Freelensing Photography Technique

What Is The Freelensing Photography Technique?

Freelensing is when you hold your lens in front of your camera rather than mounting it, allowing you to:

• Manually shift the focus plane for a tilt-shift effect.

• Create dreamy bokeh and light leaks by letting small amounts of light spill onto the sensor.

• Shoot macro without a macro lens by pulling the lens slightly away.

• Get an artistic, imperfect, film-like aesthetic with soft focus and unpredictable blur.

It’s used for portraits, landscapes, macro photography, and experimental art photography.

How to Do Freelensing

1. Use a Prime Lens (50mm is Ideal)

• The best lenses for freelensing are old manual focus primes (like a 50mm f/1.8 or 35mm f/2).

• Avoid heavy zoom lenses—they’re harder to hold and control.

2. Set Your Camera to Manual Mode

• Aperture: Open wide (f/1.8–f/2.8) for a dreamy look.

• Shutter Speed: Keep it fast (1/200s or faster) to avoid blur from movement.

• ISO: Adjust as needed, but keep it low for cleaner images.

3. Detach the Lens and Hold It Slightly Away from the Camera

• Carefully remove the lens and hold it just in front of the mount.

• Tilt it slightly to shift the focus plane in different directions.

• Move the lens closer or farther to find focus.

4. Experiment with the Light Leaks & Blur

• Rotate the lens slightly to introduce dreamy edge blur.

• Let in small light leaks for a hazy, ethereal glow.

• Pull the lens slightly forward for a macro effect—great for close-ups of textures, flowers, or eyes.

Freelensing Effects & How to Achieve Them

• Tilt-Shift Look (Selective Focus) → Tilt the lens to shift focus in an unusual way (like one eye sharp, one blurry).

• Fake Macro Photography → Pull the lens slightly away from the body to magnify close subjects.

• Light Leaks for Vintage Aesthetics → Let a little side light hit the sensor for glowing, film-like effects.

Some Final Advice

• Sensor Exposure → Since your lens isn’t attached, dust can get in. So you might want to only do this in clean, dust-free environments.

• No Electronic Connection → Autofocus and aperture control won’t work, so you must manually adjust settings.