Lens Flare Cheat Sheet
Hallo,
And welcome to this week’s illuminating newsletter and picture of the week. As you may have guessed this week’s topic is on lighting, and not just any type of lighting, this week we have a cheat sheet on how to get the best lens flare possible. Our subject this week was inspired by this brilliant picture from James Harris.
Photo of the week by James Harris
If you are new to the site, or the newsletter please allow me to explain how this works. The lesson is divided up into three different sections. The first section is specifically for the beginners; it usually begins with a definition and an explanation. Once we’ve made sure you are up on the terminology and technique you can read in confidence. The second section is for intermediates and usually goes into a little explanation of some techniques equipment; the third and final section is designed for advanced photographers or those that have read through the rest of the article. My hope is that this is useful for photographers of every level. So lets get to it, and thank you again James for the spectacular picture.
WHAT IS LENS FLARE?
Strictly speaking when people say lens flare they are usually talking about a ring of light that shows up in the lens in direct rays of light, however, there are other forms that a lens flare can take. A lens flare is excess, non-image creating light that is taken into the lens. This light may be scattered or reflected by elements in the lens, but still shows up as excess. The flare takes the shape of an artifact in the image, and may be a foggy haze, or a ring, the sides of which will be defined by the edges of the aperture, or even other shapes. Keep in mind that a lens flare can make a picture look washed out when used incorrectly.
HOW DO I GET A FLARE?
If you have ever tried to get a lens flare you probably know that it’s a bit more difficult than you would think. This is because most lenses that are manufactured these days have coatings on them to reduce lens flare. Lens hoods can also reduce lens flare. Because the flare is light reflected off of the lens elements zoom lenses are more likely to flare, because they have more elements. So take the hood off your wide-angle lens (they tend to have more elements) and point it into the sun, making sure that you actually want to take a picture what’s in the frame and snap away. Now, many of you are asking right now if shooting directly into the sun will damage your camera. If you are using a DSLR then you will be fine as long as you don’t open the shutter and expose the sensor for too long. This means don’t use the live view mode, use the glass view finder, if you are still worried, or are used to using your live view mode then you might want to invest in a neutral density filter, you can still take a lens flare picture through it but you will not let near as much light hit your sensor.
CHEAT SHEET
Below is a list of ways to use and get incredible lens flare images.
Shoot in Manual mode: Cameras tend to avoid things like lens flare, so if you are letting the camera adjust any of the settings it will attempt to adjust for the flare. Don’t let the camera think for you.
Experiment with positioning: Remember that the lens flare may be a little difficult to control especially as you are reflecting it across multiple lenses. Don’t try to shift around the subject or move too much trying to perfect the image snap the picture and then try for another.
Experiment with lenses: Remember that different lenses produce a different types of flare based on the number of elements and the shape of the shutter. Try different lenses for different effects.
Experiment with shutter speed: The slower the shutter speed the more noticeable the lens flare will be. Try different settings and leave the shutter open for different amounts of time. To do this you might need to close the aperture a bit but that isn’t a problem.
Close the aperture: A smaller aperture will cause a smaller a lens flare, however, this may actually increase the dramatic effect of the flare itself.
Time of day: To shoot a lens flare you need direct light, you can always simulate this with artificial light, but is you are shooting with natural light you will either have to shoot at a very low angle (almost facing directly up) or shoot when the sun is lower on the horizon.
Block the light: Once you have the flare you will need to focus the picture. Focusing with a flare in your face may be difficult so you should block the light until you are focused. You can use just about anything to do this, even your hand.
I hope this was as fun and useful for you to read as it was for me to write!
Thanks,
Travis Mandenberg
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