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Glass Ball Photography:The Complete Guide to Lensball Photos

Glaskugel Fotografie mit einem Lensball

If you've been on social media platforms lately, there's a very high chance you've seen a trend in photography:

And this is theglass sphere (also called lens ball).

This type of photography gives us a unique view of the world. A world that seems to be upside down, trapped inside in a glass ball. With impressive 180 views of the scene, it is a new interpretation of the desire to see ultra-wide landscapes. At the same time, there is also plenty of room for creativity!ät!

Glaskugel fotografiert auf Stamm

Due to the special optical properties of the glass spheres, they are not only suitable as versatile accessories for creative landscape photography, but are also excellent forimpressive portraits be used.

glass balls are available in many different sizes. They're a simple tool for capturing stunning photos as you explore nature.

Instructions: How to take photos with a crystal ball

The unique bullet effect is obtained by focusing on the image inside before clicking the shutter button. Here are a few important things to keep in mind:n:

1. Make sure the ball is on a stable surface or in your hand (and make sure it doesn't roll and hurt someone!).

Glaskugel in Hand

2. Set your camera to wide-angle and a large aperture (that's a small f-number in the settings). If you can't control your aperture, get very close to it yourselfe glass sphere approach. Just make sure the background isn't distracting.

Glaskugel mit Weitwinkel

3. When shooting at night, your camera must either be set to a high ISO sensitivity or placed on a tripod. This way you can ensure that a sharp image is captured.

Glaskugel vor See

4. Be aware of large subjects around you. Attempting to capture a distant city or landscape will result in an image with too small a subject.

5. Experiment with symmetry and lines. Use footbridges, buildings and mountains to draw attention to theglass sphere to steer within the framework.

Glaskugel in Hand vor Brücke

6. Try thatlensball not to be placed in the middle of the picture with every shot. Experiment! Try to hold the crystal ball on a lateral third. And stay open to other perspectives of the same subject.

7. Be careful not to be in your own picture! This is not easy, but if you look at your reflection in the mirrorlensball can see, the viewer of the finished picture will certainly be able to see it too.

Glaskugel auf Felsen

8. If possible, place the important image elements in a round or at least square area so that the person in the portrait is not optically affected by the extreme edge distortion. For this purpose, the eyes or the face should always be visible in the exact center of the sphere.

9. If you work with flash(es), position them as far as possible in the optical axis of the crystal ball so that unwanted reflections on the round surface do not ruin the subject.

Once you've found your favorite motif, it's worth experimenting: How much of the motif can you use in thelensball capture You will be surprised how much can be seen in such a small glass ball (due to the round shape)..

Glaskugel auf Stein

Motives: Like you with oneglass sphere taking photos

Format-filling use: Crystal balls still have a mystical and exotic touch that can be used to photograph the round glass body as a hero. The entire setting, including the portrait model, should then find space within the sphere. Ideally, position the person exactly in the center - for example, sitting or lying down.d.

Because the picture in thecrystal ball upside down, you can then rotate the entire image 180 degrees in the presentation so that the actual subject is seen the right way round. This measure makes the final photo even more spectacular. This is especially true if you find a particularly decorative support surface for the ball, which then appears as a kind of crown at the top of the picture.t.

The ball should be slightly above the person to be photographed to avoid unwanted reflections. The blurring outside theBullet result in a very nice bokeh with a relatively long focal length and corresponding aperture. The closer you position the camera to the sphere, the easier it is to make the necessary camera settings.

Glaskugel mit unscharfem Hintergrund

Placement in the foreground: Should thecrystal ball do not play the leading role, but perhaps act as an optical gateway to the portrait model, you can place the ball in the front image plane. The vitreous then takes at most 15 to 20 percent of the screen area a.

Place the lens with a rather shorter focal length on thecrystal ball spicy. The background and model then sink into a deliberately chosen blur. You can then oscillate between pronounced bokeh and slight blurring as desired. If you have done everything correctly when placing the sphere, the model and the background (rotated by 180 degrees, of course) can be seen pin-sharp in the round glass. This setting requires a few experiments in order to be able to achieve the desired effect accordingly.

Here it has proven useful not to turn the picture upside down again at the end, since the basic picture structure can be seen more or less blurred.

Glaskugel auf Steinen

Use as dramaturgical accessory: Of course you cancrystal ball just use it as a crystal ball. For example, place the ball directly in your model's hand and in the dreamy focus of her eyes and you will receive a new picture statement in no time at all. Crystal balls are a strong synonym for thinking about the future and/or new ideas.n.

If you want something a little more sophisticated, you can arrange the model and sphere in such a way that you can see a second motif with its own story or message in the glass body.t.

Glaskugel aus Schnee

But that's not all:

Tips: How to take even more creative crystal ball shots

  1. Try shooting upside down. Usually the picture is inlensball upside down and the background is quite normal. That does not have to be that way. Flipping the image vertically can create a very exciting effect.

  2. If you shoot on a tripod, try one long exposure inside the ball that can give unique results!!

  3. Use a microfiber cloth to keep the glass ball free of fingerprints. It's easierlensball cleaning beforehand than editing the image later on your computer!

  4. Why only onelensball use Great effects are created by stacking multiple Lensballs away from the camera. By the way, the pictures are the right way round!erum!

Hint: Watch out for the sun!

Finally, a safety warning: leave your lensball NO WAY lie in direct sunlight – regardless of the day temperature! Then left unattended, the lens ball can easily start a fire , since the sun's light is focused on one point!

Glaskugel in der Sonne

That's it, a simple tool for some really cool photos! Now all you have to do is your glass sphere pack up and try it out!

And do not forget:

Share your best Lensball picture on Instagram using the hashtag #rollelensball

   

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3 comments

Ich habe für die Kugel zwei Stützvarianten, die ich noch testen muss.
1. Eine transparente Rosette für die Wanne. Passt die 90er super drauf 5 €
2. Keildichtung 40 mm 3 Stck 3 €

Beides findet man im Baumarkt im Sanitärzubehör.

Thomas,

Kleiner Tipp: benutze als Unterlage der Glaskugel einen Kunststoffring (z.B. leere Tesafilm-Rolle). Das Stabilisiert und schützt den Lensball.

Rudi,

Hallo, was ich bei all den Artikeln zu Lensballs noch nicht verstanden habe ist, wie ich “Kratzer” vermeide, wenn ich die Kugel wo auch immer hinlege.
Liegt diese Frage nicht auf der Hand, dass darauf “nie” hingeweisen wird?

Markus,

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