Wedding photographers: want a fun trick to create unique wedding photos?! Use FRACTALS! I’m going to talk alllll about fractals, prisms, & more in this blog post for you so let’s just get into it!

What are fractals?

First of all, what the heck even is a “fractal?”

Here’s how the Fractals website describes the fractals they sell:

“Augment your photos slightly or create kaleidoscope-like effects. Fractals adapt to your ever-changing shooting habits, shooting style, and environment. Our patented PrismaLed optics give photographers more brilliant reflections than normal glass—giving you more vibrant shots, reflective rainbows, clarity, and more.

Fractal Filters are made to enhance your creativity—allowing you to modify or move the filter to supplement the subject you’re shooting exactly as you’d like to. The filters are hand held with an ultra-clean, reflective aluminum handle allowing you to position the filter in front of your lens exactly as you’d like.”

Basically, they are a SUPER fun way to add some flair + spice to any photos you take!! If you’re like me, you might get bored of consistently taking the same types of photos or posing people the same way after a while. Nothing against our clients, of course – we just need to keep finding new ways to be creative + try new things and challenge ourselves!

And fractals are the bestttt way to start doing that.

Why use fractals?

If you’re feeling bored, not creative, or burnt out, my top tip is always to try something new and challenge yourself in some new way. Fractals are a hella easy way to do that, and your clients will LOVE it!!

Fractals and prisms allow you to totally spice up your photos in a simple way – by warping the light that your camera is bringing in and changing up the shapes that are in your photo. By holding a fractal in front of your lens, you’re bouncing light off different areas of it and into your lens and creating shapes + figures that wouldn’t normally be there! Honestly, fractals just make photos look so cool and unique!!

They are also great to hide objects that you can’t really move out of frame.

Thick glass fractals are heavy to carry around (and you’ll want to be careful bringing them on a carry-on, since some airports think they’re weapons, lol), but they’re sooo fun to use. I use them all the time now and my couples literally love when I pull them out!!

Where to buy fractals

You can get fractals and prisms a few different places!

My personal favorite fractals come from the Fractals website, and you get 3 different shaped fractals for $120. You can find these same ones on Amazon too, but they’re out of stock at the time I’m writing this. 

Amazon has lots of other prism options too, like this 4-pack of different-shaped prisms and this fun kaleidoscope glass prism!

If you want to start with something simple, you can get these 3 triangular prisms off Amazon.

How to use fractals during your sessions

I love using fractals during sessions because typically we’re not on as much of a time crunch as we are for photos on wedding days!

If the sunlight is super bright and beautiful, I’ll pull out my fractals and use them to bounce light in different directions. I’ll have my couples following a prompt or a pose, get the normal photos of it, and then try out a few different shapes of fractals to see what I like best. Don’t be afraid to play around with these – hold them at different angles, different distances away from your lens, etc. You can create sooo many different effects with just one glass fractal!

Even if it’s cloudy or overcast outside, fractals are great because you can use them simply for shapes and creative flair too, without bright sunlight. Use a circular fractal to highlight your couple in the middle of the circles, or to bring the focus to a certain part of them in the photo.

Just play around and figure out what looks best in the situation you’re in!

How to use fractals to create unique wedding photos

For unique wedding photos, take all the same tips I mentioned above and do the same thing as you would during a session! But you can also do a few more things:

• At receptions, when it’s dark out and maybe there are lights on the dance floor, use your fractals to create a super fun party effect. If everybody is dancing the night away, add more of that feel/vibe to the photos with some wild shapes!
• Use fractals to highlight certain details when taking detail photos. If you’re taking photos of a couple’s rings, use a circular fractal to highlight the rings and block out distractions around them. 
• If there are any objects in the frame of a photo that you don’t like, say when you’re doing sunset portraits with the couple, use a fractal to block it out and keep the focus on the couple!

I hope this gave you some fun ideas on how to spice up your next session or wedding – your clients will love it and will have so much fun with their unique + creative photos!! Check out a full gallery with some fracturals here!