Having a lensball is a lot of fun, it’s a fulfilling form of photography that let’s you photograph in a creative way. What if I told you there are ways you can be even more creative with the ball? You’d want to know about that wouldn’t you? In this article you’ll see a number of options you can use that will boost your creativity with the ball.
How do you hold your lensball?
No doubt you’ve tried holding your lensball while photographing it. Be careful on a sunny days, those things can burn your skin! The question is have you ever experimented with the way you hold the ball? There are lots of possibilities.
- The lotus flower – This is a hold where you’ll need a friend to help. It’s two handed. The intention is to make your fingers look like petals around the centre of the flower, which of course is the lensball. The lensball should sit between your 2 hands.
- The perfect – This you can do while taking the photo yourself, but it’s easier if a friend holds the ball for you. Circle your thumb and index finger around the ball, and then let the rest of your fingers fan out. It will look like the symbol you make when everything is perfect!
- The cup – Perhaps the easiest way to hold the ball is to simply make a cup shape with your hand, and let the ball rest in the middle of it. Once again you can do this while taking the photo, but it will look better if you have a friend hold the ball for you.
Different colors
I’m sure you’ve tried photographing with a transparent crystal ball, but how about using balls of different colors? Using different colors can change the accent of your photo, and draw the eye even more to the crystal ball. When you photograph you’ll be aware of color contrast as one way of making your photos stand out. How about photographing with a yellow ball, and a grey foreground?
Multiple lensballs
Another way you can add more to your photography is by adding to the number of balls you use. This opens up a number of possibilities; you can vary the size of the ball, and go for 2, 3 or more balls!
- Balls in a line – creating repetition in your photography works wonders. Placing more than one ball next to each other will mean you have repeated scenes in your frame, an interesting effect to play around with.
- Refraction in refraction – Alternatively how about placing the balls in a line? Have you tried this to see what will happen?
Have you ever tried a prism?
Here at creative photography school we’re excited about all types of refraction photography. I’m sure you know that the crystal ball is not the only object that causes refraction. Some very interesting effects can also be produced by a prism, giving you a photo that looks like a multiple exposure but is in fact a single frame. We’re going to show you everything there is to know about this form of photography and more in some exciting tutorials.
Do you want to go global with your lensball?
There is a lot to learn when it comes to taking outstanding photos with the lensball. Luckily for you there is a great course, which takes you through step by step, about lensball photography. Produced by Simon Bond, the course Globalize will teach you everything there is to know about crystal ball photography! You can purchase that course by visiting this page.
