What’s it like to see inside a drop of water? Check out this video tutorial I made that shows how to do a lensball or glass ball effect with your 360 camera. This post is dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Florence.
Lensball or glass ball photography is a popular type of photography, where you take a photo of a crystal ball (like this) against a background. It can look quite striking. Another method is to use a Soratama lens adapter for macro lenses (you’ll probably need the extension tube as well).
If you have a 360 camera, you can simulate the lensball effect and other variations (such as the floating lensball above) that would be impossible or extremely difficult with a physical lens ball. Here is a tutorial:
The lensball effect can also be used for videos, either by animating the 360 photo, or by using a 360 video. To animate the sphere and the background, you can use apps such as the Theta+ app, then apply a mask to the sphere, and layer them in a video editor such as Adobe Premiere. Here is a tutorial for animating photos with the Theta+ app.
Alternatively, you can use a 360 video, in which case I recommend Insta360 Studio, or Adobe Premiere Pro’s GoPro VR plugin with the VR Reframe effect. Here is a tutorial for Insta360 Studio:
If you found this tutorial helpful, please consider a donation for victims of Hurricane Florence! Thank you!
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