Hello iPhoneographers! You're luck is in! To follow on from Art & Mobile's fantastic developer interview, Takayuki has recently posted a fake miniature tilt-shift tutorial on the Art & Mobile blog and he has kindly given us the opportunity to post it here for you too! Read on to learn all of the basics for taking a fake miniature photo with iPhone! 

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="400" height="400"  alt="Tiltshift Generator " url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tiltshift1.jpg"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h4>What you need:</h4>
- TiltShift Generator ($0.99), my wicked app
- Any photo filter applications like Instagram as a subsidiary tool

<h4>Location</h4>
To create a miniature scene, it’s crucial to decide WHERE to take the picture. First of all, position yourself in a high place. If you’re a beginner, I recommend you to go up to a footbridge or a tall building. The proper height depends on the subject of your photo.

Here is floor levels that is suitable for different subjects.
[list style="orb" color="grey"]
<ul>
<li>2nd to 5th - people</li>
<li>5th to 10th - houses or construction sites</li>
<li>10th to 20th - large buildings such as baseball stadiums</li>
<li>20th to 40th - townscapes</li>
<li>40th or higher - skyscrapers, Tokyo Tower or large landmarks</li>
</ul>
[/list]

<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=215785082982625295044.00049a832331fb0c6429a&brcurrent=3,0x601854c7fb67d4ab:0x11f79cd042272356,1&ie=UTF8&vpsrc=0&source=embed&t=m&ll=35.624931,139.759827&spn=0.390696,0.583649" title="Tokyo Map For Tilt Shift Images">Click here</a> to see Takayuki's map of Tokyo which shows buildings of at least 5 stories; perfect spots for miniature images. Enlarge the map. Asking location on Quora or other question service can help you to make your own map.

Here is a selection of images from Takayuki taken at various points on his map of Tokyo. Captions below...

[postgallery_image width="400" id="0" height="400" undefined slidesetid="tiltshift"  align="aligncenter" animation="fade" tween="linear"  timeout="7"     /]<p>&nbsp;</p>

1. View from Starbucks at the 2nd floor of the Q-Front building, Shibuya.
2. View from Shibuya station at the 3rd or 4th floor.
3. View from an unknown building at the 7th floor, Atago. 
4. View from the historic villages of Shirakawa-go. From a 15 stories high building.
5. View from a hotel in Hawaii at the 24th floor.
6. View from the Yebisu Garden Place Tower around the 38-40th floor.
7. View from Tokyo Tower, or Roppongi Hills (I think).

<h4>Camera angle</h4>
The best camera angle is “looking subjects from a high angle” = “look down camera angle”. It’s also important that compositional elements such as buildings or roads should be placed along diagonal lines.

Put the object you want to focus at the bottom one-third of the photo.

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="251" height="153"  alt="Tiltshift Generator " url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/angle.png"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h4>Blur</h4>
You can use the Blur tab to apply and edit the blur effect. Select the linear blur effect.

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="500" height="188"  alt="Tiltshift Generator " url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tiltshift9.png"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

Tap the screen to adjust the blurred area. Keep one-third from the bottom of the picture sharp. Use two fingers to adjust the blurred area, or the slider to change the strength of the blur.

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="500" height="373"  alt="Tiltshift Generator " url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tiltshift10.png"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

Focus on the object you want to keep sharp and leave the rest blurred.

<h4>Color</h4>
Edit the color with the Color tab. You can adjust the “saturation”, “brightness” and “contrast.”

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="400" height="400"  alt="Tiltshift Generator " url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tiltshift11.jpg"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

Try to apply a “more intense”, “brighter” color and “stronger contrast” as a basis. Here are five easy steps to apply the effect:

1. Make the color more intense by increasing the Saturation
2. Make the color brighter by increasing the Brightness
3. Create stronger contrast by increasing the Contrast
4. Adjust Saturation and Brightness
5. Adjust Contrast

Try to adjust the sliders from top to bottom twice as described above. This way you can create a perfect atmosphere.

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="500" height="316"  alt="Tiltshift Generator " url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tiltshift12.png"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h4>Vignetting</h4>
You can darken the edges of a photo by using the Vignetting tab.

To apply this effect or not is totally up to your taste.

When you darken the corners, the center of the image will stand out.

This tool is very useful when the background is messy and the main subject of the photo is hard to distinguish.

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="500" height="522"  alt="Tiltshift Generator " url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tiltshift13.png"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h4>Instagram (additional)</h4>
For advanced works, you can try to use TiltShift Generator together with Instagram.

The photo app Instagram is the perfect partner for TiltShift Generator,

Applying an Instagram effect on the miniature scene made by TiltShift Generator creates a much more appealing image.

Instagram includes a tilt-shift feature but TiltShift Generator has a more advanced blur filter. Many users combine the advantages of both applications.

Moreover Instagram crop your image to a square picture. iPhone’s original camera is rather wide-angled for creating miniature scenes, so cropping the image can stand out the miniature world more.

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="500" height="333"  alt="Tiltshift Generator " url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tiltshift14.jpg"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

[imageeffect type="frame" align="aligncenter" width="400" height="400"  alt="Tiltshift Generator " url="http://thebeginnerslens.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tiltshift15.jpg"  ]<p>&nbsp;</p>

<strong>Note: the following information is rather geeky.</strong>

If you like creating miniature scenes, try a digital SLR camera. TiltShift Generator is an app developed based on a SLR camera equipped with a tilt-shift lens. I bought these three lens to develop this app. Well, I invested quite a lot. :p

- Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L
- Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8
- Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8

I personally recommend the 90 mm and 45 mm lens to take miniature images.

To keep up with all of Art & Mobile's posts check out their <a href="http://artandmobile.com/" title="Art & Mobile">website</a>. 

So there you have it folks, go forth and make minis! 