Lensbabies and Education

Lesson 1 - Learning Photography Basics with a Lensbaby

Objective: Students will learn the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. Students will learn the relationship between the depth of field and aperture size

Have students pair up. One student holds the camera while the second student has the aperture kit. Beginning with f/8, have student #1 set the shutter speed. Student #2 then removes aperture disk, replacing it with lower apertures, while student #1 adjusts the shutter speed.

Students then switch roles. Have the students re-do the aperture switching, but this time have them look for change in depth of the field and amount of Lensbaby blur.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Lensbaby 2.0, Lensbaby 3G – for their easily changeable magnetic aperture system and their tact sharp sweet spot. (The Original Lensbaby is diffused wide open and has a rubber gasket that hold the aperture in place.)

Lesson 2 - Composition

Objective: Students will explore how moving the sweet spot affects the visual integrity of the images.

Students choose an object or place to shoot that has a diverse amount of textures and objects. Using the Lensbaby, students take 3-5 images of the exact same scene, moving the sweet spot for each photo. Have student make test prints of each of the photos and discuss the compositional qualities of each. Variation: Have students experiment with different apertures at the same time.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Lensbaby Original, Lensbaby 2.0, Lensbaby 3G

Recommended materials: tripod

Lesson 3 - Stop Action

Objective: Students will master focusing techniques for moving subjects and using fast shutter speeds.

Show Peggy Dyer’s Lensbabies webcast taking note of how she uses the Lensbaby for sports photography. Have students take a series of shots of moving subjects first panning and then anticipating the action and keeping the camera still. We recommend starting out with a smaller aperture like f4 for a bigger sweet spot and then opening up as the technique is mastered. Review the need for fast shutter speeds.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Lensbaby Original, Lensbaby 2.0

Lesson 4 - Lensbaby vs. Photoshop

Objective: Students will learn the difference between altering the image in camera vs. altering the image through Photoshop.

Have students choose a subject to first photograph with a Lensbaby and then with a traditional lens. Have the students alter the “normal” images with Photoshop, using masks and various blur filters. Which process did each student find more rewarding (this obviously will differ from student to student)? How do the images compare?

Recommended Lensbaby:

The Lensbaby Original for its soft dreamy look.

Lesson 5 - Commercial Applications

Objective: Students will compose compelling images to be used in an imaginary advertisement using a Lensbaby.

Have students choose a product to endorse, using the Lensbaby to shoot the image. How can the student best use the Lensbaby affect to enhance the image of the product?

You may refer to Jim DiVitale’s webcast or Peggy Dyer’s webcast and the photos she did for a restaurant in Boulder, CO.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Lensbaby 3G for its ability to lock in place and take repeated exposures.

Lesson 6 - Macro Work

Objective:
Students will create appealing close-up shots using a Lensbaby and its macro attachment.

Have students choose a subject for a close-up image. Flowers and insects always work well, but inanimate objects can make compelling shots too. Have students present 3 images, each focusing on a different close-up angle.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Lensbaby 3G, Lensbaby Macro Kit

Lesson 7 - Portraiture with a Lensbaby

Objective: Students will compose engaging portraits using a Lensbaby.

If working in a classroom, have students work in pairs or groups and take turns being the photographer. Have students shoot photos of 1-3 people. Show examples of portraits and have a discussion with emphasis on selection of environment, aperture choice, lighting conditions and expression. How do the images compare?

Variation: Introduce the creative aperture kit, explaining how the out of focus highlight becomes the shape of the aperture. Encourage students to create their own shapes that are fitting to the portrait session.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Lensbaby Original, Lensbaby 2.0, Creative Aperture Kit

Lesson 8 - Self Portrait

Objective: Students will express ideas they have about themselves through a visual image.

Have students pair up. Student #2 sits in place for Student #1, allowing Student #1 to compose, focus, and adjust the light for the photo that will be their self-portrait. When student one is ready to have their self-portrait made, the students then switch places, and student 2 presses the shutter. Then students reverse rolls. You may want to set a time limit for each student.

Variation #2: Students can also use a long cable release or the self timer on their camera.

Variation #3: Students take a self portrait using a mirror. The image must tell something about the student and must be recognizable.

Variation #4: Students create a faceless self portrait, telling something about themselves and creating an interesting composition.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Lensbaby 3G (variation #1), Lensbaby 2.0, Original Lensbaby

Lensbaby Assignment Part 1 -
Submitted by Maia Dery, Guilford College

Take the Lensbaby and a digital SLR out with a friend. Find a horizontal line such as the edge of a sidewalk, railroad tracks, a building, etc. Make an initial series of Lensbaby photographs as your friend walks along the straight line from left to right across your field of vision. Save all of this series regardless of how out of focus it is or is not. Now position yourself at one end of the line and take a series of shots as your friend walks towards and then past you, again bending the Lensbaby and the plane of focus with each new frame. Repeat each of these series, alternating one after the other, a total of at least 3 times. Save all of the images – mistakes or not.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Any Lensbaby!

Lensbaby Assignment Part 2 -
Submitted by Maia Dery, Guilford College

Now that you have a feel for what the Lensbaby effect looks like and how it changes the compositions and mood of your images. Each time you’re in the lab with fresh film in your camera check out a Lensbaby for 10 minutes and use it to shoot one or two frames. Shoot these within 15 yards of the art building. Select as your subject something you pass every time you come into the building. Try to see it in a way that is a) evocative of a particular mood (perhaps the mood you have when you are headed into the basement for hours of darkroom effort?) and b) a way you would not see it without the Lensbaby.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Any Lensbaby!

Lensbaby Coffee Shop Assignment -
Submitted by Maia Dery, Guilford College

On this trip to the local cafe let’s all do the things people do at a coffee shop! Before we leave, make a list of everything you normally do in the coffee shop. Stand in line, order coffee, interact with the cashier, pour cream and sugar, sit in a booth, glance at the artwork, perhaps fire up a laptop, sit and watch other patrons, etc. This will be your shot list for the day. Do each of your routine tasks through the Lensbaby. What can you communicate about the place and how you feel about it or, most importantly, how you see it.

Recommended Lensbaby:

Any Lensbaby!