How to: Lensball Photography

I was recently gifted a fascinating photography tool — a lens ball (or lensball). If you haven't seen one, imagine a crystal ball that acts as a lens, creating mesmerizing photos by bending and magnifying light.

Safety first: like any magnifying glass, the lensball can concentrate sunlight and poses a risk of fire, eye damage, or camera sensor damage. Never shoot directly through it toward the sun and be careful about placement.

I've only had a couple of chances to take this fun tool out, but in the short time I could see that it presented real challenges. Capturing the clean, professional images found on the Lensball website was not going to happen anytime soon.

Common Mistakes

1. Capturing your own fingers or the stand. Because almost all light that passes through is reflected, I had difficulty keeping whatever was holding the ball — my hand, the ground, or a stand — out of the image.
2. Originality. Having looked at many examples on Instagram before attempting my own, I found it difficult to find original applications that aren't already done over and over again.
3. Focal length and aperture. Getting the image inside the ball sharp while keeping a nice background blur requires significant experimentation.
4. Avoiding smudges. Bring something to clean the ball — otherwise your images will be hampered by fingerprints and dirt.

Tips for Beginners

• Use a macro or close-focus lens to get the scenery inside the ball sharp.
• Try placing it on elevated surfaces or holding it at various heights to reduce ground in the frame.
• Experiment — there's no right or wrong way and you might surprise yourself.