I am going to confess right now that I read ahead last week, and while I was out shooting silhouettes of horses, I took advantage of the very low sun in the sky to do some lens flare work. There.....it's out.....and I feel much better.
Another confession: I'm not a real fan of lens flare. I don't like "haze" in general, although I have admired some well done haze in the past. I like clearer photos.
How do you get lens flare? Well, do you know how it hurts to look into the sun? Our lenses feel the same way (and you can almost go blind doing lens flare work...LOL, or so I discovered). If you open up your aperture all the way and make sure the sun hits the lens square, you will be certain to get lens flare.
Below are two images with flare.
Another confession: I'm not a real fan of lens flare. I don't like "haze" in general, although I have admired some well done haze in the past. I like clearer photos.
How do you get lens flare? Well, do you know how it hurts to look into the sun? Our lenses feel the same way (and you can almost go blind doing lens flare work...LOL, or so I discovered). If you open up your aperture all the way and make sure the sun hits the lens square, you will be certain to get lens flare.
Below are two images with flare.
This first image is straight out of camera. You can see how the contrast is lowered, haze is apparent, and you can also see all the little dancing dots of flies caught in the light. That light, by the way, is due to the time of day. There is one larger flare circle at the top of the image due to how the light hit the lens.
Now check out the second image.
Now check out the second image.
I am happy to say that the flare in this image almost duplicates the flare in our textbook, The Visual Toolbox. I like this image much better than the first one because the contrast is better, and I exposed for a brighter image.
Most lens flare is used to create mood. As our author says "it's not enough to have lens flare, it's what you do with it that matters." Cinematographers use lens flare as a staple in filming, but photographers often try to avoid it. I think there is a time and place for lens flare.
I have shown you two photos where lens flare was manufactured by the sun and my lens. Now, below, find a photo where lens flare was manufactured by a photo action (a human invention). Our dog, Burton, who is a mixture of English Setter and who-knows-what, a perpetual puppy at heart, the great mitigator, orange-ball handler, and most elusive-to-camera dog I own. If I waited for him to place himself somewhere where lens flare was even possible, I'd be trying to push that camera button with a skeletal index finger. So a little, colorful lens flare (bottom left corner) with a photo action by Florabella was a helpful tool.
Most lens flare is used to create mood. As our author says "it's not enough to have lens flare, it's what you do with it that matters." Cinematographers use lens flare as a staple in filming, but photographers often try to avoid it. I think there is a time and place for lens flare.
I have shown you two photos where lens flare was manufactured by the sun and my lens. Now, below, find a photo where lens flare was manufactured by a photo action (a human invention). Our dog, Burton, who is a mixture of English Setter and who-knows-what, a perpetual puppy at heart, the great mitigator, orange-ball handler, and most elusive-to-camera dog I own. If I waited for him to place himself somewhere where lens flare was even possible, I'd be trying to push that camera button with a skeletal index finger. So a little, colorful lens flare (bottom left corner) with a photo action by Florabella was a helpful tool.
To see more flare ups, hit the blog circle, starting with Kim Hollis, of BARKography in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then get out your pina coladas and grass skirts....the weekend has arrived!
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