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Modern Lenses are Boring. So I Made My Own Lens Filter

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 01/30/2025
01/30/2025
7 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Lens filter and beauty dish hack product images 2.81-200s400
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Last Updated on 01/30/2025 by Lara Carretero

Inspired by the Glimmerglass and Pro Mist filters, I wanted to create my own. So one day I was looking at glitter and wondered how it would look if it was over a lens. That’s how I began exploring how to make my own lens filter. Here’s the issue: modern lenses are too clean and too boring. So how do we spice it up a bit? By messing around and embracing a bit of DIY creative freedom.

Why I Made My Own Lens Filter

I love glimmer glass and I also adore the pro mist filter. But I wanted to see how images would look if golden specular highlights were added to each frame. On top of that, I also wanted to add in some diffusion to make things look dreamy. My inspiration, quite frankly, is my favorite. watch.

photography
A close-up of a wrist adorned with a silver mesh band watch, featuring a sleek silver and white face. Enhanced by a lens filter, the watch displays time as light casts shadows on arm hair. The image captivates with its high contrast against the dark background.

I’m an owner and adorer of the Grand Seiko Golden Snowflake. It’s supposed to remind us of the golden sunlight in Japan during the springtime over a snowscape. So every time I look at it, I’m bedazzled by the little bits of golden and how they shimmer in my face.

Gold is beautiful — and this is something I’ve been embracing more and more recently.

No Gatekeeping

I’m not gatekeeping the information around how I made this filter. But instead, I’m just not going to tell you. For most of my life, I’ve been the photographer that found out and discovered awesome things just for everyone else to rip it off and make money for themselves with my idea and hard work. Why should I be the student who did all the work in the group project and doesn’t get most of the credit? Why should I be the exploited factory worker?

I’m not telling anyone how I made this filter because after over 20 years in this industry, I’m sick of not getting the credits I deserve and have worked so hard for.

The Phoblographer puts POCS, women, disabled photographers, and new ones on pedestals all the time only for others to discover them after we cover them. Why can’t we get the credit?

I’m not selling this yet, but I’ll entertain manufacturers talking to me about working together on this.

How It Works

Essentially, this is a modified B+W filter. When light enters the filter at different angles, we get different diffusion and golden shimmer in the photo. So it’s never consistent throughout the frame. I personally love this as it’s how I see. I’m writing this article while recovering from two eye surgeries to prepare me to see 20/20 again. As I look through the world, certain parts of my eyes and angles let me see clearer. That’s what I’m getting with this filter. And I love it.

Sample Images

The filter diffuses the light coming into it. Some of these images were also shot using a flash — which gets softened even more. The look is almost a bit cinematic. But mostly, I think it looks dreamy. There’s a lot of haze and bleeding of light — therefore the details are sometimes muddled.

Recently, a yoga teacher passed something on to me that she was taught. “If you’re flexible, so what.” She said. “If you’re not flexible, so what?”

And I’m applying that thinking here. “If it’s sharp, so what? If it’s not sharp, so what?”

A man with glasses and a leather jacket stands on a city street at night, captured through a subtle lens filter. A hotel sign glows softly in the background, as dimly lit streets and illuminated buildings frame the scene around him.
A man with glasses and a leather jacket stands on a city street at night, captured through a subtle lens filter. A hotel sign glows softly in the background, as dimly lit streets and illuminated buildings frame the scene around him.
A man with short dark hair and glasses stands on a city street at night, wearing a black leather jacket over a light blue shirt. The scene is captured through a lens filter, blurring the vibrant city lights and bustling pedestrians in the background.
A street scene featuring a brick apartment building with balconies, surrounded by trees in autumn foliage. With a subtle lens filter, sunlight casts artistic shadows across the sidewalk and building façade, while several cars are parked along the street.
A glass bottle stands on a dark surface, illuminated by a beam of light filtered through a lens that highlights water droplets on the outside. In the background, vitamin D3 bottles and other blurred objects are visible.
Bright sunlight shines through the trees, enhanced by a lens filter that creates a striking flare effect. A power line and a structure with a ladder are visible against a backdrop of houses and foliage. The scene is slightly hazy, bathed in a soft, golden glow.
A street view with brick buildings on the right, utility wires overhead, and a clear sky. A few people stroll along the sidewalk, and a cyclist rides in the distance. The scene is calm and urban, as if seen through a gentle lens filter enhancing its serene vibe.
Close-up of dry branches with sparse leaves in the foreground, enhanced by a subtle lens filter. Below, train tracks stretch into the distance, surrounded by blurred trees and a pale sky. The image exudes a warm, softly lit atmosphere.
Sunlit bedroom featuring a large potted snake plant near a window, accented by the effect of a lens filter. The room is softly lit with natural light, casting sharp shadows on the bed and walls. Partially drawn curtains and additional plants are visible in the corner.
A clear glass bottle filled with water, partially illuminated by soft backlighting. Through a subtle lens filter, small bubbles cling to the inside surface, creating a sparkling effect. The background remains dark and blurred.
A tree stands in front of houses, with sunlight filtering through its branches like a natural lens filter. The sky is partly cloudy, and power lines stretch above the tree. A logo with the letters RP sits in the bottom right corner.
A metal lattice tower stands tall, partially covered with vines, against a clear sky. The sun is setting behind the tower, casting a warm glow through the structure like a natural lens filter. A building is visible on the right, and vegetation surrounds the base.
A cityscape at sunset is bathed in a warm glow, enhanced by a subtle lens filter. The bare tree and ivy-covered structure stand out against the multi-story building in the background, as the clear sky completes this tranquil scene.
A brick apartment building, viewed through a lens filter, showcases autumn foliage in vibrant shades of green, yellow, and red. Several windows are partly shaded by trees as cars line the street in front of this serene scene.
A blurred image with streaks of light in various colors, including red, blue, and orange, enhanced by a lens filter. The shapes and lines are distorted, giving an abstract appearance. A round logo with the initials PB is in the bottom corner.
Sunlight, as if passing through a gentle lens filter, casts long, soft shadows on a textured fabric surface, creating a warm, golden-brown ambiance.
Sunlight, acting like a natural lens filter, seeps through a chain-link fence, casting intricate shadows on the ground. Blurry trees and a partly clear sky form the backdrop, as obscure objects and fencing detail in the foreground add urban depth to the scene.
Tall potted plants are silhouetted against a window with bright sunlight streaming through, as if viewed through a gentle lens filter. The window is partially covered by dark curtains, creating a warm, backlit ambiance.
A variegated Monstera plant with large, patterned leaves is positioned near a window. Outside, a view of an urban setting with buildings and a street is partially visible. Soft, natural light filters through as if gently enhanced by a subtle lens filter.
In a dimly lit bar scene, a woman stands behind the counter, her conversation with a patron softened by the warm glow of a lens filter. The rustic interior boasts a brick wall, beer taps, and a menu board as other patrons mingle at the bar and tables in the background.
A bar scene unfolds with a bartender expertly serving drinks behind a wooden counter, viewed through a subtle lens filter. Shelves packed with various bottles line the wall, and warm lighting casts a cozy glow. Edison bulbs illuminate the patrons seated at the bar, adding charm to the ambiance.
A person stands on a crosswalk at night in a city scene, viewing the world through the subtle hues of a lens filter. A yellow taxi and a moving bus with motion blur streak by, while buildings and signs form the vibrant backdrop against the deep night sky.
A city street at dusk, viewed through a subtle lens filter, reveals a glowing streetlight illuminating the area. Pedestrians cross at the crosswalk while a brightly lit food stand sits on the corner. Tall buildings rise in the background, framing a bustling yet calm atmosphere.
A turquoise wristwatch with a rectangular face lies on a textured beige surface, partly illuminated by sunlight. A lens filter effect creates shadows of leaves that cast intricate patterns across the scene.

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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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