Last time, I talked about Shift and its benefits were when you want to move an object in your composition.  This post is going to be about the field camera movement Tilt, and how it works.

Tilt:

Is when you tilt the front or rear of the camera.  This changes both the focus and/or the shape of your image.  Tilting the front of the camera changes the focus.  This is a great way to control your focal plain and have only what you want in the image in focus.  Tilting the rear for the camera changes the shape of the image, where the general rule of thumb is the further the image from the film the larger it becomes.  Tilting the back of the camera is how to make buildings have straight lines, or make lines run parallel in an image.

Field Camera in Neutral Position

Field Camera With Lens and Back Tilted

Tilting the front lens board of the camera is simple.  Start by looking at the front of the camera, and on the top of the lens board there is a knob. Loosen this knob and you can adjust the tilt forward or backward as you wish.  After tighten the knob so the lens stays exactly where you want it to be.  See below image.

Front Knob To Control Tilt

Front Lens Tilted Forward

The back of the camera is easy to adjust as well.  Just loosen the knob at the base of the back of the camera and move forward or back to the desired position and tighten the knob.

Rear Knob to Adjust Tilt

Tilt is extremely useful for all types of photography.  It is essential to architecture photography to keep buildings aspect ratios correct.

When finished, I recommend setting the camera back to neutral before the next shot.  Always starting in a neutral position helps me get the composition I desire faster.

Don’t forget to look at the images on my site in the galleries starting at: https://mjvphoto.com/the-art/.  Hopefully you find some of them inspirational for your own photography adventures, or maybe you find an image you want to call your own.

While I share this journey with everyone on the internet, I will attempt to keep explanations simple and easy to understand.  If you have any comments, question, or feedback please leave them in the comment section.  I look forward to hearing from people.