Glass ball photography is a creative genre of photography where a glass or crystal ball is placed in front of the camera lens and a photograph taken of the view within the ball. Due to the nature of light refraction within the lens the image within the ball will be upside down, so it is common to rotate the photo in post-production or to shoot through the glass ball with the camera upside down. It is highly suited as an addition to your landscape photography gear.
THIS TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY MEANS TO LOVE SMALL WORLDS
The image within the glass or crystal ball looks like a small spherical planet. This creates the illusion of a 360-degree view within the crystal ball.
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Glass ball or crystal ball photography
We have defined this genre as being glass ball photography rather than lens ball or crystal ball photography. This is because crystal can be a muddier sub-genre of glass and it does have properties that can create a rainbow effect with light. Depending on the production process of standard glass balls they may have a green tinge when made with iron. Others will have a blue tinge when made with soda-lime. Green glass tends to be stronger than blue due to the composition and production process.
This type of photography is a popular type of photography for anyone. The glass ball is easily transported in your pocket or camera bag. In this way the photographer can create unusual and interesting photographs at most locations.
Aperture techniques
There are many techniques for photographing through the glass. Using a shallow aperture will blur out the background elements outside of the glass ball, whilst a deeper depth of field will bring both the image within the ball and outside landscape into focus. Experiment with both settings and see which results you prefer.
Photography ideas
Other photography ideas include getting up close to the glass ball to fill the photo with the image within the ball. If it is possible have the subject within the glass ball lit brightly. This is so that the subject is composed brighter than the surrounding scene. An example is to have the ball in front of the camera with a sunrise or sunset behind the glass ball.
Portfolio
Build a website portfolio of your creative photography images and display them on your social media accounts at TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Have fun with glass ball photography!
There is so much to see in a tiny world within a glass ball in glass ball photography.
