Next, make sure to keep your lens flare a supporting detail, not the main event! Otherwise, you run the risk of your image looking like a blobby mess. Once you have your source, take note of the direction of the light! Ask yourself, "Where is the light in your shot coming from?" This will help guide you on where to place your lens flare and how strong (or weak) it might be. This one is simple as there is only one very important rule to follow.ĭon't add lens flare if there is no light source to give off the flare! Whether it's the sky, a lamp, or a gleaming jewel, there needs to be something that is logically giving off the light.įor instance, I added a hazy lens flare to both the upper and lower portions of this photo composite, using the bright sky as a light source! Don't Have Conflicting Light Sources Lens flares are especially useful in photo composites as they add more realism as well as helping the composited image blend into its environment more naturally. You will notice both action and sci-fi films tend to be loaded with lens flare as they not only provide movement but a sense of action and depth. You can also add lens flare when you want to add more drama to your photos. The details of the leaves and trees of the image below are already lost to the high-contrast nature of the photo, so the lens flare helps add visual interest in an otherwise flat photo. Lens flares are ideal when you want to add a bit of, well, flare to an image! It can help bring more light into an otherwise dark, flat image, like a dark landscape with a bright sky or setting sun. There are no hard and fast rules about when to add lens flares, but there are many scenarios where they come in handy and may end up elevating your image to the next level! To Add Extra Detail So when should you use lens flare, and when should you not? When to Add Lens Flare In fact, lens flare is often added to both movies and images to add a sense of depth and realism. However, lens flare can also be used to add an artistic element to images. Lens flare is not easy to remove, so if you end up with it, you may be out of luck! When and When Not to Add Lens FlareĪs lens flare can drastically reduce image contrast by introducing haze, circular artifacts, and even blooms of rainbows, it is often seen as an undesired effect that can be the death of an otherwise perfect photo. It will happen if the bright light is within the lens's angle of view, although if the light source is strong or close enough to the outside of the lens's field of view, you will still experience lens flare even if the light source is not physically in the image. The short answer is if you’re shooting into the light, then you’re going to encounter lens flare! Lens flare occurs when a point of light, commonly the sun, is much brighter than the rest of the scene. Ghosting flare occurs when the light source is directly in the view of the camera's lens. Ghosting flare appears as small orbs and shapes that usually appear in a direct line from the light source and can stretch the whole length of the image. You will likely experience veiling flare if the light source is just beyond the camera's view, but the light rays can still reach the lens. Veiling flare, also known as "light haze," creates a haze-like effect which will remove contrast, detail, and even color from the affected area. Typically, if you see one, you will see both! Veiling Flare There are two common types of lens flare: veiling flare and ghosting flare.
So lens flares are actually just an "error"! Those "objects" are what we call lens flare. As the light bounces around the camera's sensor, it creates unwanted objects to appear. Lens flare is actually created when a strong non-image-forming light, from the sun or an artificial light source, enters the lens and then hits the camera's digital sensor. Let's find out how this hardware error turned into an artistic asset! What Is Lens Flare?
Today, we will be taking a look at what a lens flare is, why it can be both good and bad, and how to add lens flare in Photoshop.