I got a chance to test out my new Lensbaby Composer lens and I gotta say it was a lot of fun! It had to be the right project for the effect I knew I’d get from it. So before I started twisting the lens up and getting crazy tunnel vision effects, I thought I’d start out with a fairly simple portrait with a vintage feel. This was going to be a different look for me and I was jazzed to try something new.
Back around Halloween, I found this party store that had a black leaf wreath and of course I thought I’d like to put that on someone’s head and try and convince them that it’d look cool. My friend and model Melanie Jean (who I shot the “A Lot Of Light From A Little Flash” tutorial with) was kindly up for the task of sitting with me as I worked through my first attempt with this lens system. I couldn’t have picked a more perfect model for this. In addition to having the perfect look for it, she also dug up an awesome corset that tied the look all together. Yay for creative teamwork!
Okay, the lighting was pretty simple for this. I chose a medium soft box with a fabric grid and put it on a boom a few feet in front of her, pointed down but focused slightly above her head so it was just feathering her, as opposed to hitting her directly center. At about waist level, I had my trusty 3×4 white foam core to bounce some light up into her eyes and under the chin. This created a clamshell-ish lighting without giving too much up-lighting because I still wanted it moody. The second light with a vertical strip box, was placed on a pancake (a piece of 1/2 inch plywood with a grip stem screwed to it, to mount a light on the floor) and pointed up at the wall in back of her to create the vignette lighting behind her. Since she was sitting on an apple box, putting the back light on even a short stand would have placed it too high and I needed that back light coming from as low as I could get.
I shot this with the Lensbaby Composer, dual-glass optic and the f/5.6 lens ring that the lens kit comes with. I tested the different F-stop rings and I knew I wanted a heavy blur on the edges but still enough clarity in the center to keep the face sharp.. the f/5.6 was the right one for this job. I was at ISO 100 and 125th shutter speed. I just metered the overhead key light to f/5.6 and the back light was set to about the same and that was it. All that blurring effect is happening at the lens, not in post.
I shot tethered to a MacBook Pro because it was such a low light situation that even with the modeling lights on, I couldn’t see an accurate focus without reviewing it first on a larger screen. The Lensbaby doesn’t enable any auto-focusing and I couldn’t tell at all through the viewfinder what was in focus.
Once I had the focus set, it was easy breezy…just going through different facial expressions and head tilts till we found the mood that worked best. Melanie rocked the right look and I captured it.
I then took it into Photoshop for some simple dodging and burning on the leaves, and masked in a textured wall (that I shot during an F&B photo walk!) and layered in multiply mode. To create a vintage feel, I went to Nik Silver Efex Pro and gave it the finishing touches.
I was really happy with the results and I’m looking forward to shooting with the Lensbaby again while challenging myself to come up with something completely different.
GEAR
Lensbaby Composer with the F5.6 step ring, dual-glass optic.
White Lightning medium quick soft box with grid for the key light
White Lightning X800 with strip box for the back light.
3×4 white foam core for bounce.
LINKS
