Lensbaby seems to be the 2020 buzz word in the photography community. These fun lenses and tools have actually been around for many years, but it seems photographers everywhere are adding them to their collection in 2020 to expand their creativity while staying safe at home.

Lensbaby was founded of the premise of encouraging photographer to see in a new way. The lenses are designed to force you to think out of the box, let go over perfection, and break free of expectations. Whether you are looking to challenge yourself, break out of a rut, or simply bust up the boredom of shooting the same old thing, a Lensbaby is the perfect tool to add to your camera bag.

I was recently honored with an invitation to join the Lensbaby Ambassador team to help spread the word on what these amazing products are capable of. I’d like to introduce you to my collection of Lensbaby lenses and what I use them for.

Velvet 28 & 56 - Named for their focal lengths, the Lensbaby Velvet 28 and 56 offer a dreamy, soft focus quality that becomes more pronounced at wider apertures. With a close focusing distance and a 1:2 magnification, the Velvet renders beautiful macro photographs as well as traditional wide angle images. I tend to prefer to shoot at a maximum aperture of f4 to retain some sharpness in my subject.

Lensbaby Edge 35, 50, and 80- The Edge series are my favorite of all the Lensbabies. Offering a tilt shift style slice of focus and a miniature effect when shooting from above, the Edge is whimsical, fun and easy to use. The Edge 80 was my first Lensbaby lens and has since been discontinued, but it remains my favorite to this day. I enjoy using the Edge with a wide range of subjects, but particularly for subject isolation.

Spark 2.0- The newest addition to my collection, this lens is an update to the original Lensbaby created in 2012. It offers a tilt shift effect with a “sweet spot” of focus with smudged style blur surrounding the focal point. Fitted with the Sweet 50 optic, it shoots at a fixed focal length of 50 mm and a maximum aperture of 2.5. This lens offers the biggest challenge to me, as I traditionally perfect a less obvious blur. However, I’m looking forward to expanding my creative thinking with this new toy!

Lensbaby is currently running their 2020 holiday sale, offering 20% off all products. Use code wcarr to receive an additional 10% off, making the sale too good to refuse!

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What is a Lensbaby and Why You Should Get One