What is Lomography? Is it for me?

Lomography is an art form that was born out of a need to escape the limitations and restrictions imposed by modern technology. Lomographers try to be creative, think outside the box, and explore their artistic side in a way that many people never feel comfortable doing. It’s not about what you can do with your camera; it’s about what your imagination can create!

Lomography

What Exactly Is Lomography?

Lomography is the art of taking pictures with a Lomograph camera, which is a toy camera that was originally introduced to the market in the 1900’s. Lomographs rely on the flaws and unpredictability of these cameras, rather than on their sophisticated technology, for their artistic effects. The photographs taken with these cameras often have blurry and distorted images; photographers often use light painting, long exposures, double exposures and multiple exposures to produce effects and unusual patterns. In addition to the artistic effects, Lomography also encourages photographers to get away from their computer screens and go out into the world to take pictures.

Is It for Me?

If you already have a creative side but feel limited by modern technology or if you are just looking for an easy way to try something different with your camera, then lomography might be perfect for you! All that’s required is a little imagination! There are many options available when it comes to choosing a film camera; some models require special light settings while others allow photographs in either color or black and white. Once you’ve chosen which model best fits your needs, all that’s left is deciding how much of yourself should go into each picture: not too little and not too much!

What Makes Lomography so Unique?

Lomography is a different type of photography because it focuses on the “whole” picture and not just one moment. You can see how this differs in the way that you might take a photo of someone walking down the street. When you shoot them with a camera, you might focus on their legs and feet in movement. But with lomography, you’ll get both the person and their surroundings in one frame. So you’ll see a person’s head, torso and legs in the frame even though they aren’t completely stationary.

Lomography is not just about taking photos but also bringing back memories by creating an experience for both the camera user and viewer of their pictures. Instead of doing something new all the time with your lomo cameras, this type of photography has its own way to capture light that makes everything look different than what we typically expect from modern digital cameras or smartphones! You can experiment with long exposures, color effects like cross processing which colors slides in unusual ways when developed; along with many other things to discover how unique each picture will turn out! It doesn’t matter if your images are blurry or whether there are multiple people in one shot. You can give yourself permission to break all the rules and discover your own style.

Lomography’s Golden Rules

Lomography’s Golden Rules:

We don’t care about what you do – we only care about that the camera is in front of you.

Don’t use a tripod or flash.

Make your own photographs using roll or sheet film, not instant-shoot cameras.

Always shoot from the hip, never from the eye-level.

Avoid screen-looking shots. That means no selfies!

What Equipment Should You Use for Lomography?

The answer to this question is as diverse and complex of an art form itself. There are a wide variety of different equipment sets available, but if one has only two options then I would recommend getting something with color filters or polarizing lenses because they provide more creative possibilities than black-and white film does.

You’ll need a Lomo camera and some film. You can also get creative and look for other items you might be able to use in place of a camera, to give your Lomographs an individualized flair.

You can also find a wide range of equipment from old school film cameras, point-and shoots with Schneider Kreuznach lenses or cheap 35mmpoints pro shots such as toy cameras and Magic Lanterns which will give your photos an otherworldly feel!

How to Re-Create the Lomography Effect in Photoshop

The Lomographic influence is evident in an artfully blurred photo, usually created by the use of a lens with a narrow depth of field. A typical effect is to use this technique to create an image with selective focus on one or two subjects, with the rest of the image blurred. This is most often done on purpose by blurring out part of the photo.

Obtaining this effect in Photoshop can be done fairly easily. It can be achieved by using some standard blur filters along with modifying which part of the photo you are focusing on. To start, you’ll need to open your photograph in Photoshop and click Filter > Blur > Radial Blur . Next, adjust the amount slider until you have reached your desired level of blurring.

The next step is to use the zoom tool to focus on your main subject, while making sure that everything else in the image is blurred out almost completely. Once you have done this, go back over your photo and adjust the radial blur by clicking Filter > Blur > Radial Blur . You can move around or even resize your focal point before adjusting it again until you are happy with how much of what’s surrounding it is visible compared to focused. The last thing you need to do is decide if there needs some additional color correction or maybe a bit of sharpening for good measure! Now get creative using these new techniques! If needed, undoing steps along the way will not affect any changes made once they are saved.

Lomography Photo Ideas

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Conclusion

At its core, Lomography presents itself as being photography for everyone—and that includes you! The best way to understand if something like this would work for you? Try it out yourself!