Crystal Ball Photography: Instructions and Tips | STERN.de

Small world in a sphere
This is how you succeed in taking exciting photos with glass balls

Photography thrives on new experiments and exciting perspectives. So the world appears in a different light. The photographer is responsible for the staging as well as for the selection of the motif. Is that why trying out new techniques – like crystal ball photography – is so much fun? All they need is the right lens and a matching crystal ball. While the background blurs atmospherically, the focus is on the reflection of the motif in the crystal ball. This leads to interesting perspectives and exciting images.

The equipment for crystal ball photography

A suitable glass ball (also called a lens ball) has a clear texture. The subject must be able to reflect well in it so that you can capture it with the camera. You can find a quality one here lensball for crystal ball photography.

The right technique

The art of glass ball photography is a perfect symbiosis of a blurred background and a reflected motif in the ball. A lens with a wide open aperture gives the best chance of getting the background blur. Of course, lighting conditions also play an important role: For evening shots, you also need an open-aperture lens (e.g. aperture f/1.8). This Canon lens with an aperture of f/1.8 is well suited for glass ball photography due to the open aperture.

But this is not absolutely necessary – the closer you are to the crystal ball and the further away the background is, the blurrier the subject will be. So you can also use a kit lens that has a larger aperture. You can achieve good results with it, especially in good lighting conditions.

Suitable motifs for crystal ball photography

The special thing about the glass ball photography and the heart of the picture is the bullet. In it you can stage the world upside down and thus create exciting contrasts. So it pays to keep a few basic things in mind.

The reflection in the sphere should be sharp. Therefore, pay attention to the focus and check which area is in focus. You can basically photograph any subject that you like. Striking structures or striking landscapes are particularly interesting. These could be bridges or mountains, for example. If you don’t have these motifs on your doorstep, you can let your imagination run wild – because you can implement crystal ball photography anywhere.

A good tip for interesting photos is not to position the crystal ball in the middle of the picture every time you take a picture. For example, try shooting the sphere from a side angle or at the edge of the picture. Stay open to new perspectives and dare to experiment.

You can place the glass ball on the floor or hold it in your hand. Depending on which image section you choose, you can integrate your hand into the image.

Here you can see the crystal ball photography in action:

And the last tip: make sure that you position yourself correctly and that you don’t see yourself reflected in the lensball. This will prevent you from being seen on the subsequent image.

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