If you’ve spent much time behind a camera you’ve probably seen what is called lens flare show up on your images. It often appears as polygonal shapes of various sizes and color sprayed across your image. Other times it’s a series of bright streaks or a more generalized spray of light that lowers image contrast and obscures details. Lens flare isn’t always bad, sometimes it can be used artistically to enhance a photo, but it’s definitely something every photographer should understand.
Almost every camera lens is made up of multiple pieces of glass, called elements. Lens flare is caused by light that reflects off the surfaces of the glass elements rather than passing through them to the sensor or film. It can appear in images that contain a very bright light source, like the sun, some artificial lights or the full moon. Even if the image does not contain the light source, flare can be created if bright lights are just outside the frame and are able to directly hit the front glass element. Camera companies have come up with many different kinds of anti-reflective coatings designed to reduce flare, but none can eliminate it completely.
Here are a few tips to avoid lens flare flare ups:
1. Use a lens hood—an opaque, non-reflective cone that attaches to the end of your lens and extends out to block side light from hitting the front element. Many lenses come with hoods that are designed for the specifications of the lens. But if you are shopping for a hood for a lens that you already own, be sure to try it out at all different focal lengths to ensure that it isn’t visible through your viewfinder, otherwise it will show up in your images.
2. Invest in high quality UV filters. Low quality filters, with inferior coatings, could make the problem worse.
3. Keep lens flare in mind when composing your images. Shoot with your back to bright light sources in the area whenever possible. Otherwise, slight adjustments in composition can make a big difference. Try placing objects within your shot so that they at least partially block the light from hitting your lens. Holding your hand next to the lens to shield it also can work.
Lens flare isn’t something that every photographer tries to avoid. It all depends on what kind of look you are aiming for in your photography. In fact, there is a filter in Photoshop that allows you to add lens flare into your images—just in case you weren’t able to shoot directly into the sun!
