Lensbaby Lens: How to Use Them in Portrait Photography

Photography Tips  •  Portrait Photography

The folks over at Lensbaby have been hard at work developing exciting new creative photography tools. I was initially introduced to Lensbaby products as essential filmmaking tools, and I am pleased to see an increase in the Lensbaby’s popularity among portrait photographers. In a series of videos produced by Lensbaby, we are shown different ways in which the unique little lenses and optics can give us, as photographers, a way to shoot outside the box and capture advanced tilt-shift effects in camera—something that many photographers are accustomed to doing in editing. For example, let’s take a look at this video which showcases a few of the Lensbaby line’s essential pieces:

In the above video, we were shown what the Edge 80 Optic, Sweet 35 Optic, and the Double Glass Optic are capable of achieving. The Edge 80 Optic is a versatile piece of equipment and probably a good starting point for anyone wishing to get started collecting Lensbaby accessories. It functions as a standard lens and, when tilted, allows you to also get a that coveted tilt-shift look. The Sweet 35 Optic is also delivers great tilt-shift photographs all the while giving the photographer ultimate control over focal range, thanks to the 12 different aperture rings.

Lensbaby Lens Photo Examples

Of course, the optics are only part of the fun. To use them, you will also need a Lensbaby lens. Senior portrait photographer Holli True prefers the Lensbaby Composer Pro as her lens of choice, and she usually accessorizes the lens with the Sweet 35 Optic or the Double Glass Optic.

The Composer Pro is the top of the line lens and the choice of many professional photographers and videographers alike. It allows itself to be tilted into just about any angle on the 360 degree spectrum. Paired with the Double Glass Optic, it gives you minimal diffusion while still maintaining separation from the blur to the “sweet spot.”

Composer Pro Lens Example

Amazon Recap of the Lenses Mentioned:

• Edge 80 Optic
• Sweet 35 Optic
• Double Glass Optic
• Composer Pro