Instagram’s tilt-shift effect is the finishing touch on a work of smartphone art. It can be a masterstroke or a muddy mess, depending on how you use it. Too often, we’ve seen tilt-shift overused, misappropriated or misunderstood. For the uninitiated, the tilt-shift effect is used by photographers to highlight a plane or exaggerate a minimal depth-of-field. It’s simulated in Instagram with a blur tool that comes in two flavors: linear and circular. Though simplified, the tool can be powerful if used wisely. Read the full story at Mashable.