Latest Chapter Assignments

Latest Chapter Assignments

Assignment: Creating Images with Flare

Lens flare can be something you don’t want in a photo or it can provide a nice artistic touch. While it can occur by chance, you can also create it intentionally.

Try shooting a scene outdoors on a bright, sunny day, perhaps around mid-morning or -afternoon; you can use any lens you’d like—wide angle, telephoto, or normal. When you select a subject, direct your shot so that the sun is just out of view in the upper-left or upper-right corner of the shot. Then, tilt your view so that the bottom edge of the sun’s light enters your lens and your shot.

Take the image with the sun entering your photo. Are you seeing geometric patterns, or a lot of haze? Does the effect help or detract from your photo? A few different angles and perspectives will change how the sun’s rays will reflect in your lens, so you might need to experiment before you get exactly the effect you want.