Photography Tip: Tilt and Shift Lenses

Posted on 17. Aug, 2010 by Glow Images in Guest Blogger, Recent Posts

Tilt and shift lenses are designed to make you feel like you’re back in college with your old 4 X 5 camera trying to create all those artistic images that you had once made using Photoshop. The only thing is that you don’t have to sit and develop your film and come out with an almost exact finished product. Everything is in your control with these types of lenses. They make you actually have to think! What a concept, especially with digital photography, where anyone can just pick up a camera and be a “photographer”.

©Aurora Open. Image #3914900009.

Depending on what type of lens you are interested in, the Lensbaby is relatively the most inexpensive option. This lens is more known for its special effects then for being pro-level. Anyone could pick this thing up and be able to produce images worth keeping. Lensbaby lets you be creative but at a cost. You do have to deal with no manual focus, your meter system is out the window, and you have to rethink composition. Also, some photographers complain of a little softness on the focus. If you can deal with these issues, this lens may be what you need to spice up your work for a more artsy feel. Using this lens to create selective focus can really be useful when you want to give an image a little more movement or emotion.

If you have a couple grand to spend on a new lens and want to make an investment, and you are Canon fan, Canon came out with a 17mm wide angle tilt and shift lens last year that is compatible with all EOS systems. For the passionate architectural and landscape photographer, you will love this lens. It offers crisp and sharp edge details, and the image quality is excellent. That means less time processing in Photoshop to make all those angles straight and more time actually doing what we love to do, which is taking photographs! The complaint on this one is to be careful about lens flare. This will pick up light in every direction and no lens hood has been made to fit it as of now. Also, this lens does take time and would not be recommended for fast action shots. All in all, any photographer would find this lens a great addition to their collection.

- Jackie of Jacklyn Byrd Photography

To learn more about Jacklyn Byrd Photography, visit jacklynbyrd.com.

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