I’ve been at this photography game for a decade now. And when documenting your family on the daily is part of your creative process, there are natural ebbs and flows in inspiration. If you’ve followed my work for any length of time (you can follow me on Instagram @hollynicoletimekeeper), you know that I’m frequently doing things a little out of the ordinary when I create my images. I get bored very easily. I like to change things up - Especially in the Winter, when we don’t travel as much and the weather doesn’t allow us to be outside as often. It’s easy during those times to slip in to a creative slump. Ruts happen to everyone at some point during their journey. Usually more than once. Some ruts are short, some are long. I’ve been at this long enough to know that when I start feeling funky and uninspired, using a few tricks to spark that creative flame again goes a long way to pulling me out if it. Some of the fun things I have in my bag of tricks include using Lensbabies, freelensing, shootng with prisms, shootng through a copper pipe (ring of fire), and using other household items to create cool effects in my images.
LENSBABY
It’s no secret that I’m a Lensbaby addict. I have 9 Lensbabies and the Omni filter system (with an extra crystal and color film expansion packs). I shoot with them often and LOVE the amazing, unique effects they can create. I am also a Lensbaby Ambassador and am skilled in guiding artists on their Lensbaby Journey. I’ve even developed a Lensbaby Course to help you become a master of using these incredible creative tools!
For those new to Lensbaby… they are a company that offers creative lenses, optics, filters and accessories to help you achieve amazing and unique special effects in-camera. All Lensbaby lenses and optics are manual focus.
velvet 85 and omni
From Lensbaby’s web site: “Based in Portland, OR, Lensbaby has drawn a cult following of those who embrace weirdness and imperfection. Lensbaby is the enemy of perfection, an ally of the unusual, and an advocate for the unique. Our motto is “Shoot Extraordinary” and we hope to help you accomplish that through the uncommon qualities of our photo and video lenses.”
twist 60
Types of Lensbabies:
• Stand Alone Lenses • These lenses fit onto your camera just like a traditional lens. Current Stand Alone Lenses offered by Lensbaby include the Velvet 28, Velvet 56, and Velvet 85; the Burnside 35; the Sol 22 (for micro 4/3 only) and Sol 45; the Twist 60; and the Trio 28 (for mirrorless cameras only).
• Optic Swap System • The Optic Swap System starts with a Composer Pro II or a Spark 2.0 that mounts to your camera like a traditional lens. Then you can purchase different optics to swap in and out of your mount system that create different effects. The Composer Pro II tilts and swivels, similar to a tilt-shift lens. You can manipulate where your focus lands and the strength of the effects by tilting the Composer Pro body. The Spark 2.0 attaches to your camera body and you insert the optics inside the tube-like body. You squeeze the accordion style tube to achieve focus, and move it around to move the effect and focus point. I personally only have the Composer Pro for my Optic Swap System and that is what I will cover in this course. • Available optics include Sweet 35, 50, 80; Edge 35, 50, 80; Twist 60; Creative Bokeh Optic
• Filters • The Omni Creative Filter System is a brilliant solution to hand holding prisms or other creative tools in front of your lens, allowing you to use one or more creative tools hands-free while you shoot! The filter system screws onto any lens that has filter threads (not just Lensbabies!). It comes in two sizes with multiple filter rings to fit many lenses. Wand options include crystals, prisms, and color films that create various flares, bokeh, light leaks, and colors.
• Lensbaby also offers a 46mm Macro Filter set compatible with the Sol 22/45; Sweet 35, 50 & 80; Edge 35, 50 & 80; Twist 60 & Creative Bokeh Optic. As an Ambassador I can offer support if you have questions about anything Lensbaby! Feel free to drop me a message anytime. I can also get you a 10% discount on Lensbaby products if you use code WAWWAD at checkout! This extremely brief overview on what Lensbaby offers just scratches the surface of what my course covers! Be sure to check it out if you want to learn more!
edge 80
As an Ambassador I can offer support if you have questions about anything Lensbaby! Feel free to drop me a message anytime. I can also get you a 10% discount on Lensbaby products if you use code WAWWAD at checkout!
trio 28
This extremely brief overview on what Lensbaby offers just scratches the surface of what my course covers! Be sure to check it out if you want to learn more!
sweet 50
FREELENSING I am often asked for tips on freelensing. Honestly, I tried for years to freelens with no success. One day, something finally clicked and now I’m completely hooked on this technique. It takes practice and patience, but once you learn how to control your lens to get your desired effect, it adds such depth and interest to your work. Everyone freelenses a little differently. I personally prefer a sharp area of focus with the blur adding interest around my subject. No matter how you freelens, it’s important to let the “rules” slide. This technique by itself breaks traditional photography rules.
Ok… let’s get down to business. In case you aren’t familiar, freelensing is taking an image while your lens is detached from your camera body. You keep your lens close to your camera body and move the lens slightly to achieve selective focus and dreamy blur.
First, set your exposure settings in camera with your lens attached (ISO, Shutter Speed and White balance). If you shoot Canon, freelensing is a bit easier. Canon lenses have an aperture ring and your lens will stay open when detached from your camera. I shoot Nikon, so I have to “rig” my lens to stay open when detached from the camera. I’ve used pieces of a straw or masking tape to hold my lens open. Others have had success using a piece of thick paper or card stock. I’ve found the most success using a small elastic rubber band to hold my lens open (see below).
TIP: If you shoot Nikon and don’t want to “rig” your lens, you can purchase a Nikon lens that has an aperture ring. I personally have a vintage Nikkor 50mm lens with an aperture ring that doesn’t require any rigging to keep open once detached. These are usually not very expensive and can be found on Ebay or Amazon.
Once you have your exposure settings ready, set your focus to “Manual” and set the lens to “Infinity”. Now is the fun part. Detach your lens from your camera but keep it close to the camera body. A little movement goes a LONG way. You don’t have to move your lens far from the camera, or tilt it in a big way to freelens. Move your lens slightly from left to right, or up and down and see what happens to your slice of focus. Also - don’t forget to physically move as well. If your camera has a “Live View” function, this can be very helpful. Flip that Live View on and it’s much easier to see where your slice of focus is
TIP: When you are just starting out, try shooting still life or a person who is still (like a sleeping child).
My biggest piece of advice when learning to freelens is to not give up. There is a big learning curve and it takes a while to get a feel for it. But once you do… it’s pure magic!
PRISMS
A prism is a transparent body that is bounded in part by two nonparallel plane faces and is used to refract or disperse a beam of light.
In simple terms, a prism is a block of clear glass or plastic, which separates the light passing through it into different colors. Prisms allow you to bend the light and create fabulous glare and reflection all in camera, before you even take your image into Lightroom or Photoshop.
By holding a prism partly or fully in front of your lens as you shoot, you can end up with an image that is unique and amazing with beautiful flares, rainbows and reflections! How would that not kick start your creativity?!
I personally work with two types of prisms. The first is a 6-inch standard triangular prism. The one I have can be purchased very affordably on Amazon, which makes it a great addition to your photography tool kit!
To use the triangular prism, I hold it in my left hand while I have my camera in my right hand. If this is hard for you, try it first with your camera on a tripod. Slowly rotate the prism over part of your lens and pay attention to how it reflects your surrounds and your subject. Angle the prism away from your lens, or even play with how far you hold it away from your lens. Every small tweak to how you hold and move the prism will bend the light differently. It can be hit or miss, but the more you practice the more amazing results you’ll get with this technique.
Shots Using a 6-Inch Triangular Prism
The second type of prism I use quite often is a circular prism. It looks like a ring and it is actually made for a chandelier (see below). I also purchased this on Amazon. It was inexpensive… but it took a while to ship. Believe me… it was worth the wait!
To use this piece, I hold the circle in front of my lens with my left hand, being careful to keep my fingers out of the frame. It works best when the light is somewhat diffused. Shooting with it into direct sunlight can seriously blow out your image. But it’s super fun to see all the beautiful reflections that surround your subject with this little ring.
Shots Using a Circular Prism
FAIRY LIGHTS
Fairy lights are a small string of tiny lights on a wire. They are attached to a battery pack, which makes them portable and easy to take outside where an electric outlet may not be available. I purchased mine on… you guessed it… Amazon. They came in a 2 pack, and are 16 feet long each.
Link to fairy lights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYIGQQF/ ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Fairy lights can be used in many different ways to create different effects. I find the bokeh created from these lights adds such beautiful depth and interest to an image. It also adds an interesting light source when there may not be other interesting light available. I have used them so far both inside and outside.
There is no limit to what you can do with these lights to add an interesting element to your images. On the next page, I’ll walk you through how I used fairy lights in a variety of ways to create a little extra magic in-camera.
In the image below, my oldest daughter held one end of the lights, while I held the end with the battery pack. I coiled up the end of the lights and dangled them in front of my lens until they framed her nicely. Then I asked her to blow on the lights as if she was blowing glitter or bubbles. The changing distance in the lights between her and I gave varied sizes in the bokeh and added beautiful depth.
In this image, I wanted a more subtle effect. I coiled them around my daughter’s head like a crown, weaving them in her hair. I let the battery pack dangle behind her and sit on the stump she was sitting on, so it would not be in the frame. I used my 85mm because I wanted lovely compression and bokeh. To get this angle, I stood on a step stool in front of her. I chose to freelens this image as well, to add a dreamy blur to the area of the lights.
In this portrait, I simply bunched up one end of the lights in my hand and let them dangle in front of the lens. She was backlit by rather bright sun, and I wanted a dreamy effect with light leaks and overlapping bokeh.
I had my youngest daughter hold one end of the lights, while I held the end with the battery pack. Then I asked her to twirl the lights like you would twirl a jump rope. As they twirled I hit the shutter and captured them framing her, along with her obvious excitement.
In this image, my daughter was just getting out of the bathtub. In anticipation of her getting out, I hung the fairy lights from the top of the banister rail and let them dangle to the floor. Then when she was out I positioned her so the light from the bathroom fell nicely on her face, letting everything else fall into shadow.
RING OF FIRE
I also love shooting through a piece of 1-inch copper pipe (see image below) to achieve the “Ring of Fire”. You can get one of these copper pipes at any hardware store (but of course… I got mine of Amazon).
Link to Copper Pipe: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQRF1U/ ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This technique can give you the most beautiful flare when you hold it in front of your lens. You hold it similar to how you hold the circular prism we went over earlier in this chapter. The copper pipe is smaller than the circular prism, so it’s easy to get your fingers in the frame while holding it. A quick crop in post-processing will take care of the fingers.
The effect you will get depends on how bright or diffused the light is. More diffused light will give a more subtle, hazy effect. More direct light will result in brighter flare (and brighter light ends up making it easy to blow out your images - so be careful of your exposure). Depending on the light and the way you move the pipe, you can end up with hazy bokeh-like flare, or a more defined ring. So play around with it and see what you get!
*Wendi speaking*
I hope you enjoyed this amazing tutorial from Holly!!
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