Discovering the Velvet 28: A Photo Walk with Lensbaby’s Dreamiest Lens

Sep 1

A few years ago, I took the newly released Lensbaby Velvet 28 on a photo walk through Venice Beach. I was curious how this glowy, vintage-inspired lens would perform in a street setting. Known for its soft focus and painterly colors, the Velvet 28 was designed for travel, landscape, and architectural photography—but I wanted to see if it could handle the fast pace and spontaneity of people in motion.

What followed was a creative adventure through light, texture, and tone—one that challenged how I normally shoot, and ultimately opened my eyes to the artistic potential of this unconventional lens.

Velvet 28: General Information

The Lensbaby Velvet 28 was designed with travel, landscape, architectural, and urban photography in mind. Its 28mm focal length makes it ideal for wide storytelling—perfect for capturing large scenes while still allowing you to get close to your subject.

As with all Velvet series lenses, the Velvet 28 is fully manual, meaning it doesn’t connect to your camera’s autofocus system. Instead, you focus by rotating the ring on the lens itself—a slower, more intentional approach that invites you to be fully present while shooting.

What sets the Velvet line apart is its signature glow and creamy bokeh at wider apertures. The Velvet 28 opens all the way to f/2.5, delivering a beautiful, velvety softness—especially around highlights. Stopping down to f/4 or smaller reduces the glow and increases contrast and sharpness.

For this photo walk, I mostly used smaller aperture settings to explore how this lens performs in a street-style environment. Even without the full glow, I was surprised by the richness of the colors and the soft, film-like rendering. It gives familiar scenes a new emotional tone—like stepping into a slightly hazy memory.

First Impressions with the Velvet 28

The Velvet 28 is beautifully built. Solid in the hand, with smooth aperture and focus rings, it feels like a precision tool. Its wide 28mm field of view makes it ideal for storytelling—pulling in a lot of the scene while still letting you get close to your subject.

As with all Lensbaby gear, this is a fully manual lens. But what surprised me most was how intuitive the focusing process felt. I expected it to slow me down—but once I got into the flow, I found I could track movement quickly and with ease.

Pictures with lots of motion create an interesting mix of focus and glow. Shot at f/8 — *Motion and stillness meet in these moments. Shot at f/8, the Velvet 28 balances soft glow with crisp detail.*

Here you can see how the dog is in focus, but the people around him melt into a glowy background. f/2.8 — *At f/2.8, the Velvet 28 isolates this playful pup mid-somersault, while the surrounding crowd dissolves into a soft, dreamy glow—oblivious to the joyful chaos unfolding at their feet.*

I had to be quick in focusing these photos, but the manual focus kept up with me. I love how the important areas are in focus. — *Venice Beach never disappoints. With the Velvet 28 at my side, I was able to quickly lock focus on these fleeting street scenes—highlighting the small, sharp details that tell the bigger story.*

Rich and vivid colors — *Skating through sun and shadow—this frame shows off the Velvet 28’s rich, cinematic color palette and its ability to capture movement with texture and soul.*

Sharp and lots of details at f/8 — *In the bright afternoon light of the Venice skate bowl, the Velvet 28 at f/8 delivers sharpness and clarity—capturing every textured detail of the concrete and each confident move mid-trick.*

This is an example of how the first picture (f/8) shows no glow and a lot of details, while the picture on the right was shot at f/2.8 and the flowers in the foreground melt into a pink glow. — *A tale of two apertures: On the left, f/8 reveals crisp detail with no glow. On the right, f/2.8 transforms the scene—the pink flowers in the foreground melt into a soft, dreamy haze.*

What I Loved Most

I was drawn to the cinematic feel this lens gives even everyday scenes. The soft glow at wide apertures (f/2.5–f/4) brings warmth and intimacy. At narrower settings (f/8 and beyond), the Velvet transitions into a more detailed, contrast-rich look—still gentle, but much crisper.

The colors are vivid and film-like. I especially loved the way light played through movement: a skater’s silhouette, a breeze through beach grass, a dog in motion. The Velvet renders these scenes with texture and emotion, not just sharpness.

What Didn’t Quite Fit My Style

While I admire this lens—and have even taken some of my favorite landscape images with it since—I found that its glow and wide angle don’t always suit the way I intuitively compose. I tend to reach for tools that give me a strong area of sharpness within a dreamy blur, like the Sweet 50 or the Edge 80.

But that’s the beauty of creative gear: sometimes the best discoveries happen when a lens pushes you outside your comfort zone.

Keep Exploring

Curious about how other creative lenses can change the way you see and shoot? Here are a few more posts you might enjoy:

Lensbaby Optic Swap System: A Creative Playground for Photographers
Discover the full system that transformed my approach to photography—and how to find your perfect optic match.

Slow Shutter Photography: 4 Reasons to Embrace Blur
Learn how motion blur can help you simplify your vision, slow down, and see emotion in movement.

Prism Photography Tips: Create Reflections, Rainbows & Abstract Light
An invitation to play with light, reflection, and color using prisms and the OMNI filter system.

Develop with Light: A Creative Photography Workshop Rooted in Play and Personal Voice
If you’re ready to dive deeper into creative techniques and discover your unique visual voice, this workshop might be just what you’re looking for.