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How to Take Portraits With Tilt Shift Lens

A tilt-shift or TS lens was designed for use in architectural photography. The lens has normal focus adjustments and two additional adjustments that alter its image plane as it relates to the film or sensor plane in the camera. Changing the vertical and horizontal planes on the lens enables photographers to take pictures of tall buildings so the sides of buildings remain straight and do not appear to lean toward the middle of the picture as they do with traditional lenses. You also can create some interesting portrait images using the lens.

Things You'll Need

Tripod

Instructions

- 1
  Attach the tilt-shift lens to your single lens reflex (SLR) camera and connect the camera to a tripod. While you do not need the tripod to complete the picture, the ability to keep the camera in the same position as you make changes to the lens makes the job easier.
- 2
  Position the person you are photographing into the desired pose and place your camera on the tripod 3 to 4 feet in front of your subject. Most tilt-shift lenses are either wide angle with a focal length of 24mm to 35mm. You will need to be closer to your subject than when using a traditional 85mm portrait lens.
- 3
  Focus the lens by turning the focusing ring. Tilt shift lenses are manual focus and require the photographer to adjust the lens until it is in focus.
- 4
  Loosen the two knobs on the side of the lens and adjust its vertical and horizontal axis. By tilting the lens down toward the ground, you will create an image where the subjects look like they are artificial, or the scene appears as a plastic model. Experiment with different settings.
- 5
  After adjusting the lens to achieve the desired effect, refocus and adjust your camera position to keep your subject centered. Press the shutter release to take the picture.

Photography