intentional sun flares in photos

Qarik · April 19, 2009

I like them. I think when done right they can add a a lot drama to a shot. I am not too sure on how it is done though. In this thread please post a intentional sun flare shot and explain how the shot was acheived. I would love to learn...thanks:thumb

ziggy53 · April 20, 2009

IMO the most appropriate use of intentional flare is something our Andy describes as the "Muench Star":

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=64419

pathfinder · April 20, 2009

Shoot into the sun. Look around for flare.

Some lenses are more prone than others, zooms, cheaper lenses, no lens hoods.

You see them used some in movies, a bit.

I am not a big fan of them in still photos, but they can work sometimes.

Muench stars, however, ARE very cool though.

f ~11 1/320th ISO 100 Zeiss 21mm

f16 1/125th ISO 100 24mm

f ~16 1/60th ISO 100 21 mm Zeiss

f 22 6 seconds 24mm T&S

Too many though and they can seem over done

:hide

I have added the Exif data so folks will know you CAN usually do these hand held. The apertures for the Zeiss lens are not recorded in the Exif data as it is entirely a mechanical device and does not transmit information to the camera - it is a strictly manual lens, but the apertures are typical. I almost always just shoot it at f8, unless shooting sunstars.

Cygnus Studios · April 20, 2009

Depending on the shot, it certainly can add a cool effect.

Qarik · April 21, 2009

ziggy53 wrote:

IMO the most appropriate use of intentional flare is something our Andy describes as the "Muench Star":

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=64419

ahh..okay so f22 it is.. but I do see shots of flaring with people in the shots in engagement or lieftyle sessions. Maybe not falring completly but with the sun washing out parts of the picture. It seems to me you can't use f22 in those kinds of shots because the exposure would be too long (people move unlike scenery). Shorten the exposure then you the subjects get to dark..so ...fill flash?

I want to post examples but dgrin forums doesn't really allow posting others shots.

catspaw · April 21, 2009

Qarik wrote:

I want to post examples but dgrin forums doesn't really allow posting others shots.

You can still link to the pages where you find such examples. Just don't post the actual photo.

pathfinder · April 21, 2009

Qarik wrote:

ahh..okay so f22 it is.. but I do see shots of flaring with people in the shots in engagement or lieftyle sessions. Maybe not falring completly but with the sun washing out parts of the picture. It seems to me you can't use f22 in those kinds of shots because the exposure would be too long (people move unlike scenery). Shorten the exposure then you the subjects get to dark..so ...fill flash?

I want to post examples but dgrin forums doesn't really allow posting others shots.

Qarik,
I have edited my post up above to include the exif data, so that you can see that most of them are actually done handheld.

I have captured sun stars at f8 with a point and shoot. f8 is usually the smallest aperture available on smaller sensor cameras due to diffraction limitations

Canon G9 ISO 80 f8 1/320th

40D f14 1/100th ISO 100 16mm

Prime lenses tend to give much cleaner sharper stars, while complex zooms give less sharply defined blunter stars generally.

CWSkopec · April 21, 2009

Qarik wrote:

I like them. I think when done right they can add a a lot drama to a shot. I am not too sure on how it is done though. In this thread please post a intentional sun flare shot and explain how the shot was acheived. I would love to learn...thanks

Qarik,
Take a look at some of Tee Why's threads, he generally has one or two shots with flares in them in each series he posts, here's a new one I just saw a couple minutes ago
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=128094

I've had some limited success with Muench Stars, this is probably my best example though I've got one from a recent outing tagged for processing

This one was taken with my 70-300mm Tamron at 70mm, f32 ISO 100, but it was pretty much midday so I still got a 1/160 of a second exposure so it was hand held.

I've noticed the most flaring (almost always accidental

) when the sun is just partially in the frame, say a tiny sliver in one of the upper corner. Though I would venture a guess that getting a flare on purpose would be about the same as a Muench Star, just don't close your aperture down so far. I'm guessing that because of some of Tee Why's shots, so take a look and see how he's composed the ones with flares!

Hope that helps!

jeffreaux2 · April 22, 2009

Those types of portraits are simply done by including the sun in the background. With the aperture opened up.....such as you would for a portrait....you will get the big disk shapes instead of the star.

Ive always wondered...worried....that this could somehow be detrimental to the sensor?

You can use flash for the effect as well...

Qarik · April 22, 2009

catspaw wrote:

You can still link to the pages where you find such examples. Just don't post the actual photo.

okay..so shot number 20 in this set.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=119430

heh..maybe I should just PM mr fury.

Tango · April 22, 2009

so you are looking for specifically flare not stars...
look up Tee-Why users id and read his "threads started"...i think he has awesome work in every thread with lots of flare. he is the master.
anyway some disney hall shots come to my mind but im not sure where they are...

btw, for the best flare i think you are looking at f-stops around f4...but verify with tee-why

#4 is missing...that was the one i thought of to show you....
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=112109

but here it is on his site:
http://tomyi.smugmug.com/photos/507254469_YB8xq-L.jpg

dogwood · April 22, 2009

A very goofy shot where the sunflare is unfortunately located so it looks like I just ripped one!

Tim Kamppinen · April 22, 2009

Just go outside and find a tree or something to focus on and position yourself so that the sun is in the frame. Now just take a bunch of photos with different apertures (though you're going to get what you're looking for at the larger end of things... small apertures will get you the stars) and exposures to find out what works well with each of your lenses. Each lens is going to have different flare characteristics and on some lenses it will just be ugly no matter what. Experimenting is the quickest and best way to figure this out.

Tee Why · April 23, 2009

Hmmm......
You like flares heh? I fixed that link to the liberty bell with the flare BTW. Thanks to the folks for mentioning me also.

First of all to maximize pretty flare, shoot during the golden hour when the sun is low, maximizing flare potential as you shoot into the direction of the sun. Direct isn't always the best, you may want the sun off to the side so if you get those lens reflections, it's directional and adds a sense of direction. You have to have the subject partially occlude the sun as well to get that haze/rim lighting effect.

The area lit by the sun will always be a bit over exposed, so that highlight effect will be present in the image. You don't have to stop down too much. I rarely shoot at f22. The liberty bell shot was done at f11 on a full frame camera, so not that stopped down, about medium I'd say. It's is however hard to get a good flare with a lens wide open, especially if it's a fast lens. On a full frame anywhere about f8-18 should be fine. If you shoot at wide apertures, there are no rays that come out of the light, the light will look more like a big ball/blob.

If you are shooting into the sun, there usually is enough light so getting a fast shutter speed is not a big deal.

I don't do a lot of portraits so this is close to it as I tend to get.

Also, aperture blades count. If you have a 9 blade lens, then you can get an 18 pointed star. If you have less, then the flare/burst pattern is like six coming out in often an uneven pattern. So pick a lens that has 9 blades if you can. Not sure if rounded aperture blades make a difference though.

Lastly, at least for Canon's shooting into the sun will generally cause overexposure (I use center weighted) so if you aren't shooting manually, turn the EVC down to about -1.5 or so.

Shoot a lot during the golden hours, chimp and experiment. Try to include the sun/flare into the composition. A flare that isn't incorporated into the image to show a sense of depth or induce dynamic lighting may end up distracting the image.

I don't think shooting into the sun briefly hurts the camera. Remember, I said briefly.

Good luck.

intentional sun flares in photos

Comments