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How to Make Tilt Shift Photography With a Regular Camera

To take tilt shift photographs, you need a special lens that tilts without tilting the camera. By tilting only the lens, you can control the focus in ways that regular cameras and lenses can't. A tilt shift lens can be very expensive, however. A less expensive option is to modify a large film format lens into a tilt shift lens. Large format lenses are available on most online auction sites. The modification won't damage the lens and mounts on your regular camera. You will also need the bellows from a toilet plunger. The bellow style toilet plungers can be found at most hardware and home improvement stores. You will also need a camera body cap that fits your camera. Because you will be cutting the body cap for this project, you should probably buy an extra one as a backup.

Things You'll Need

Camera body, 35mm or DSLR
Camera body cap
Hobby knife
File
Lens, to fit 6 x 6 film camera
Toilet plunger bellows, black
Cardboard, 6 by 6-inch
Scissors
Flat black spray paint
Hot glue

Instructions

- 1
  Cut the center out of the body cap using a hobby knife. Most body caps have a thick outer ring and a thin flat center piece. Remove the flat center piece. File the edges of the hole you cut in the body cap so they are smooth and the hole is round.
- 2
  Cut around the stick of the toilet plunger to remove the plastic bellows from it. Cut a hole just large enough for the base of your lens to fit into the hole. The lens should fit snugly into the end of the bellows. It is best to start with a small hole and make it larger in small increments to ensure a proper fit.
- 3
  Place the toilet plunger onto the piece of cardboard so that the cut end faces down. Trace around the plunger with a pencil. Remove the plunger and cut the cardboard with scissors, following the tracing. Place the body cap onto the center of the cardboard ring. Trace the shape of the cap. Cut a hole in the cardboard ring following the body cap tracing. Spray paint both sides of the cardboard flat black.
- 4
  Apply a bead of hot glue around the edge of the body cap and insert it into the hole in the cardboard ring. Wedge the body cap into the cardboard so the part that attaches to the camera body protrudes from the back of the cardboard ring. Let the glue dry.
- 5
  Glue the cardboard ring to the bellows. Glue the uncut end of the bellows to the front of the cardboard ring. Apply a bead of glue around the entire perimeter of the bellows and press onto the cardboard ring. Let the glue dry.
- 6
  Wedge the lens into the cut end of the bellows. The bellows should still fit snugly around the lens. Mount your new tilt shift lens to your regular camera by screwing the body cap to your camera body.
- 7
  Turn your camera to its manual mode. Turn off the auto-focus function. Adjust your aperture to its widest setting by adjusting the aperture ring on the lens. Look through the viewfinder on your camera body and slide the bellows in and out until the desired image is seen in the viewfinder. Press the shutter release button to take a tilt shift photograph.

Photography