18 Apr 2013

Lensbaby Creativity

by | posted in: Photography | 15

How has lensbaby creativity changed my photography style? Here's a little introduction to my new set of lensbaby tutorials.

Lensbaby has opened up a whole new photography world of creativity for me and can do for you too!

 

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I have recommended. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please check out my disclosure policy for more details.

 

I'm a Storyteller who takes Pictures!

One of the great things about photography is that you can tell a story through your pictures. Indeed if you want to create a conceptual image, full of atmosphere or evoking a mood then the lensbaby is the perfect choice. Images can be powerful and who really needs 1000 words when you can create art from behind the lens?

 

The images in this post were taken with a canon Lensbaby Composer Pro with double glass optic. (affiliate link)

this is a lensbaby image of a ranunculus yellow bud
Ranunculus bud

Nature gave me a bud from the palms of her hands.  From a distance, the outer young leaves reminded me of nature's hand presenting the first buds of spring to the gardener.

The yellow ranunculus bud was taken with a lensbaby composer pro. With double glass using no aperture ring (which means it was at f2). In addition, I also used a lensbaby +4 macro filter plus a +10 macro filter (affiliate link) and the telescopic optic all stacked together.

Blur is Good

Firstly lensbaby photography is an acquired taste. Therefore if you like tack sharp images, you don't like flare or chromatic aberration then it mightn't be for you. Moreover for the rest of us creatives the lensbaby opens new doors to our imagination.

dreamy snowdrop flower photo taken with lensbaby
A dreamy snowdrop flower

Lensbaby Creativity

The lensbaby optic system has enabled me to create painterly looking images straight out of the camera! Though adding a texture to the final image or using a photoshop action is also something you can do for a finishing touch.

There's quite a learning curve in using this optics system. Likewise it all depends on your skills in photography and understanding how to work in manual mode. In fact the lensbaby doesn't 'talk' to your camera body. Therefore everything has to be done manually including the focus.

Consequently it takes a few days to master the system. In all honesty you'll be hitting the delete button and filling your recycling bin quite a bit. But once you master it you'll not want to take the lensbaby off your camera body!

As a result finding and moving your sweet spot, moving it around the frame and bending it will become 2nd nature to you.

 

corydalis leaves

dreamy echincea flower taken with lensbaby

yellow daisy

Over the next few weeks I'll share more of my lensbaby creativity shots. Furthermore I'll explain a little bit more about the optics system. 

 

In fact there's a plethora of pieces of kit. As a result I can spend hours just experimenting with so many different pieces stacked together!

Follow Rosie Nixon:

Photography Tutor and Gardener

Rosie is a garden photographer, writer and nature lover. She enjoys soaking up nature and is easily distracted from doing the weeding by anything that flutters, flies, buzzes, creeps or crawls! She enjoys sharing the beauty of creation through her photography. Rosie has been featured on TV on BBC2's The Beechgrove Garden and she uses the outdoors as her natural light studio. Her work can be seen at one of Scotland's only photography galleries - Close Gallery, 4b Howe Street, Edinburgh.

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15 Responses

  1. Andrea
    |

    Wow, i am most awed. Those in the turquoise them look like sheets of special lines, and very soft too. I love to sleep in them.

  2. Susan
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    Such dreamy images. i especially loved your turquoise theme. I love my Lensbaby as well and have been itching to get it out, these images were a great reminder I should do so soon.

  3. Leslee
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    Rosie! So good to see you back… As always, your work is gorgeous and yes Susan hit the nail on the head; DREAMY!

  7. satakieli
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    Rosie, these are absolutely stunning! I've been using a Lensbaby for the photo challenge this season too and I've been having so much fun with it. I love the push it's given to my creativity.

    Thanks so much for taking part in the Nurture Photography Challenge!

  8. Miriam
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    I have a lensbaby but hd no idea I could (attempt to) do this with it! thanks so much for the inspiration.
    Visiting from Project Alicia

  9. alicia
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    Wow. Just wow! Inspiring to say the least. One of my co-hosts, Rebecca, just got a lensbaby and I've been drooling. And these only make my desire greater. Simply beautiful. I definitely am drawn to the softer painterly look and these make my heart happy. Thanks for sharing the settings. This lens is definitely at the top of my list. I look forward to seeing more in the coming weeks. 🙂

  11. abrianna
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    All the images are lovely. Thanks for giving an in depth explanation of the lensbaby. I have seen it around but never understood what it does…until now.

    Unfortunately this won't work on my camera body. Sure is fun though.

  14. Janice Trinh
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    They look so soft and dreamy….like an art piece… I didn't know there were lenses that could do that. I thought it was all photoshopped. Thanks for sharing! …smiles…