2 Lensbaby One

2 Lensbaby one THE LENSES 4 Lensbaby There are three current models of Lensbabies: Composer the Composer, the Muse, and the Control The Composer is the easiest to get started with Freak. Previous models are the Original Lens- if you have never used a Lensbaby before. If baby, the 2.0, and the 3G. These models all you’re moving up from an earlier model, the work in different ways but are based on the Composer’s design is straightforward and intui- same idea of bending or tilting the lens to con- tive. Compared to the 3G, the Composer has trol the part of the image that is in focus. The fewer adjustments you have to think about. cornerstone to the Lensbaby look is the sweet The ball-and-socket mechanism makes it simple spot, the area of the photo that’s the sharpest. to move the sweet spot around. It offers great Bending the lens allows you to change the loca- control combined with the most intuitive tion of the sweet spot. Certain accessories for design of the three lenses. The focusing process these lenses offer the ability to produce other is similar to that of using a focusing ring on a creative effects besides a sweet spot. (You can regular SLR lens. Also, you don’t have to be con- fi nd details on those in Chapter 3 . ) For now cerned with holding the lens in place or locking let’s take a look at what each lens has to offer it in position. and how the lenses work. Which Lensbaby Is Right for Me? Each Lensbaby has its own look and feel. Your shooting style and the subjects you photograph will be the greatest infl uence on deciding which lens is right for you. However, because each lens has its own strengths, you may fi nd yourself wanting a couple to use for different situations! Composer The Lenses 5 Muse The Muse complements a looser shooting style. It allows you to be spontaneous, quickly reacting to what’s happening around you. To use the Muse most effectively, you’ll need to be comfortable with the squeezing and bending process. Once you’re adept at using your fi ngers to focus, you can quickly shift the point of focus (the sweet spot) around the viewfi nder. The Muse offers the benefi t of bending back to the “starting” position (pointing straight ahead) once you let go of it. Although this feature doesn’t lend itself to repeating the Muse same shot, you will always know where the Muse is pointing when you begin to bend the lens. The fl uid nature of the Muse makes it useful for fast-changing situations or unplanned moments where you just want to squeeze, bend, and shoot. The Composer’s design doesn’t make it convenient to bend and focus at the same time. 6 Lensbaby Control Freak The Control Freak offers a step-by-step process to taking a photograph. It gives you precise control over each of the Lensbaby’s adjustments. This precision also means that you have to go through a number of steps for each image: squeeze and bend, lock the lens in place, adjust the focus. The features of the Control Freak position it between the Muse and the Composer. It offers the bending and squeezing of the Muse, but then you can lock the lens in place and fi ne-tune the focus. This design gives the lens a dual functionality. You can use the Control Freak as though it were a Muse, while Control Freak at the same time you always have the locking and fi ne-focusing features available. After you lock the lens in place, the rods also make it possible to ever so slightly adjust the angle of the lens. The Control Freak can be useful for studio photography and other situations in which exacting setups are required. The Lenses 7 Meet the Lensbabies Let’s take a look at the Lensbabies we’ll discuss in this book. (For step-by-step instructions on focusing and composing, see Chapter 2 .) Composer The Composer offers a balance between ease of use and precise control. A signifi cant difference between the Composer and the Muse or Control Freak is that there is no bendy middle to the lens. In its place is a ball-and-socket connection. So, instead of literally bending the lens, you tilt it. Let’s look at other similarities and differ- ences between the Composer and the other Lensbaby lenses. The Composer has a large focusing ring, similar in function to the one on the Control Freak. However, the Composer’s focusing ring is a more signifi cant feature. Since you don’t squeeze the Composer to set the focusing distance, the focusing ring takes over this role. It combines the squeezing and the focus fi ne- tuning into one adjustment. Due to its larger size, it might remind you more of the focusing ring on one of your regular lenses. It has a broad range, allowing you to set focus from the Lensbaby Composer, Double Glass Optic, f/4 minimum focusing distance to infi nity. With This is one of the fi rst photos I took with the Composer. With its ball-and-socket connection, it was easy to tilt the lens way up to the Composer you’ll want to start with the lens bring just the bench into focus at the top of the image. Notice the heavy blurring caused by the extreme tilt of the lens. 8 Lensbaby pointing straight ahead. (It doesn’t “spring won’t fl op around. If you turn the locking ring back” to the center as with the other lenses; all the way to the left, the lens is completely you have to reposition it yourself.) Then use the locked down. This is useful if you want to make focusing ring to focus at the distance where sure the lens absolutely, without a doubt, won’t your subject is located. The closest you can move at all. focus is about 18 inches from the front of the lens. Now to move the sharp area away from the Muse center, simply tilt the Composer in the direction The features described and the steps for using in which you want it sharp. No need to lock it or the Muse also apply to the Original Lensbaby hold it in place; it stays where you put it. Once and the Lensbaby 2.0. you have the sweet spot where you want it, use The Muse is the most free-form and spon- the focusing ring to tweak the focus. taneous of the three lenses. You just squeeze, At the base of the Composer (where it bend, and shoot; simple and straightforward. mounts to your camera) is a black locking ring The accordion-like center of the lens allows to control the tension of the ball-and-socket you to focus close or far away, depending how connection. For the least amount of tension, you squeeze the lens. If you look through the turn it as far as you can to the right (when viewfi nder and don’t touch the Muse, it’s set looking at the Composer from the back). This to focus at the closest possible distance. The is where I usually leave it. Even with minimal Muse’s closest focusing distance is about tension the lens will stay where you tilt it; it 14 inches (from the front of the lens). If you’re tilt the lens way to the left, then use bring anything into focus, because Extreme Bending the focusing ring to bring something what would be in focus is not visible The Composer handles extreme close to the left edge into focus. in the viewfi nder. So, if you’ve done bending well. Tilt it to one extreme Be aware that you can tilt the lens an extreme bend and you can’t get or another and you can still bring so far that the sweet spot will fall anything in focus, you may have part of the subject into focus near outside what you see in the view- tilted the lens too far. the edge of the photo. For instance, fi nder. Then you won’t be able to Lensbaby 2.0 (double glass), f/4 With the camera held steady on a tripod, my biggest concern was holding the lens still during the exposure, which was 1/20 th of a second. When work- ing with slow shutter speeds, take at least a few photos to ensure that you come away with a sharp one. This approach landed me a shot that was tack sharp on the blossoms. 10 Lensbaby taking a close-up photo, try not touching the (no bending), the middle of the viewfi nder lens and just move the camera further from or comes into focus. Want to focus on something closer to the subject until it’s in focus. You’ll be to the left, right, top, or bottom? Just bend the getting the closest possible shot and you don’t lens as you squeeze it. Bend the Muse in the have to worry about holding the lens steady direction that you want something in focus. For because you didn’t squeeze or bend it. example, if you want a person on the left side of To get a feel for how close a shot you can the viewfi nder to be sharp, bend the lens to the get, try this: without bending or squeezing left.

Load more