Stylized Portraits with the Petzval 85 Art Lens: An Interview with Yamato from Japan

Yamato, a 25-year-old photographer based in Japan, is an active Instagram user with over 4,000 followers from all over the world. He also takes highly stylized photographs with the Petzval 85 Lens, giving his images a distinct and slightly moody look.

Name: Yamato
Instagram: @yamato1226

Please introduce yourself to our fellow Lomographers.

Hello, I’m Yamato. Photography is my hobby and I usually take portraits. When I talk about portraits, I don’t mean those portraits of models. I usually hang out with my friends who are also passionate about photography and we would take portraits of each other.

What was your first impression of the Lomography Petzval 85 Art Lens?

The experience was very sensational, when I first saw the swirly bokeh effect through the viewfinder. I sparked a lot of ideas on photographing with this effect and it was really exciting.

How was your experience shooting portraits with Lomography Petzval 85 Art Lens?

At the beginning, it was a bit difficult for me to adjust the correct settings to get the swirly bokeh effect. I tried to adjust the distance between the lens and the object, and the distance between the object and background, so as to get the bokeh effect I want. After getting more experience shooting with the lens and figuring out which distance would work best for me, I’m able to take good control of the bokeh effect and it has brought me new ways of photographing things.

Please share your favorite Petzval shot and the story behind it.

It was actually raining when I took this photo but the raindrops became great round-shaped bokeh at the background, making the swirly bokeh effect more visible. It was so impressive!

Do you have any advice or suggestions for new or future Petzval users?

Like what I said, the distance between the lens and object and the distance between object and background are really important if you want to create a nice swirly bokeh effect. Having a good grasp of how different distances would produce different effects, you’ll be able to take some really interesting and nice photos. I recommend you all to find our your own preferable distance between these three elements.

written by karenatsoi on 2015-07-07 #gear #people #lifestyle #review