Behind the Scenes: Lensbaby Fashion Photography

Behind the Scenes: Lensbaby Fashion Photography

Lensbaby’s selective-focus optics are usually associated with dreamy, casual portraits rather than high-fashion editorial work. This behind-the-scenes breakdown covers what happened when a Lensbaby Composer Pro kit, paired with bare-bulb lighting and heavy color, was pushed into a full fashion shoot instead of its more typical use case. The full editing process for this shoot is covered in Color and Lighting Effects: Master 1 Photoshop Fashion Trip.

Understanding the Lensbaby Composer Pro Kit

Before getting into how the lenses were used creatively, it helps to understand what the kit actually consists of.

1. Learn the Base System and Available Optics

   The Composer Pro is the base housing that swaps between different optic inserts. In this case, a Sweet 35 optic, which creates a radial blur toward the edges of the frame, and an Edge 80, which produces a slice of focus rather than a circular one.

Building a Look From Reference Photography

Rather than starting from scratch, the visual direction for this shoot was informed by studying established fashion photographers’ work.

2. Build an Inspiration Wall

   Collect and display reference images from photographers whose work matches your intended style, which here included Michael David Adams, Mert and Marcus, and Rankin, to establish a consistent lighting and color direction before shooting.

Shooting With Bare Bulb Lighting for the First Time

A significant departure from typical studio practice was shooting almost entirely with bare bulb lighting rather than any softening modifiers.

3. Remove Softboxes and Reflectors

   Shoot directly from the strobe’s bare bulb, without a softbox, umbrella, or reflector modifying the light, for a harder, more direct quality of light across the frame.

Why Bare Bulb Lighting Introduces New Challenges

Without a modifier softening and spreading the light, a bare bulb produces harder shadows and more dramatic falloff than a typical softbox setup. That harder quality can look striking in the right context, but it also demands more careful positioning since there is no diffusion to hide small placement mistakes.

Adding Color and Controlling Spill With Gels and Flags

With no modifier in place, color gels were applied directly onto the light source itself, and flags kept that color from spilling where it was not wanted.

4. Tape Gels Directly Over the Bulb

   Tape a color gel directly over the bare bulb or its protective cone, since there is no softbox or reflector front to clip a gel onto.

5. Position a Flag Beside the Light

   Mount a flag on a light stand beside a gelled light to block spill from hitting the background, keeping a clean separation between the color on your subject and the tone of your backdrop.

Directing Poses Using Printed or Digital References

Fashion posing benefits enormously from concrete visual references rather than verbal direction alone.

6. Show Models Reference Poses Directly

   Pull reference images, printed or on a phone, and show them directly to your model, letting them imitate a specific pose rather than trying to describe it verbally.

Recognizing Forced Poses and Demonstrating Better Ones Yourself

A pose that feels physically uncomfortable to hold tends to read as uncomfortable in the final photograph as well, and stepping into a pose yourself can clarify what you are actually asking for far better than verbal description.

7. Watch for Visible Tension

   If a model looks visibly tense or strained in a pose, use a quick shake-it-out reset, having them shake off the pose entirely and start fresh, rather than pushing through an uncomfortable position.

8. Try the Pose in the Model’s Position

   Step in front of the camera and try the pose yourself, feeling out how the body needs to move and how the space works, before stepping back behind the camera and directing your model into the same position.

Why Demonstrating Beats Only Describing

A pose that sounds simple to describe verbally can be genuinely awkward or unclear to actually execute. Physically trying it yourself first reveals practical details, such as where weight needs to shift and which direction feels natural, that are much harder to communicate through words alone.

Planning for More Looks Than You Actually Need

Not every planned shot from an ambitious shoot list will turn out as intended, so building in some buffer matters.

9. Set an Ambitious Goal and Expect Some Misses

   Aim for more looks than you strictly need. A goal of 20 looks that yields 15 usable ones still leaves you with a strong final set, since a couple of attempts not working out is normal rather than a sign of a failed shoot.

Relying on a Skilled Team for Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe

A fashion shoot’s overall look depends heavily on specialists working outside of the photographer’s own expertise.

10. Build a Team of Specialists

    Work with a dedicated wardrobe stylist, makeup artist, and hair stylist rather than trying to handle every visual element yourself. Each contributes expertise that meaningfully shapes the final images.

Using Two Models and Unfamiliar Gear to Break Routine

Working with more than one model solves a practical scheduling problem that slows down single-model shoots, and deliberately using unfamiliar equipment forced new problem-solving that a more familiar setup would not have required.

11. Alternate Between Two Models

    Photograph one model while the other has hair, makeup, and styling touched up for their next look, alternating back and forth so there is little to no downtime between setups.

12. Try Gear Outside Its Typical Use Case

    Consider applying equipment normally associated with one style, like a Lensbaby’s usual casual, dreamy applications, to a completely different genre such as high fashion, to see what new problems and solutions emerge.

Why Two Models Increase Overall Output

Hair, makeup, and wardrobe changes take real time, and a single model sitting through each change means the camera sits idle. Alternating between two models keeps the camera working constantly, which is part of how this shoot managed to get through so many distinct looks in a single day.

More Free Photoshop Tutorials

If you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes lighting and gear breakdown, these free tutorials cover related lighting and color techniques worth exploring next:

• How to Color Grade in Photoshop Using Camera Raw
• Understanding Color Channels in Photoshop
• Three Ways to Use Blend If

Why This Approach Works

Applying a piece of equipment against its typical genre, a selective-focus, casual-portrait lens system used for a high-fashion editorial, produced results specifically because the shoot committed fully to the unconventional choice rather than treating it as a gimmick. Bare bulb lighting, gelled and flagged carefully, and a full inspiration-driven reference process gave the unusual lens optics a genuinely considered, professional context to work within. The practical decisions around team, model count, and shot volume mattered just as much as the creative gear choice, since none of the visual experimentation would have mattered without an efficient, well-supported shoot to actually execute it.

Final Thoughts

The real lesson from this shoot is not really about Lensbaby optics specifically. It is about the value of deliberately pairing unfamiliar gear or techniques with a genre they are not typically used for. Building a strong reference wall, being willing to demonstrate poses yourself, and structuring the shoot around two alternating models are all practices worth carrying into any ambitious shoot, regardless of which lens ends up on the camera.

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