Thursday 18 January 2018

technique - How can I intentionally include lens flare in my photographs?


I usually try to avoid lens flare, usually by avoiding shooting directly into bright lights (or using other techniques to minimize it). However, sometimes I find a situation where lens flare actually adds to the image.


What can I do to effectively incorporate lens flare into my image? Also, are there any ways to do so while minimizing loss of contrast?



Answer



The flare is likely to wash out contrast, regardless, but that too can make the scene work better. I'm not really sure that you can change that except, perhaps, using HDR techniques.


In any case, some of the more effective uses of flare that I've seen are with images that are silhouettes, where the beams stand out against the dark foreground. The other place that I've seen it work well is with the wash out creating almost a low-contrast cross-processed look. I think it's a bit trial and error, but in a number of articles I've read regarding artistic lens flare, the use of manual focus really helps to fine tune the look you're going for.


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