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No, it’s not a miniature model of Gotham City… it’s a photo I took of London Docklands and Canary Wharf from a helicopter…   It’s quite easy to create this miniature effect – Read the full post for a quick guide on how to let aerial photos look like miniature models (Tutorial at end of post).

Photography by Stefan Steenkamp

These images were shot last September while on a trip to London to cover a few weddings.  The job at hand was to photograph the properties of City & Docklands, a major property development company in the UK.  We took off from an airfield in North London with a very small one prop Robinson helicopter.  To make things even more scary, they took off the back doors, so that we could get better shots!!!  Strange how danger situations look surreal when you see it through the lens…

Commercial helicopters can only fly in a narrow strip of airspace over London.  And when the heavy built-up areas are reached, they are limited to fly over the Thames.  We turned around directly above Tower Bridge – I love this shot above!

Okay, so how do you achieve this miniature effect?

First of all, it must be said that the effect works best on aerial images which is taken from 25 to 30 degrees angle downwards.  Once you find the suitable image like the one above of the West Ham Stadium, you only need to follow a few easy steps in Photoshop CS3 to get your photo looking like a miniature model.

1.  Open the image in Photoshop and set your colour to the default (Black & White)  Press D to achieve this.

2.  Choose the Gradient Tool (G) – Choose the 4th setting from the left (in the gradient selection bar at the top of your screen)

3.  Select Edit (Q) in Quick Mask Mode.  (the icon can be found at the bottom of your tools palette.)

4.  Drag a line (vertical) from the point you want to be in focus, to the tope of the page (out of focus point).  A red mask will appear over the image.

5.  Now switch back to Edit in Standard mode (Q).  A selection will appear; outlined by dashed lines.

6.  Go to Filter > Blur > Lens Blur.  Adjust the settings (Iris & Specular Highlights) according to your liking.

7.  Press CMD + D to get rid of the dashed lines.

8.  Next, Enhance the image by toggling the Hue / Saturation.  Create an Adjustment layer.  Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation.  Push the master saturation up to about 40%

9.  Last step – Toggle your levels.   (CMD + L)  Clip the blacks and the whites by dragging the outer sliders (left and right) towards the middle.

It’s as easy as that!  You have created a fake miniature model!!  The outcome might not be quite perfect the first time around, but by running through steps 4-6 a few times, you’ll soon reach the desired result!  Remember, a good starting photo is crucial.  This effect does not work on every photo.

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Follow ZaraZoo on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/zarazoo (Stefan) & http://www.twitter.com/zarazoo2 (Andre)