Kristen (again) and some lensbaby action!

frommrstomommy · Aug 1, 2014

Got to shoot with the lovely Kristen again today. Had a FANTASTIC time. I have sooo many images from this session but I pulled a few because I was so excited and did some quick edits. Some of these were taken with the new lensbaby 2.0 and creative aperture kit and the rest with my 50 1.8.

CC welcome!

The last two are pretty well OOF.. the 2nd to last I tried to focus on her hair, and then the very last was entirely on purpose trying to get the heart shaped bokeh from the little string of lights she was holding. Let me know if you think these "work" or don't work in your opinion.

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Kristen by capturedbybc, on Flickr

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Kristen-6 by capturedbybc, on Flickr

3

Kristen-7 by capturedbybc, on Flickr

4

Kristen-8 by capturedbybc, on Flickr

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Kristen-9 by capturedbybc, on Flickr

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Kristen-10 by capturedbybc, on Flickr

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Kristen-12 by capturedbybc, on Flickr

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Kristen-13 by capturedbybc, on Flickr

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Kristen-14 by capturedbybc, on Flickr

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Kristen-15 by capturedbybc, on Flickr

Derrel · Aug 1, 2014

Fun stuff! She's very pretty and very tall. You did alright on these. I like the second to last one, the sunset one. Not keen on the bokeh heart shot. Which Lensbaby model made these? It offers a LOT of side of the frame distortion, while still being pretty sharp in the center areas.

DanOstergren · Aug 1, 2014

I love that last one!

annamaria · Aug 1, 2014

Really like the last one.

jowensphoto · Aug 1, 2014

I love the lensbaby photos, makes me want to play with mine! The first and last two are my favorites.

I think you should experiment more with it - you seemed to have tied the inherent blurry properties of the lens and the actual concept very well. As a matter of fact, I am really inspired by the last two. Gives me some ideas

mishele · Aug 1, 2014

I need to buy a lensbaby. It looks like fun to play with.
#9 and #10 are my favorites. =0

frommrstomommy · Aug 1, 2014

Thanks all! These were taken with the old lens baby 2.0 .. Nikon mount, obviously. Snagged on adorama for 35 + ship. Had to order the creative aperture kit from bh since adorama was out of stock.

paigew · Aug 1, 2014

beautiful! Love 9! I really want a lensbaby! What one do you have?

frommrstomommy · Aug 1, 2014

The 2.0 its really old and not even made anymore I guess

CreativeSnaps · Aug 1, 2014

I like what you have done here. A really nice selection.

Derrel · Aug 1, 2014

If you happen to have an older manual focus teleconverter, you can get some neat effects with the Lensbaby by making its focal length effectively longer. In the past, I have used a very cheap $15 used Tokina 2x converter, as well as a better grade, Nikon TC14 manual focus model--not the AF-S model of converter, but the "old" 1980's manual focus one.

The Lensbaby 2.0 model has a pretty sharp center zone. I have an original Lensbaby, the early one which I think is either a 1- or 2-element lens, and it has a LOT more color fringing, and is much more soft across the whole frame than the 2.0 model, which I know has a multi-element lens design, and is sharper in the center than the original was. Seven years ago, I was using the Lensbaby more than I have since then, and I always found the 2.0 model tricky to focus...very hair-trigger for me to nail the focus with the 2.0....I missed a lot of shots with it, and am not sure why. Maybe it was my 1.5x camera's finder, or I am an idiot...maybe a little of both?

I might try revisiting the whole Lensbaby concept a bit this summer....they are so light and small and easy to carry! I am so jelly of that beautiful Arizona late afternoon/early evening lighting in your region of the USA, just sooo jealous of that beautiful, warm, open sky-lighting at that location. I love to see the pics you make there.

frommrstomommy · Aug 1, 2014

Thanks derrel! I found out quickly with the lens baby that trying to find focus after already pushing down on the lens and "searching" for focus that it was absolutely not the way to go. Really light fingers and soft touch paired with quick focus and fast finger on the shutter. Still missed focus a bunch but it worked wayyyyyy better.

Derrel · Aug 1, 2014

frommrstomommy said:
Thanks derrel! I found out quickly with the lens baby that trying to find focus after already pushing down on the lens and "searching" for focus that it was absolutely not the way to go. Really light fingers and soft touch paired with quick focus and fast finger on the shutter. Still missed focus a bunch but it worked wayyyyyy better.

Thanks for the tips! Yeah, I had the Original for about a year before I bought the 2.0 model...I had a lot of trouble with the 2.0 model, and just could not get the results I wanted consistently. Your "light fingers" suggestion and fast on the trigger ideas both make sense--I had a lot of trouble with that, just could not seem to get the exact right focus. I'll give it another go.