You have probably seen more these glass ball photos showing up on your social media feeds recently. Glass ball photography is not a new thing and belongs to a kind of photography called refraction photography.
Photographers can think about the glass ball as been a portable fish eye lens. A ball made of glass is a convex spherical lens which will bend the rays of light due to the difference of refractive index between the glass and the surrounding air. It is observed and can be calculated by the law of refraction that the focal point is outside the ball producing an inverted image.
Glass ball photography is also known as crystal ball photography (which is a quite misleading term as we will explain later). Used by street artists for contact juggling with them , they are recently marketed for photography and rebranded them as lensball.
Many glass balls on the market are not made of crystal (which contains lead) but of crystal K9 which is a Chinese Optical Borosilicate Crown. It is a crystal with low imperfections used to make or prism and lenses. K9 is lighter and cheaper than leaded glass.
Which Size a Lens ball is Best for Crystal Ball Photography ?
Glass balls of different diameters can be found on the market: 30 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm, 80 mm. A popular size for photography seems to be 80 mm which is a good compromise between image size and weight. Smaller balls like the 30 mm will easy to squeeze into small spaces compared to a 80 mm.
Where can I buy a lensball ?
You can avoid companies selling glass ball for photography purpose as they charge more and try to sell accessories like stands at a premium price. Like filters , it is recommended to buy a good quality glassball i.e one with no imperfections (bubbles) and with clarity. A 80 mm glass ball goes for USD 30 on Amazon these days, just be sure to read the reviews before.
How to handle a lens ball ?
As soon you receive your glass ball, it is s recommended to put it in a soft pouch to avoid scratches. We also recommend to wipe it before each shot to avoid digital prints as they can be visible on your shots. Use the provided stand if the surface might scratch the glass. You can hold the glass ball in front of you and shoot with your free hand althought it requires soem practise. Even better, you can ask someone to hold it for you so you can concentrate more on the composition.
How to use a glass ball to make abstract pictures?
If you are shooting from above when the lens ball is on the ground, the latter acts like a magnifier. It is particularly interesting to look for abstract pattern like textile, wood or sand for example.
How to use a lens ball in portrait photography?
You first need to find a cooperative subject to hold the glass ball:) He or she will have to hold the glass at a distance where the image can be seen. After that you wil have to fid thecorrect level to shoot while looking inside the ball.
What camera lens is best for glass ball photography ?
It really depend it you intend to show the environment around the glass ball in this case a wide angle lens from 17 to 24 mm (35 mm equivalent) is recommended.
