Something about a narrow band of focus makes an ordinary scene look like a diorama populated by tiny toys. While many photographers use a tilt/shift lens to accomplish the look, it’s simple to get in Adobe Photoshop. All you need to do is select the area to keep in focus, and blur away. A little tweak to contrast and saturation makes it even more convincing.

This technique works best on shots with overhead views and subjects that are already small in the frame—like this one of a German train station by photographer David Todd (www.detodd.com)