The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.
Self Critique
I love how the messy background blurs into dreamy colors. I also like the happy color palette (especially since there’s a blizzard outside now, and I’m longing for spring). The flower is not in focus, but I’m not sure how much in or out of focus the subjects should be, given that the point of a Lensbaby is to create soft-focus images.
Creative direction
I am learning how to use the Lensbaby and what kinds of situations it is best suited to.
I wanted to convey a very peaceful, blissful mood–escaping from a chaotic world into a world of pastel colors.
Specific Feedback
I’d appreciate any feedback. I’m especially interested in the issue of the appropriate sharpness of focus for Lensbabies and how much I should push the focus on the subject before I ruin the special effect. I also notice a halo around the subject at very wide apertures–I’m not sure what to do about it. Is it supposed to be there or does it mean I’m doing something wrong?
Technical Details
Fuji X-T5, Lensbaby Velvet 56mm, 1/1000 sec, ISO 250, aperture ? (somewhere around 1.8-4, Lensbabies don’t provide EXIF data on the aperture).
Description
After much vacillation, I finally gave in and got a Lensbaby Velvet 56mm lens. I have been playing with it for the last two weeks. I went to the local conservatory to photograph lots of flowers with this lens to get to know it better.
Canan, this is super. Why do we always try to get something in focus? You’re an impressionist! Two small things to my eye. I’d apply a little CCW rotation to get the flower straight (just my taste!) and the ULC pink competes a bit with the pink of the flower, so I’d tone that down a little. But…it’s super.
Canan, This is such a sweet image. You have certainly captured a dreamlike image. Bright, but soft enough colours to convey that blissful escape.
I have never used a Lensbaby but can see it would be quite addictive.
My only thought about the soft overall focus is that I would probably prefer an image where there could be something sharp, but drops off quickly into softness. If that makes sense.
Spendid image! I like the soft atmosphere and the pastel colors. The delicate contrast of the different colors is especially attractive! I also like the central position of the flower - overall, very very nice!
Canan, The overall softness of both the subject and the surroundings make a nicely inviting and dreamy view. The colors are lovely. I’d say you have achieved success. Yes, as @Mike_Friel suggests, a modest desaturation of the pink in the upper left would increase the emphasis on the flower. In this particular case, I don’t see a need for anything totaly sharp. The focal choice is the definition of artistry. I’ve never used a lensbaby, but the color halos around the flower may well be built into the lens’s distortions. Since they match the major nearby colors, they look like the optical distortion called Chroma.
A lovely image, Canan. If I were you, I’d practice on in-house stuff to find the sweet point for focus, even though I don’t think crisp focus suits this particular image, and I like what you’ve done here. It never hurts to get to know your lenses thoroughly, especially when they’re as quirky as a Lensbaby.
Hi Canan,
This is lovely. It’s candy-colored impressionism, just in time for Easter, which for many in the US, is mostly about candy and colors!
I like the suggestions above. I had a lensbaby once. It was an award for some photo contest I entered, but I was burglarized and it went with the rest of my kit (a Canon 40D and full complement of lenses) back around 2011. Huge bummer, and for whatever reason, I never replaced it.
My memory is that it was challenging to get anything in focus, but I also remember that there were lots of different plastic inserts that would increase or reduce the area that could be in focus, and change its shape and effects. It was like a play-dough machine from the sixties, with round, square, star-shaped aperture inserts. I looked for an example in case that was before your time, but now they make food shapes. Such is our world.
I’m glad to see someone playing with this lens. Looking forward to seeing more.
ML
Love the soft pastels. Perfect for Easter. Aren’t Lensbabys fun? I really like the look you’ve achieved here. I don’t think there really is a right or wrong with Lensbaby. It’s a matter of your personal taste and goals. Go with what feels best to you.
Thank you–yes, using the lens feels a lot like a blissful escape. And yes, it’s addictive! Yes, it does make sense about the area of sharp focus, and that’s what I’m wondering about as well. I think the lens itself doesn’t have an area of sharp focus at wide-open apertures, so I’ll need to find a balance between wanting that ethereal look throughout the image and the need to have something in focus. I think that’s where the learning curve of the lens comes from.
Thanks a lot for the critique, Mark. I agree about the desaturation. And yes, the haloes are a part of the lens & they become more pronounced at very wide apertures (f/1.6 & f/2.0), and when there is a mismatch between the brightness of the subject & the background. So I’ll need to learn to pay more attention to those, especially at wide apertures.
Thank you ,Dennis. I think you’re right about practising on stuff at home. I did start to do that with a tripod, just to see how the lens behaves when it’s completely steady. Thank heavens for Trader Joe’s flowers
Thank you very much, Gary. Since the EXIF data don’t show apertures, I don’t know the aperture, but I was generally playing between f/4 & f/1.8 & trying to push for as wide an aperture as possible just because I could. I need to be more intentional about the aperture from now on. I love the Cartier-Bresson quote–I’ll put it on a post-it & put it on my desk when I’m editing these images, LOL “Throw away technical perfection and capture your feelings.” That’s such good advice–thank you!!!
Thank you Yes, they are very fun, and thanks for giving me the permission to go with what feels best for me instead of bending to the will of the people who want everything to always be tack sharp!
I would like to echo @Chris_Baird on the soft pastels. I have to admit I have tried a little bit with the Lensbabys and I haven’t been as successful as you are in this image. Very well done!
Canan: I’ve never used a Lensbaby, not because I don’t like the images it can produce but simply because I have way too many accessories that I rarely use and I’m content to just enjoy images from others like you. This is a really nice rendition with the soft color palette complementing the soft focus. Very nicely done and I hope to see more. >=))>
