Lensbaby Guide by Nina Mingioni
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Lensbaby: what’s the big deal? So . Lensbaby lenses. You may have one. You may have heard of them – or not. You may want one . or not even know you want one (I will convince you otherwise before you are done reading this!) Lensbaby lenses are small, portable lenses that are entirely controlled by you. Even though they attach to your camera, they do not communicate with it in any way. That means that not only do you control the aperture manually, but you will focus manually as well. Scared yet? In the world of digital photography, precise lenses, and sophisticated cameras, we expect pixel-perfect photographs. Lensbaby lenses are your one chance to let go a bit and learn to embrace the uncertainty of focus and the spontaneity of creating a shot that absolutely cannot be reproduced. Ready to dive in? Sweet 35 Understand your equipment A Lensbaby has two parts: lens body and lens optic. While the company has offered a variety of designs in the past, they currently offer only one type of lens body: the Composer Pro. It is no more than two attachments held together by a ball joint. One side attaches to your camera, the other to the lens optic. The ball joint is fully bendable in every direction. There are lots of optics available for your Lensbaby, but they all fit the Composer Pro and are interchangeable. You only need one Composer Pro, and you can use it with as many optics as you own. Sweet 50 Understand your equipment Lensbaby optics come in a variety of focal lengths: 35mm (“Sweet 35”), 50mm (“Sweet 50”), and 80mm (“Edge 80”). The previously available “double glass” optic was a 50mm optic which has been replaced by the much-easier to use Sweet 50. Sweet 35 and Sweet 50 have central area of sharp focus, and a radial pattern of surrounding blur. The Edge 80 offers a slice of focus. There are also a variety of creative optics available – the soft focus optic, plastic optic, single glass optic, and zone plate/pinhole optic. Each optic has different properties and different creative advantages. Finally, Lensbaby recently released a 5.8mm circular fisheye optic. Lensbaby also makes the Lensbaby Spark, which is a great little start-out lens. It is a Lensbaby body and optic in one. While the accordion-type body and fixed aperture at f/5.6 can be limiting, it will kick-start your creativity without setting back your gear fund. I think everyone needs to start out with one of the “standards” – Sweet 35 or 50, or the Edge 80. They will help you figure out how to bend the blur to your creative whim. Sweet 35 A word on manual focusing Since shooting a Lensbaby will require you to focus manually, you must make sure your camera viewfinder is adjusted for your shooting eye. No matter how “bad” your eyes are, you can set up your viewfinder to give you accurate focus – I promise. The vision in both of your eyes is probably different at least a little bit, and this bit will make a difference. Which eye do you use to shoot? When I started paying attention, it turned out I used either of my eyes. With a bit of experimentation I figured out that my left eye is stronger, and was my dominant eye. This is the eye for which my viewfinder diopter is set. Sweet 35 Best way to set up your diopter The best way to set your diopter is actually with your lens cap CLOSED. Yes, you read this correctly. I don’t even remember where I learned about this trick – but this, hands down, is key to achieving sharp manual focus. This is actually better done with one of your “regular” lenses rather than a Lensbaby. 1. Close your lens cap. 2. Look through your viewfinder and push the shutter half way down to activate your camera’s meter: the vertical hash marks of your meter and other digital information that appears in your view finder. 3. Adjust your diopter until the hash marks of your meter are sharp. Sweet 35 Shooting with Lensbaby As I previously mentioned, Lensbaby lenses do not communicate with your camera body – this means that you MUST have your camera set to either Aperture Priority (“AV”) mode or the manual mode to be able to shoot. For each of the most popular optics – Sweet 35, Sweet 50, and Edge 80 – the aperture is controlled by the ring on the optic. The direction of the blur of each optic is controlled by the tilt of the Lensbaby body. Sweet 35 Edge 80 Metering Metering with a Lensbaby is tricky. This is because every time you change the tilt of the lens, you will change the amount of light hitting your sensor, depending on the direction of your tilt in relation to the light source. Meter readings in this setting can be unpredictable. I usually meter with my Lensbaby untilted, then tilt, take a test shot, and adjust my exposure based on the histogram. I’ve been asked before why don’t I just tilt the lens first, then meter and adjust. The answer is simple: I’ve had better luck adjusting settings faster if I meter first. As with many things Lensbaby, there is no right or wrong, there is just what works for you. Every time you change the tilt of the lens, you will have to at least re- evaluate, and likely adjust, your exposure. Lensbaby with no tilt. The light hits the sensor in a Tilted Lensbaby. The amount of light hitting the predictable way. sensor depends on the direction of the tilt. Focusing Focusing with your Lensbaby will always be more challenging than manually focusing with a standard lens. Of course, with lots of practice you will absolutely improve. When photographers first try to shoot their Lensbaby, they frequently get frustrated. One big reason this happens is that the subject they choose to practice on is not stationary or cooperative. Do yourself a huge favor, and save lots of nerves for yourself and your family, and avoid Lensbaby buyer’s remorse. ONLY PRACTICE ON COOPEARTIVE SUBJECTS. I mean it. It makes all of the difference. I doubt it will come as a surprise when I tell you that there is not one perfect way to learn to focus your Lensbaby. Here, I will tell you about different ways people have done it. You will have to try and learn to see what works for you. Sweet 35 Learning to focus Learn to shoot wide open vs. learn to shoot at f/4 or f/5.6 Most people who shoot their Lensbaby well will tell you that the easiest way to learn is to close down your aperture some, usually to f/4 or f/5.6. For Lensbaby lenses, the aperture controls the size of the area of focus: the smaller the aperture (the larger the number) the bigger the area of focus is. For Sweet 35, wide open is f/2.5 – that is a pretty small sweet spot, and when you are first starting out it is hard to see for sure. On the following pages, compare the sharp area of focus at f/2.8, f/4, and f/5.6. It’s easy to appreciate why learning focus is easier a bit closed down. Yet, some photographers advocate for learning to shoot the Lensbaby wide open. After all, once you learn to do that, you can do anything. I think I diligently tried to learn to shoot at f/4. It didn’t last long, though, as my usual propensity is to shoot much wider than that. Sweet 35 f/2.5 Sweet 35 f/4 Sweet 35 f/5.6 Learning to focus The closer your object is, the softer the blur, and the harder it is to see the sweet spot or the slice of focus when you are first starting out. Start with distant subjects first to see how the tilt of your lens affects the location of the sharpness in your frame. Sweet 50, distant subject. Area of sharpness has a quick Edge 80, subject close-up. Area of sharpness has a fall-off, making the sweet spot easy to identify. gradual fall-off, creating softer blur. Learning to focus Learn to shoot without a lens tilt vs. learn to shoot tilted Making the area of sharp focus easier to identify as you close down the aperture is one part of the equation. The other part of this equation is learning where to actually anticipate that area in your frame. While it sounds like it should be straight forward, new Lensbaby shooters quickly learn that– once again – it takes practice to do that. Many opinions exist on the best way to do this. Some photographers advocate shooting the lens straight on first, then learning to shoot tilted. (It should be noted that Sweet 35 and Sweet 50 always have the tell-tale radial blur, even if not tilted. However, Edge 80 without a tilt behaves as a standard lens with no blur in the frame). Others recommend tilting the lens, and leaving it at the same tilt while shooting a variety of scenes, until you can easily and predictably identify the sweet spot or the slice of focus in the frame. Then, you should tilt the Lensbaby to a different position, and repeat the exercise. Personally, I didn’t last long without a tilt. I mean, I got my Lensbaby so that I can tilt and blur, right? Using your LCD to focus So, can’t you just use your LCD to focus? You can – as long as you are aware of the limitations of doing so.