Lens Flare Effects

Causes of Lens Flare Effects

• The sun may not be inside the frame or normal view field, but you are shooting in the direction of sunlight. The camera angle is such that it allows the lens to capture a lot more intense light than is desirable. This intense light gets reflected several times inside the camera lens elements and causes among other things, undesirable light effects known as sun spots or lens flare.

Using Lens Flare Effects for Natural Photography

• When a very intense and bright source of light remains a little outside the view frame of the lens, the light can creep into the camera lens from the sides and cause multiple internal reflections that lead to colorful cascading spheres on the photograph. Lens flare effects can be reduced or increased by altering the angle of the source of light. Photographers often make use of lens flare effects to impart a more natural look to their photographs. It is possible to add desired lens flare effect to a particular image by making use of filters provided by image editing applications found in photo editing software.

Reducing the Effects of Lens Flare

• Superior camera lenses nowadays are covered with a special coating that reduces the effects of ghosting, coma and sunspots or lens flare. It is also possible to minimize the effects of sun spots by attaching a lens hood to your camera lens. You can choose between traditionally styled lens hood and the common petal shaped hood. If your camera is not compatible with a lens hood, you can shield the lens with your hand, taking care not to place it in the frame corner, especially if you are shooting landscapes with wide angle lens.

Eliminating Lens Flare Effects

• Repositioning yourself, in other words, moving to a different shooting position where you won̵7;t be shooting directly into the source of intense light or repositioning your subject and altering the height from where you are shooting, can reduce lens flare effects. You may consider adjusting your zoom to another focal length to minimize the impact of sunspots or to place the sunspots in a less distracting place in the image. Or you may compose your picture in such a way that a building or object or tree behind the subject blocks the sun, allowing you to eliminate sun spots altogether.