Miniature Photography

Miniature faking is a process in which a photograph of a life-size location or object is made to look like a photograph of a miniature scale model. Blurring parts of the photo simulates the shallow depth of field normally encountered in close-up photography, making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is; the blurring can be done either optically when the photograph is taken, or by digital postprocessing. Many faked-miniature photographs are taken from a high angle to simulate the effect of looking down on a miniature.

The idea is based on a technique called tilt-shift, combined with time-lapse (developed by Keith Loutit). It makes reality appear as a miniature model moving with a stop-motion flow. The thought is to create a visually interesting expression that give the audience something out of the ordinary, while at the same time providing a good overview of events. We would shoot from a high angle using specially developed lenses with a short depth of field. The fact that the world appears to be miniature makes the viewer think ”is it for real or not”. It is hard to tear your eyes from the images, something that works well for our purpose.