How to get lens flare effect in-camera?

[Tbini87]

Hey guys,
I really like shots that include lens flare artistically. My problem is that I don't know how to control it. I have had success with pointing my camera at the sun the getting tons of flare, but it generally blows out and doesn't look all that great. I see that you can add the effect in photoshop

Photoshop Lens Flare Effect - Non Destructive Lens Flare With Blend Modes

but I don't have photoshop and was wondering if there are any tips to get/control the effect in camera. Does it have to do with shutter speed or anything like that? Any tips or links to articles would be appreciated! Thanks.

Oh, and does anyone knows if LR3 has the ability to create the effect? Thanks!

 

[dcmoody23]

Go no filter or lens hood, aim camera in general direction of sun (not directly at sun) at what you want your picture of and take picture. Wa-la!
To my knowledge shutter speed doesn't effect lens flare other than the obvious which is letting in light (lower shutter speed for more light/flare). & in terms of creations with lens flare I wouldn't be able to advise you on that because I don't like lens flare

 

[Tbini87]

seems so simple, I will have to keep trying it out. Some people around here get some amazing affects with it... though I don't know that it is in-camera or in PP.

Any other tips would be appreciated!

 

[Big Mike]

Keep in mind that the characteristics of the flare, will depend a lot on the specific lens and the aperture you are using. So while you may be trying to replicate some really nice flare that you saw somewhere, it may not be possible to get the same results with your lens.

 

[Derrel]

Some older, 1970's and 1980's-era zoom lenses had both ghosting and flare issues. Ghosting is the lens diaphragm-shaped (usually five-,six, or seven-sided) geometric shapes that form on the image, often in red or orange or yellow-orangeish colors. Lens reviews done by very experienced shooters, guys like Bjorn Rorslett, will usually describe how a lens performs in regard to ghosting and flare when it is shot directly toward the sun. Some lenses have pretty high levels of flare and or ghosting; the Canon 50mm 1.8 EF lens for example, is pretty prone to flare and ghosting when shot toward the sun. So are a good number of older telephoto lenses,and like I mentioned, older 1970's and 1980's era zoom lenses with many elements often ghost and or flare pretty heavily when shot toward bright light sources, especially if the "field" is dark.

You do not mention which camera system you own; if you shoot Canon, you can buy some older, flare-prone lenses in a variety of lens mounts and use those on lens adapters. I used to have a really flarey old Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 made in the early 1960's...it flared like a SOB...I wish I would have kept it, and used it with a 2x teleconverter for effect-type shots. That is another way to get a flarey lens: I used to have a Nikon 50mm 1.8 Series E lens that I used with an el-cheapo Tokina 2x converter. The Tokina 2x converter made flare sort of a normal part of the equation when paired with that specific lens.

 

[syphlix]

yea you really need to do experimenting to see how it works with your lenses... the focal length and aperture make a lot of difference... as is how the lens is contructed...

 

[KmH]

Having a good understanding of what causes lens flare, is very useful for creating it intentionally.

Understanding Camera Lens Flare

Failing that, lens flare can be added to an image in post processing if your image editor has a lens flare filter.

 

[Tbini87]

Having a good understanding of what causes lens flare, is very useful for creating it intentionally.

Understanding Camera Lens Flare

Failing that, lens flare can be added to an image in post processing if your image editor has a lens flare filter.

Thanks KmH, I read that and it gave me a much better understanding. It just doesn't give much help for trying to get flare, and using it artistically. I have done some experimenting, but I was wondering what I could do in camera to control flare or make it look different ways. Maybe messing with the fstop would be me best bet... but it sounds like there isn't a ton a photog can do take make lens flare look a certain way.

Do you know if LR3 has the ability to create flare PP?

 

[SpeedTrap]

One of the problems you are going to run into is each lens will flair differently, as well even a slight different angle to the light will produce a different flair.

The camera companies spent a lot of R&D on lens coatings and design to try to limit flair as it is general looked upon as a bad thing, so when it came into fashion it was easier to just do it in photo-shop.