Lens Flare/Sunburst/Starburst Theme

 There are a number of terms used to describe a Lens Flare/Starburst/Sunburst approach to taking photos.  But one very important caution to anyone taking photos that focus to some extent on the sunBe Careful NOT to harm your eyes or your camera sensor !  We will only accept images that have been “generated naturally” meaning that the lens flare was primarily created in the field not with LR or photoshop.

Lens Flare is an interesting photo theme since “lens flare” was typically a serious photo problem.  But when controlled by the photographer, lens flare can create very interesting images including starbursts and sunbursts.  Here are some articles that can help you solve the lens flare problem and also integrate a sunburst into your image.  Whatever direction you take, please be careful of your eyes and your camera sensor.

This article from Iceland-Photo-Tours.com (“Understanding Lens Flare in Landscape Photography”) briefly explains what is happening inside your camera and then describes how you can use lens flares to create interesting images of all types.  Read the entire article 🙂 since it offers some great solutions (view in live view, use a tripod and why, clean the lens, f16&f22) to lens flare problems at the end of the article. 

Ian Plant is one of my favorite photography “teachers” and this article is a typical Ian guide.  “How to Create a Starburst Effect” in the Outdoor Photography Guide focuses on how to create a starburst rather than how to eliminate lens flare.  The examples are all landscape photos with a very different view.

The Digital-Photography-School.com has many straight forward articles about the PMP Themes and the “Introduction to Sun Flare and Starbursts” is a good example.  This is a relatively short article without a lot of deep explanations with clear-cut suggestions and some good examples.  If you want to read (and study?) only one article, this may be a good place for you to go.

If you would prefer to learn about sunbursts and starbursts from a video, this DigitalCameraWorld.com article and video will be very helpful.  “Shoot Stunning Sunflare Photography” allows you to read the article and view the explantion on a video.