Trying to figure out this whole lense flare thing....

[BLD_007]

Removing the lens hood will give you more lens flare. Likewise, using UV/clear filters will give you more flare as well. Lower-quality lenses are more prone to flare, so if you want even more flare then you might want to use your worst lens.

That being said, it's all about the angle you shoot from in relation to the sources of light, so try moving yourself and/or the camera/lens until you find the amount/quality of flare that suits your personal taste.

Lens flare seems to have been in vogue on sites like Flickr for a while. While at this point it has become a bit annoying (especially the flare added in post), the right scene with the right flare can be beautiful.

This is true, use clear filters on the front on your lense. The ones that you screw on to protect the front of your glass. The light gets ever so slightly bent when it passes through at an angle, thus flare

 

[KmH]

This is true, use clear filters on the front on your lense. The ones that you screw on to protect the front of your glass. The light gets ever so slightly bent when it passes through at an angle, thus flare

But you will likely get a decrease in both contrast and sharpness of focus, because of the added air gap between the back of the clear (or UV) filter and the front lens element.

 

[BLD_007]

This is true, use clear filters on the front on your lense. The ones that you screw on to protect the front of your glass. The light gets ever so slightly bent when it passes through at an angle, thus flare

But you will likely get a decrease in both contrast and sharpness of focus, because of the added air gap between the back of the clear (or UV) filter and the front lens element.

really? So If I really want a sharp picture, I need to take the filter off?

 

[o hey tyler]

really? So If I really want a sharp picture, I need to take the filter off?

If you want a sharper photo it would behoove you to take the filter off.

 

[cdnaiphoto]

really? So If I really want a sharp picture, I need to take the filter off?

If you want a sharper photo it would behoove you to take the filter off.

Yes I want a sharp photo and I have a UV filter and just forgot about it yesterday when I was messing around with it.

Based on the picture I took, do you think I could try a higher fstop to get more of the actual rays and it not be too dark?

 

[invisible]

Unless you're using the crappiest in UV filters, you will likely not be able to tell the difference in sharpness when you shoot the same scene with and without the filter on --especially if you're just starting out.

Back to the topic: I'd like to add that lenses that have a protruding, bulbous front element (e.g., certain ultra-wide angles like the Sigma 12-24mm or any of the 14mm Sigmas) will produce more flare.

 

[Gaerek]

so why do you want lens flare?

My question as well - you want lens flare?

I don't really want to harp on you guys too much, but this just shows me what's wrong with photography today. People hear something is bad (not using RoT, lens flare, tilting the camera, etc) and they automatically discount the fact that these same things that supposedly produce bad photographs, might actually make for a desireable element in a photograph.

Don't be afraid to try things. Don't be afraid to do what people tell you not to do (well, within the realm of photography), and take something that's supposedly undesirable, and make it work!