TUTORIAL: Shooting
Lens Flare
Photography
How to enhance your photos with
the use of flare
Lens flare is the phenomenon that occurs when
photographers shoot directly at the sun but are
focusing on something else. You’ll have seen
this technique used extensively in fashion and
retail photography, mainly for summer and
spring clothing lines, where lens flare is used
to saturate the image in a slight overexposure,
implying that the sun is around and is here
to stay. However, it can be used in a number
of other ways and for many different effects.
This photo tutorial teaches how to get a greatlooking lens flare on your photos.
Catch the sun at an angle,
not straight on
Shooting into the sun is key when attempting
to catch a lens flare, as this is what causes them
in the first place, but shooting directly into the
sun can hugely overexpose your image,making it
unusable. While shooting early in the morning or
late at night can sort this problem out for you, it
can be difficult to properly catch the light when
shooting in the middle of the day.
The optimum way to see what angle gives the
best lens flare is to simply move your camera
around while keeping your intended subject
in the frame. Move slightly to each side, tilt
the camera, and aim at the subject at a slightly
different angle each time. The perfect lens flare
will present itself at one of these angles, and
then you can compose your picture around it.
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