Ever since I started taking photos properly (that is, sometime after being a 16 year old and refusing to read instructions for my camera, let alone not shoot on automatic mode), I’ve been interested in different lenses and how they can change the photos you take.
Working at a small newspaper, my budget for exploring different lens options always fell quite a bit short of what I wanted, in terms of buying new lenses. But I remember buying a cheap (but very handy for its price) Sigma 70-300mm lens and wandering around my parents’ backyard, photographing flowers and insects using the macro function to see how it worked.
I’ve also had my handy little Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens since about that time, and loved the effect the lens has on out-of-focus areas, like this (taken back in 2014):
In the seven or so years since I picked my camera back up and started taking it more seriously, I’ve had the privilege of being able to update and upgrade my photo equipment - and learn my way around it all properly. I hardly ever go to a shoot without taking my Sigma 85mm 1.4 ART lens, which produces some gorgeous background blur like this.
I recently picked up some lens filters from someone on Facebook marketplace, who was looking at off-loading them. In the package they sent me were some star filters.
The Hoya website has a bit more detail on how star filters actually work: essentially, the filters have lines etched in them that manipulate the way that certain lights hit the lens and give them rays emitting in different directions. Star filters usually come with a few variations - in four, six or eight points, meaning lights will have four, six or eight rays emitting from them. They can also have a softening effect on the focus of an image.
I met up with my friend, Karina, for dinner and a photoshoot the other night, and we tried out one of the four-lined star filters I received, on my trusty Nikon 50mm lens.
Here’s a shot outside a restaurant, using the overhead lighting to give a nice, subtle starry effect.
Here’s a little zoom in to see that effect in more detail.
I think the effect worked really nicely, in that it doesn’t distract you or take your eye to the lights in the right hand corner of the image at the very beginning, but just gives the background, out-of-focus area a nice look. However, there was definitely a noticeable drop-off in the sharpness off the image (I was shooting at about f/1.8-f/2, so there wasn’t much sharpness to begin with), so that was an interesting trade-off.
I’d probably recommend shooting at a deeper aperture (say f/4 onwards if possible) to offset the softness of the filter. This is me pulling a number out of thin air, so I’ll give this a go and update this blogpost with the results when I can.
Note: The slightly hexagonal shape of the out-of-focus lights is because of the lens i was using and the way its diaphragm blades are configured. You’ll notice that the smoothness or the quality of the out-of-focus areas will increase as your lenses get pricier (and usually heavier).
Next up for our quick shoot was a Prizum lens filter, created by the very talented Brandon Aguilar, which has a really interesting, almost kaleidoscopic effect on images, thanks to the faceted surface of one half of the filter. I had one of these made up for my Sigma 85mm lens and have had some fun playing with it.
So my first impression when using it was that I found it a bit difficult to auto-focus through the filter, because of the surface. Brandon was great with letting me know that shooting on a wider aperture makes it a bit easier, which was absolutely the case and fixed up any hassles I had. I found myself manual-focusing these photos so I could take the shot a bit quicker, which wasn’t too much of a hassle. The focus, as a result, is a bit off, but not in a way that’s any real detriment unless I decided to print this out at A3/A2 size.
Now, the result on this one kind of speaks for itself. The Prism filter gives some really nice, rainbow streaks across the image, as well as this almost washed-out kind of glow. The effect of that wash-out can be adjusted down in an editing program like Lightroom, with your highlights/contrast sliders, so it’s not too much of an issue. Personally, I like it and try to keep it there (I’m also a huge advocate for keeping the image close to what was taken on the camera, unless you really need to change it, which is debatable).
The area that gets covered in those little rainbow streaks is largely dependent on where the filter is sitting on the lens - because the material covers half of the lens frontage, you can twist it around to change the area it sits. You can also move around to change where the light hits, of course.
This is important to keep in mind, lest you end up with some slightly unwanted results, such as these nice rainbow boogers.
Overall, I’m definitely stoked with the effects that I got from these filters. I’m going to have a bit more of a play around with the star filters I received, to see if there’re ways of accentuating the effect that it gives. If I figure out anything good there, I’ll be sure to update this post or make a new one going into the results.
I’ve had about three shoots so far using the Prizum filter, and I’m besotted with it. It’s a gorgeous, gorgeous filter that gives a very interesting effect. They’re also not super expensive, so if you think this look is up your alley, I’d highly recommend having a look at Brandon’s Etsy site, here.
I will just note as well that I’m not paid or sponsored in any way for this opinion or post. It’s just a bloody lovely and fun filter to use.
These photos were also taken over about five minutes in a crowded street, so I’m sure there are some interesting results you can get when you invest a bit more time into a shoot with these!
And just to finish up, here’s a quick shot of Karina I took with my Sigma 85mm, with just the regular ol’ UV filter on the end.
If you’ve got any questions, or anything you’d like me to cover in an update/a new post, feel free to leave a comment below.
Thanks!