Freelensing is a very interesting technique for getting mini-world/tilt-shift like effect. You have to hold the body with one hand and the lens in front of the body with the other hand. Here you can easily tilt your lens to turn the plain of the focus to get interesting results.

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  1. The bayonet of your body will be wide open, so pretty much dust can enter into your sensor. Don’t use your daily working body and try to mitigate the risk by minimizing the open periods.
  2. You should know, how can you shot without a lens actually attached to your body. (Back button focusing technique could help.)
  3. Use A or Av mode and your exposure will be correct. (Your body records 00 (or something like that) for aperture but can calculate good exposure time with that)
  4. Use a middle format lens, because the base distance of those is longer than Leica format lenses and you can easily focus from 1mm to infinity. (This photo was taken with a Zeiss Biometar 80mm F2.8, but Holga lens could be great too.)
  5. Use your widest aperture to let the most of the light hit your sensor and viewfinder. This helps you to focus (or trying to focus 🙂
  6. Take photos from shade to minimize the effect of the light leaks.
  7. Take multiple shots from a scene, because you never be sure about the focus. The more photos you take, the more chance you’ll have a good one.
  8. Try a macro. Put your lens in front of the subject and focus with your other hand by moving the body.
  9. Turn your lens. This will turn the focal flane and transforms the real world into a mini one.
  10. Do post. Do a lot of post. You have to get back the lost dynamic range you’ve lost because of the light leaks. Use levels or auto adjustments in your favorite image editor.