Simulated tilt-shift using Photoshop CC

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The post with the most views on this site is and has been for quite some time how to add simulated tilt-shift using Photoshop. Since that was written quite some time ago and for Photoshop Elements I wanted to write an updated version using Photoshop CC. Also to simplify the effect even further.

To make it even more comparable I will be using the same source file for the effects.

Here is the source:

This is the effect we are going for:

So let’s jump right in.

Step 1

Download the file or chose a file of your own and open it in Photoshop

Step 2

Right click the layer called ‘Background’ och chose ‘Duplicate layer’.

I named the new layer ‘Blur’ to make it easier to distinguish from the other. It’s always good to always name layers as a rule of thumb.

 

Step 3

Select the newly created layer ‘Blur’ and add Gaussian blur from Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur.

Choose a value high enough to make the image soft but still possible to see what it looks like. For me a value of about 8 was good.

Step 4

Select the layer ‘Blur’ by left clicking on it and then add a layer mask.

The layer mask can be added by the button marked by the arrow. Layer masks can always be used when you want to apply a change to part of an image.

Step 5

Select the layer mask by clicking on it, the add a gradient in black where you want details to be seen in the image.

You have now reproduced a simulated tilt-shift effect in your image.

What I did was to then adjust the color and saturation a bit to further simulate a small scale model instead of reality.

Enjoy!