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Photography Area~Our Photos => Critique Corner => Topic started by: jimblankenship on November 09, 2014, 06:56:04 AM

Title: Freelensing
Post by: jimblankenship on November 09, 2014, 06:56:04 AM
I tried something new: Freelensing. You take your lens off the camera, open the aperture wide and hold the lens reversed to take the shot. It's kinda like reversing the lens for macro only you hand hold the lens to the camera body. Any thoughts?
Title: Re: Freelensing
Post by: buddywoods on November 09, 2014, 08:16:12 PM
I've never tried that before.  You did a great job.
You photos are very sharp.  The bokeh looks great.  Your exposure is very good.  The composition is good.  I don't see anything I would change.
Title: Re: Freelensing
Post by: Don on November 10, 2014, 08:39:18 AM
I will have to try this. Great work.

My only thought is how did you keep light from leaking around the lens and camera body?
Title: Re: Freelensing
Post by: jimblankenship on November 11, 2014, 06:17:33 AM
Thank you Buddy for the critique.

Don, If you look at the bottom picture you can see some of the light spill over from the lens not being firmly held to the body. This is actually what you are looking for when trying this technique. The light seep helps to create atmosphere for the shot. Check out the quick How-To on B&H Photo

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/content/how-freelensing

A word of warning about this technique. You can end up getting dust on your sensor since the lens is not firmly attached.
I used my "beater" camera for this. 

Thanks Both of you

Jim
Title: Re: Freelensing
Post by: shutterbugmom on December 03, 2014, 08:16:04 PM
I had never heard of Freelensing, either.  My first thought when I read the description of the technique was "If the lens isn't mounted, dust will get on the sensor!"  Using a "beater" camera is a great idea if you're going to try this.  I'm not sure if I'd like to try this technique or not. Hmmm.

Well, on to the photos. Here are my thoughts, for what they're worth...

1. I love close ups and macros of flowers.  The top one is my favorite.  I like the lighting, the composition and the bokeh.  I'm wondering if the tip of the stamen on the right may have been brought into focus by a slight shift of the camera angle putting it on the same focal plane as the others that are in sharp focus. This would help keep the viewer's eye in the frame.

2. I like the composition of the middle image.  It keeps pulling my eyes into the flower because of the area you focused on using the wide aperture and the angle at which you shot it. I'm still debating on if that's a good thing or not, if my eyes need a place to rest.  Maybe someone else can comment on that. I wish I could see each flower again as I'm writing about them.  I may have to take notes before replying next time.  This is my first critique. :)

3. The bottom one is nice.  I like the soft focus and shallow DOF.  I may have thrown it all out of focus to make it more abstract or changed my focal point as my eye keeps being drawn out of the frame due to where the focus is placed.

I imagine this technique takes practice, just like other photography techniques. I hope this helps.  Keep shooting!  :thumbsup: