Top Tips For Increasing Vignetting

We all aspire to have a Holga photograph that looks like this:



The truth is though, its not always that easy to achieve. Below are some top tips for getting as much vignetting as possible.

I hope that they work, and if you have any additional tips then please leave them in a comment below.

1. Remove Your Mask

Removing the mask is one of the best ways to get as much vignetting as possible. It allows a bigger area of film to be exposed to light, and - without getting too technical here - it allows your Holga lens to really work its magic.

2. Shoot slower film speeds

From my experience, the lower the film speed, the more vignetting I seem to get. Avoid using 400asa on bright sunny days. Get some 200 or 125 in there. I noticed a real difference with lower film speeds.

3. Hack The Lens

I will be writing a tutorial about how I hacked my Holga lens to make it vignette more very soon. I basically sanded the edges of the lens to make more blurring. Its an extreme hack, but it works a treat. More on this one soon.

You can probably mimic the effect by smearing vasalene around the edge of your lens. This is a really old photography technique that adds more blur and a more dreamy feel to your photograph.

4. Try With a Flash

Try using your Holga with a flash. I've seen some bad ass vignetting when a flash is used.

That's all for now. I'll be posting more tips very soon.

Labels: Lens, Tips, Tutorials, Vignetting