Gallery: Lomography Fisheye Portraits by @nnelly

Originally invented just to see what the world would look like through the eyes of a fish, fisheye lenses gained popularity — especially in the music scene — after its first mass-production during the 1960s. Since then, we’ve seen this uniquely distorted portrait style in magazines, album covers, and everything pop culture. From The Beatles to Harry Styles, we’ve seen decades worth of proof that it's impossible for people not to look insanely cool in a fisheye portrait.

Taking inspiration from a black-and-white fisheye portrait of John Lennon on the set of the film “How I Won the War” in 1967, community member @nnelly adapts a similar style in her LomoHome albums using the Lomography Fisheye One. While film photography itself is challenging enough since you can’t see your results right away, she enjoys adding a layer of risk in shooting with the fisheye lens.

Fisheye photography requires special attention to detail and precision to get the perfect shot — whether you want the subject to be right in the center of the lens or you want to play with perspective.

Don’t mistake these subjects for an up-and-coming rock band! These portraits were entirely shot by Nelly in her hometown, Yerevan, Armenia, with her friends just casually posing for her. To complement them, she also captured the streets, further emphasizing how unique everything around us would look like in this style.

Even if you shoot the same subject multiple times, there's surely a way to make each shot stand out because of all the things you can do with the fisheye lens. This is what we see in Nelly's album as she transforms her friends and her city into cool album cover materials!

Using the Lomography Fisheye One, Nelly's portraits and street shots felt “more dynamic and creative” to her because of the wide perspective of the fisheye lens. The camera’s compact body also lets anybody have a fun and quirky way of documenting candid memories, such as Nelly’s shot of her friend taking shelter inside a small area for shopping carts to protect herself from the rain.

It was so much fun to shoot with — it almost felt like a toy. But once you see the results, you realize it’s definitely not a toy. It’s amazing how much fun you can have capturing with it.

Nelly looks forward to experimenting more with intentional light leaks and double exposures in the future as well as getting her hands on a Fisheye No. 2! Check out her LomoHome and watch out for more of her work!

Can you recall an album cover with a fisheye lens style? Comment below!

written by francinegaebriele on 2025-03-10 #gear #people #black-and-white #portraits #fisheye #album-cover Share Article