Lensbaby on Shotkit | A Peek at the Camera Gear of the World’s Best Photographers

Lensbaby lenses have the power to make your work truly stand out! So it's no surprise that some of the world's best photographers like to keep a Lensbaby or two in their gear bag. Mark from the popular gear site

Hey guys, this is Mark here from Shotkit. It’s great to write a few words here on the Lensbaby blog – there are so many inspirational stories here!

Shotkit is a popular resource for all things photography and gear related – it’s a friendly environment for everyone from beginners to pros to ask questions, learn about photography, and have a snoop at the camera gear used by talented photographers from around the world.

After receiving so many submissions to Shotkit from photographers from all over the world, we’ve been given a unique insight into the most popular gear in use today… and of course, Lensbaby is a name that keeps cropping up!

The Lensbaby Edge as used by Missouri wedding photographer Ashley Fisher.

Aside from the growth in popularity of innovative creative devices such as the Lensbaby line of products, we’ve also witnessed other trends emerge in the photography industry – most notably, the rapid growth of mirrorless cameras.

Not a day goes by without receiving a handful of questions and comments from Shotkit fans regarding the latest Fuji X-mount or Sony Alpha mirrorless lens – clear indicators of the popularity among all levels of photographers.

A couple of years ago, I too made the switch to a more compact mirrorless camera for my own wedding photography work earlier this year to accommodate the amount of traveling I do for destination weddings – being able to travel with just one carry on camera backpack is incredibly liberating!

Using a mirrorless camera is also a huge benefit when shooting with a Lensbaby – more on that in a moment…

Another change in the industry is the slow movement of users away from the Adobe Creative Cloud platform. Ever since Adobe forced users into a monthly subscription-based plan, photographers have been looking for a Lightroom alternative that could be bought ‘outright’.

Skylum Luminar seems set to be a hot contender for the title, but whatever way you choose to edit your photos, it’s nice to know there are still great ways to get creative with your photography before it even reaches post-production, by using certain unique tools such as the Lensbaby.

The Lensbaby Composer Pro with Sweet 50 as used by London fashion photographer Jake Hicks.

As for Shotkit photographers shooting with Lensbaby products, it’s great to witness a rise in creative photography that may not have been previously possible… at least, without expensive (dedicated) tilt-shift lenses, or hard-to-procure vintage manual lenses.

More and more wedding photographers, for example, are realizing the unique benefits of using a Lensbaby Composer Pro II to add magical out-of-focus areas in their images.

Being able to selectively blur distracting elements, or simply to add interest to an otherwise banal image is a powerful tool in any photographer’s arsenal of photography tricks.

Recently, I traveled to Bali to cover a destination wedding and chose to pack the lightweight and compact Sol 45

Being able to throw areas of my images out of focus was fun, and I’m confident my clients will love the unique look.

Sol 45 | Gold Hat Photography

Sol 45 | Gold Hat Photography

Sol 45 | Gold Hat Photography

Sol 45 | Gold Hat Photography

Sol 45 | Gold Hat Photography

Using focus peaking on my Sony mirrorless camera in conjunction with the manual focus of the Sol 45 was a revelation. It’s no longer necessary to shoot multiple images in the hope of getting one in focus – just twist the lens barrel and wait until the ‘dancing ants’ march around the area you want in focus.

Lensbaby is doing a great thing for the photography industry, by providing unique and innovative creative tools at affordable prices.

In this competitive industry in which so many of us work, any tool that encourages us to think outside the box, to create something that helps our work stand out from the sea of other photographers is a huge benefit.

The Lensbaby Velvet 56 as used by Appalachian-based fine art landscape photographer Michele Sons.

If you’re reading this and thinking that you’d like to have your photography featured on Shotkit, then come on over and get involved! Whether you own one camera or ten, we’d love to have you on-board!

To get more inspirational content like this delivered straight to your inbox sign up to our newsletter now!