Research into Tilt Shift photography.

"Tilt-shift photography" refers to the use of tilt for selective focus, often for mimicking a miniature image or scene. Sometimes the term is used when the shallow depth of field is simulated with digital post-processing; the name may derive from the tilt - shift normally required when the effect is produced optically. Below shows a lens specifically for taking tilt shift photographs with a link to a review for this wonderful lens.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-TS-E-17mm-f-4-L-Tilt-Shift-Lens-Review.aspx ,  

 

"Tilt-shift" encompasses two different types of movements: rotation of the lens plane relative to the image plane called tilt, and movement of the lens parallel to the image plane, called shift. Tilt is used to control the orientation of the plane of focus (PoF), and hence the part of an image that appears sharp; it makes use of the Scheimpflug principle, this is a geometric rule where the subject is not parallel to the image plane. Shift is used to adjust the position of the subject in the image area without moving the camera back; this is often helpful in avoiding the convergence of parallel lines, as when photographing tall buildings.
http://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2011/04/tiltshift-photography-an-introduction-to-tilt/

Above is a actual miniature picture I took myself in my dad's loft . My dad spent years building and creating a incredible model railway within his loft , this took him many many years to do and was a great passion for him which gave him real pleasure. For him to have done this is a real credit to his love and of course patience for modelling. I wanted to show a picture which has not been manipulated in any way that gives the miniature effect by having the blurring in the fore and background.  This was taken with my camera set on single focus point on the truck with my Tamron telephoto lens set on marcro. By combining these settings  

 Below is an example of a tilt shift image taken by a Gregkeene during an American football match at the Oregon State University.

I really enjoy how this image has been captured , the best part is showing the people running across the field with the flags but also the little man in white on the touch line and really stands out for me and obviously the marching band. This looks to have been slightly rotated as there is detail in focus near to the top left and then down to the middle right , usually the focus band is horizontal but by doing this the photographer makes for a very interesting image, with good use of lines and angles also within.

I have found it difficult to find a particular photographer who specialises in this type of photography but have found lots of examples on internet search engines so will keep on searching and mean time will attempt to emulate the examples I have found as I go along.

There seems to be several ways to create this effect , you can do it the expensive way by buying a special lens like the one shown above but this will cost you over £1000.00 !! If your unable to indulge yourself with lens specific to this task then there is the digital manipulation option. You can firstly convert you image within Photoshop , I have not attempted this as yet but have found a website that gives you 15 steps to follow,  so will be doing this very soon, below there is a link that shows this proceedure. http://www.tiltshiftphotography.net/photoshop-tutorial.php.
Secondly I have found a web site that allows you upload your picture to there system then convert to a miniature effect. The site is called Tiltshift maker , http://tiltshiftmaker.com/ . I found this site very good and easy to follow and understand . It allows for a wide range of adjustments to your image . What I like the most in this site is to start the process to create the effect you can firstly have to decide the width of the area to use as the main focal point of you picture. This site allows for this adjustment by using the sliding focus size slider and then a vertical slider to position the band across the width of the image. When you have made these adjustments you can then preview the image live on the web site. Further adjustments allow you to adjust the defocus strength and gradient. The the defocus strength and gradient sliders are important tools as when used correctly can give the image a smooth transition from your selected area being kept in focus to the out of focus areas. It also helps the Bokeh levels of the image which is the quality of the blurred area of the image, you can even choose what type of Bokeh style to use the strength it and the amount of coverage within the blurred area as shown below.  

Thirdly, if your lucky enough to have, there may be the option to convert your image within your
camera's menu. I am lucky enough to have this option on my Nikon D3100. This is in it's Re Touch Menu.
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d3100/features05.htm
You simply navigate through the menu button to the Retouch menu then choose the option , Miniature effect . Once this is done you can then choose the image to convert. Then you simply move the rectangle box shown over the image by using the arrow key to the desired position, at this point you can review before you convert by pressing the + button , once you are satisfied you can save the image by pressing the OK button , a copy of the original image is saved too. 

Obviously the easiest option is using the camera's effect menu but does this best make for the best image?

Below I will show one image converted using all three methods then will be reviewing the outcome.

Here we can see above the original image taken from a Burton roof car park looking down to Station Street with parked cars , a car coming up to the top level and a few people walking.

First conversion is within the Tiltshift maker website , in this image I have concentrated the focal area mainly on the moving car and the parked cars. I like this site as it allows you to adjust the width of the focal band , here I have chosen a narrow band.

Second conversion is again within the Tiltshift maker website. Here I have widened the focus band to       include the people walking but still keeping a reasonable amount of the picture being blurred so to keep  the effect of imaging your looking at a miniature scene. I think I prefer this image as it gives a wider area in focus and works better with the angel the picture was taken at.