Lensbaby Lens Hacks Series Part 1: OMNI Filter
Have you had a chance to try out the amazing OMNI filter system by Lensbaby?
It’s a fun and practical system to shoot through all kind of objects. With the help of little magnetical arms you can attach all kind of crystals, films and other translucent materials in front of your lens. Or if you want a less technical solution you can buy one of the expansion sets separately and just hand hold the wands in front of your lens. A sleek carrying case holds and protects the entire OMNI Creative Filter System when not in use.
In 2015, three years after I had picked up my fist DSLR, I was introduced to the World of Lensbaby. I had just finished a Project 365 and started becoming bored with my work. I don’t remember what I found more fascinating: this little toy like looking lens, or the unique slogan “See in a new way”. Either way, both drew me in. It was love at first sight!
It all started with my Composer Pro with Sweet 50 optic which you you can bend to your liking. Since then, my love for these products has grown tremendously, and I’ve accumulated quite a few over the years. It’s been an amazing journey and really helped me develop an individual style. I still own a few “regular” lenses but my go-to-make-magic-products are my bendable, colorful and adjustable Lensbaby friends.
Recently I realized that there is one sentence that I keep hearing over and over again when people look at my work: “I own a Lensbaby lens too, but I haven’t used it in forever.” directly followed by “How do you create your work?”
In this new blog series I want to address some of these questions and share tips and ideas to inspire you to dust off your lens and create your own magical work.
Part 1: Omni filter
Basics First:
Common pitfalls
No matter if you bought the OMNI filter system or started out with an expansion set, the way you look at your pictures will change dramatically. Light leaks, streaks, reflections and lens flare are amazing effects you can easily achieve with the help of these little tools.
When I buy new equipment I always think twice to see if I really need it or just want it. Especially when it comes to additional weight and the ability to carry my equipment, I make sure it’s worth the shoulder pain. My camera is really heavy and I travel a lot, so weight and durability are key factors in my decision making. The one thing I immediately liked about the wands is that they are light weight and small enough to fit into my pockets. However, I’d recommend using a fanny pack to hold them in. That way you don’t run into the problem of breaking the glass by accident when you crouch down.
Using these little gems is very intuitive. Besides the various pieces of glasses and foils the system comes with a filter ring and magnetic handles. After attaching the filter ring to your lens, you are ready to start using your new OMNI filters. Now you can either attach one or multiple wands with the little magnetic arms to your lens or hand hold them. I prefer to hold them and play with their position while I shoot. It feels more intuitive and I like that I don’t have to think about attaching the filter ring to the lens. But I have to admit that the magnetic system prevents you from dropping or breaking your piece of glass by accident.
When you start using this system keep in mind that a smaller lens will show more of the effect because the filter can cover the front better. Also remember to shoot wide open (f-stop 2.0, 2.8 or higher, depending on the lens you use) to avoid a weird looking object in your pictures, like in the one above⬆, where the wand is clearly visible, due to a very small aperture. Just like your background gets softer with wider apertures, the more subtle and magical the effect of the wand will be. The following picture shows the subtle effect you create when shooting wide open.
Here I was shooting against the sun to create a silhouette-like picture. The Flare Wand is on the upper right of the lens, right in front of the sun and creates this beautiful flare.
How to create
Reflections, lens flares, light Leaks and streaks
The more often you use your OMNI filters the easier it will become. They are fun to use with any kind of light. Depending on which wand you use you can create color tints, fractured looks, light leaks and streaks or expired film effects. Each group of wands has its own very unique characteristic look:
Some examples of various effect wands
The Crystal Seahorse is shaped with lots of angles and edges to produce complex flare, light redirection, and bright and colorful reflections.
In this picture the Seahorse wand created the partial reflection and the circular flare in the foreground.
The Stretch Glass has a large surface area that helps to create bright stretches and streaks of light over the image. Shooting through the flat and curved sides yields a controllable streaky quality while shooting through the glass at an angle can produce colorful, reflective, and luminous results. Here I used it to create the illusion of two colliding photos. The edge of the building in the right of the photo disappears here.
Reflection created with the help of the Stretch Glass.
The Rainbow Film diffracts light and produces beaming rainbows from any bright light source.
The Crisscross Rainbow Film creates a patterned rainbow effect.
The Crystal Effect Wand creates constantly changing prismatic colors in addition to the crystals' multifaceted fractal effects
Another example for the look you can create with the Crystal Effect Wand
The most recent Flare Wands that are part of the Lensbaby OMNI System Bundle were produced to be used in scenes with multiple points of light allowing the user to frame a subject between multiple layers of flare.
Depending on the angle the wand is being place you can create corresponding light streaks.
The textured Lumi Films provide a range of colors and hues as you can see in the lower part of this portrait.
In the beginning it can be a bit overwhelming to understand all the options that come with these filters. I recommend working with one at a time to get more familiar with their unique effects. Soon you will see yourself reaching intuitively for the one you need for a certain situation or the one you love most. It’s impossible to make mistakes and it’s up to you to decide how to paint your picture. I would love to see what you create with your OMNI filters. But for now I hope you feel inspired to do your own work!
And on a last side note - let me know if you have Lensbaby specific questions. I would love to hear from you!
For 10% off on all Lensbaby products use, wReckhorn at checkout!