Anamorphic

This is a body of work I shot for a commercial client using a single 50mm vintage anamorphic lens. I wanted to bring a cinematic aesthetic to the lifestyle photography that grounded the campaign.

Anamorphic lenses were originally designed to “squeeze” a 70mm image onto a 35mm piece of film. The image was subsequently “de-squeezed” when it was project onto a screen. This was a way for Hollywood to get a widescreen image using conventional film. Today, this “de-squeeze” happens digitally.

The anamorphic process crates optical qualities that do not occur with spherical (conventional) lenses. It creates a native wide screen aspect ratio (generally 2.39:1), unique horizontal flares when shooting backlit in certain conditions, oval bokeh, and pleasing edge distortion. In addition, because these lenses are designed to shoot major motion pictures, they have optical qualities not found in conventional still photography lenses.

Creative Director: Christina Speed

Art Director: Cari Carmean