DIY photography filters

I love taking pictures–I’m an amateur with a lot to learn and that’s okay. Maybe that’s what makes it fun. I love to experiment and try new things. I use a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and I’m not sure if that camera can take a bad picture. Because my husband and I have a business creating handmade jewelry and accessories, I take a lot of pictures of my jewelry {and other things too!}. I want to create that magical shot that captures the heartfelt meaning behind every handmade design.

Today I tried partially covering my lens in 3 ways to see what kind of results I would get. I used a hair band to attach the object to my lens. I tried an olive branch, tissue paper and twinkle lights. The images are straight from my camera and unedited.

Check this out!

To start I cut a twig of olive branch leaves and attached it to my 50mm fixed lens with a hair band. This is high tech, folks!

It created some natural streaks in the foreground. I think it adds interest to the image–especially with the olive branch next to the jewelry box.

This is the sunburst necklace. Do you know that feeling; when you’re walking through a dark time and you’re wondering if hope or joy are even possible? Your heart is grieving. and then you feel it–just a hint of light. The smallest ray of hope and you hold onto it as tightly as you can. The sunburst necklace captures that glimmer of hope. 

The sunburst necklace has powerful meaning–you can see why I want the photography to tell that story! Find the sunburst necklace here.

The second filter I used what tissue paper, torn in the. center and the attached to my 50mm fixed lens with a hair band. {I still haven’t put away all our Christmas wrapping paper–so it was right there, available for me! Sometimes it pays to procrastinate!}

Oh my gosh aren’t these results magical? The tissue paper creates soft, blurry edges and with the center of the lens unblocked we get a clear image of one of my favorite necklaces–the Open Circle necklace.

A circle complete and whole. Each of us is part of the whole—together we are stronger and better. Every person is unique and precious. Every soul matters. This is the meaning behind the Open Circle necklace. Find the Open Circle necklace here.

I pulled the tissue back a bit more and got this shot of the Sunburst Necklace. It created softer bits of blurriness–so pretty.

I really went on a limb here and tied some twinkle bubble lights around my 50mm fixed lens. I was laughing as I did it–and also super curious to see what kind of results I would get. Check out this pic of my Artisan Pearl earrings. The lights created some bokeh around the edges of the photo. This image isn’t edited! So magical and fun.

These earrings are forged by hand to create an extra long, gold-filled stem and finished with a freshwater pearl. The result is clean and absolutely stunning. The pearl represents grace and beauty. Perfect with jeans and white tee or your favorite black dress. Find the artisan pearl earrings here.

Louis allowed me to photograph him with twinkle bubble lights tied to my camera lens in exchange for some dog treats. He’s such a cutie. He’ll pretty much do anything for a treat–even give me a head tilt!

I decided to try these same techniques with my iPhone.

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The first image above left is with a small olive branch partially blocking the lens. I could have taped it to my iPhone case but I just held it with my other hand. I think it’s fun–like I’m looking through leaves to take the pic.

The second image I used some tissue paper with the center torn out. The blur isn’t quite as soft but it does create some foreground noise that’s kind of fun.

The last image is using bubble twinkle lights. This one was a lot trickier and I didn’t love the results. It’s just some round orbs in the foreground without that magical bokeh.

Which one is your favorite? Have you tried playing with real life filters? Hmm, I wonder what other things I could use for filters?

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