Experimenting with Freelensing: What I Learned, and Tips/Tricks to Help You

Freelensing, have you heard this term before?

Over the years, I've heard the term more than a few times. I knew what it was, but I'd never experimented with it before, that is until the other night.

Freelensing is a technique of taking photos where the lens is not firmly mounted to the camera. By not mounting the lens to the camera, focusing is accomplished by moving the lens in or out and tilting the lens until the portion of the image you want is in focus. Also, by not mounting the lens on the camera you lose the ability to control the lens's aperture, but you introduce a very cool effect and have the added benefit of achieving in camera light leaks.

So the other night I was sitting with my son as he took a bath, as I often do. He was content playing in his bubbles by himself, so I took the time to break out the camera with the hopes of catching him doing something totally silly. As I sat there with my 50mm f1.4 lens mounted on the camera, he was being mostly subdued in his bath antics and I was a little bored, so I decided on the spot to try my hand a freelensing.

Here's what I did:
- Before popping the lens off the camera I set the f-stop to 1.8 and focused on where my son was knowing that as soon as I took the lens off I would lose the ability to auto-focus and adjust the aperture.
- Holding the camera with one hand and the lens with the other, I held the lens up to the camera connection and moved it in and out, and tilted it left, right, up, and down to get a feel for focusing with it.
- After I had a feel for it, I started taking a few photos.  As I did, I noticed that that I had to be a lot more cognizant of where the focus was because anytime my son would move it took a few seconds to refocus.
- I also noted where my light sources were and how/where I was getting some light leaks.
- After some thinking, I took the lens off again and went back to shooting to practice some of the things I'd come to understand.

All-in-all, I'm happy with the results of my first experiment with freelensing.  I learned a whole lot, and I've compiled some of what I learned into the tips/tricks and considerations below.

The shots below are from my freelensing experimentation. To better help you out, I've decided to share my setup with you.

Camera:  Canon 5D Mk III
Lens:  Canon 50mm f1.4 - set to f1.8
ISO:  125
Shutter:  1/160 to 1/200
Lighting:  Ambient light + 1 x Lumopro LP180 set at 1/32 power and 24mm; the speedlight was set off to the right on the sink, and was triggered by a Pocket Wizard Plus III.

- Having shot in the bathroom before, I knew the lighting was horrible, hence the use of a speedlight.
- Only basic edits were done in post processing.  For the edits I used the presets from my MHP Preset Starter Pack (Basic, White Balance, Sharpening, Grain, etc).

Freelensing Tips/Tricks:
Here area a few tips/tricks that will help you as you experiment with freelensing.

1. Set the focal length and aperture before removing the lens from the camera
   Depending on your camera and lens, your lens may default to the highest aperture when you disconnect it.  For Canon shooters like me, this shouldn't be an issue.
   
2. Set your manual focus before you disconnect
   Most freelensing is done with the lens's focus set to infinity which is not a big deal when you have space to work with.  Working in a smaller space, you'll have better luck if you're lens is pre-focused to an area before removing it.
   
3. Stationary subjects are easier to photograph
   Taking a photo of a stationary subject makes focus easier all the time, but with freelensing it is even more difficult to adjust the focus if your subject is moving fast or erratic.  Either be ready to adjust your focus on the fly (the slower option), or pick a focal area and wait for your subject to pass through it.
4. Predicting and capturing light leaks.
   Take note of your light sources.  Adjusting the lens in a way that creates a gap between the lens and the camera body/sensor on the side of the light source will enable more light to leak in from that side.  To minimize the light leaks, create the lens/camera gap on the opposite side from your light source; doing this will reduce the light leaks you see and capture.
   
5. Understand and utilize the exposure triangle and adjust as necessary
   The exposure triangle (shutter speed, f-stop, and ISO) combine to help you properly expose your photo.  During freelensing your f-stop is static forcing you to adjust only shutter speed and ISO.  Also, keep in mind that if you're using flashes you will most likely be forced to a max shutter speed of 1/200.
   
6. Practice
   Like most things in life, you're not going to get better without practice.  If you find you like freelensing - practice, practice, practice.  Being able to nail the focus you want consistently is going to take time, patience, and practice.

Things to consider:​

1. You're camera's sensor is exposed to the elements.  Not normally a big deal, but keep in mind your environment - water, sand, dirt, etc. can all effect the sensor and potentially severely damage it.  So make sure you clean it regularly, and try to avoid putting your camera in a situation where this could happen.
2. You need to be able to hold and control your camera with one hand; the other hand is going to be busy with the lens.  If you are afraid of dropping the lens or camera, perhaps freelensing isn't the best thing to try at that moment.
3. There are other ways to achieve the freelens'd look.  One that I'm most familiar with are the lenses from Lensbaby.  Lensbaby lenses give you the skewed focus, but can't give you the light leaks you'd get from freelensing.  Lensbaby offers a variety of lenses to choose from and can get a little pricey, but in my opinion are highly worth it, especially if you love the look.
   
   You can check out Lensbaby's products on their web site:  www.lensbaby.com

Hopefully, my experience and tips/tricks will help you out as you try freelensing.  I'd love to see how your experimentation with freelensing goes.  Feel free to tag me in Instagram so I can see!  You can find me on Instagram at @markhamilton.photos