipulation, there are so many tools out there to play around with, that the user doesn’t need to be a pro to produce some fun and rather stunning final photos from somewhat mundane shots. One of the tools that I’ve been checking out of late is the Tilt-Shift Maker.

Tilt-Shift Maker works best with panoramic-style overall shots, transforming the location into seemingly a miniature model while enhancing the colours. Unfortunately I love taking photos in close crop most of the time, making it difficult for me to find something suitable. Nonetheless, I’ve grabbed a few shots randomly, taken in Paris and in other places within Provence in the south. I uploaded them to Tilt-Shift Maker for quick manipulations, and save them again. Have a look (click on image to enlarge it) and tell me what you think of them ;-)

The triumphal arch of Paris

The Eiffel Tower at sunset

Dining al fresco in Castellet

The port of Marseille

The waterfront of Cassis

I must admit, while it’s exciting and all to fake the tilt-shift, the end result made me a tad envious. More specifically, why do I not have the skill to produce photos that are at least as bright and beautiful as the faked versions, even if I can’t manage the tilt-shift myself (considering there are special lens required and my baby point-and-shoot can never compare).

Oh well… and I used to think the photos I took was pretty good. Putting them side by side to manipulated ones, they look dull, dull, dull. *sigh* Now you know why proper photographers get paid so much. They can produce miracles instantly that us mere mortals can somewhat reproduce via Photoshop and various other softwares.