Lens flare portraits

Real Lens Flare - Done The Right Way

INTRODUCTION

Sony A7II – Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.4

For those who know me or follow my work, you know this article is one that has been a long time coming, but if you don’t know, I’ll just tell you. A good artistic sun flare is my jam. I spent years trying to find the best lenses, the best techniques, and most importantly, a look that not only I love but also my clients. Sure, it’s not for everyone, I get it; there’s a reason most lenses these days are covered in fancy coatings to help limit or completely prevent the sun from creating any sort of lens flare.

But while most photographers love these lenses for that very reason, and often add a lens hood to further prevent lens flare, I have always welcomed it. I never use lens hoods, and have always loved shooting in the bright sun. While there are times when I do try to avoid it, creative lens flare is something that I have become known for. I mean, I even have my own SLR Lounge “Jay Approved Flare” stamp, ha.

Photo Credit: Cecilia Mizin of Twisted Oaks Studio – Canon 45mm TS-E

The purpose of this article is to try and show you how I use lens flare artistically to enhance an already good image, rather than having it be a distraction. Lens flare is simply the result of light hitting your lens straight on or at an angle, and the effect is different from lens to lens. I’m not going to get into any more detail of how lens flare occurs, but rather how to use it to your advantage in an artistic way.

I am often asked the question of how I can get accurate focus, what lenses are best, as well as how I can control the flare rather than having it be a guessing game. Well, I’m going to try and cover all three of these topics as well as some others. If you hate sun flare, this article will be a painful one, so I strongly suggest not scrolling any further down.

[REWIND: Adding Realistic Lens Flares To Beautifully Personalize Your Images]

The ‘WHY’

Leica M240 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.

The answer is simple: when done right, I love lens flare. Not fake lens flare done with a pipe or in post production, real lens flare. When I first started taking my portrait/wedding photography seriously, just a little over 4 years ago, I tried to do a lot of things that most photographers weren’t doing to help make my work stand out. Some things worked, some didn’t. I decided to push the creative boundaries early on as I wanted my work to be artistic and have my clients seek me because of it. I was an artist long before I was a photographer, and I wanted my work to reflect that.

Leica M240 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.4

A year into my portrait/wedding photography adventures, I had started to notice lens flare in some of my images. Unsure exactly of how or why it was happening, I started to study the ‘phenomenon’. I also started to pay attention to how most other photographers looked at lens flare and noticed a lot of photographers hated it, some were creating it in Photoshop, and some were showing off their images with it yet having no idea how it got there. I set out to master it.

Leica M240 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.4

I found myself, early on, just getting excited when I was able to get the flare to look good. The problem, was that the more important aspects of the image suffered. The pose, composition, and emotion were often missing, or the lens flare did more harm than good to the image. You never want the flare to be on your subject’s faces or be a distraction, like in the images below. These are some of the mistakes that I see a lot of photographers making.

Example of bad lens flareExample of bad lens flare

When used correctly, lens flare should help bring attention to the subject, not be the subject itself. Much like a vignette, it’s something that should be used to enhance the image, rather than be a distracting focus of it.

When I bought my first Leica rangefinder, the Leica M9, it finally clicked. I shot the M9 and the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 at a wedding and with one image realized just how good lens flare can look when used to draw the viewer’s attention to the subjects.

WHEN

Leica M240 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.4

Just like anything else, knowing how to do a technique the right way can help you decide when, and when not, to use it. When the sun is shining bright, I try to incorporate lens flare in only a handful of images. I also typically get an idea of what my wedding clients are looking for, and whether or not lens flare is something they like. Some of my clients love it and pray that the sun is out on their engagement shoot and wedding day, and some don’t like it at all. I’m always mindful of what my clients are looking for. Even when my clients give me full creative control, I never go overboard with it.

LENSES

Canon 50mm f/1.2L

Canon 5D MarkIII – 50mm f/1.2L – Shot at f/1.2

The first lens I found that created a pretty artistic looking lens flare was the Canon 50mm f/1.2L. Being that I started off as a Nikon shooter, and most Nikon lenses don’t allow lens flare at all, I quickly fell in love with the Canon 50L when I added some Canon gear to my bag. The problem I found with the 50L was that the flare looked very good sometimes, while other times it didn’t. Today, the 50L is still one of my favorite lenses, and one that I go for when I want to add a little flare to my shots.

Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 Nokton Classic

Leica M9 – 35mm Voigtlander 35mm Nokton Classic – Shot at f/1.4

This was the lens that made it ‘click’ with me, and one that can create some of the best looking flare I’ve seen. Yes, it is a lens that is used on a Leica M, but it’s not expensive and it works just as good with an adaptor on a Sony bodies. Not sure about the Fuji bodies, but I would assume the same thing.

Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH

Leica M240 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.4Leica M240 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.4

This is hands down my all time favorite lens, and for many reasons. It’s a bit pricey, but when it came down to deciding on whether or not to buy it, its flare capabilities were what honestly made me not even hesitate. Aside from being able to create some of the most artistic lens flare I’ve ever seen, the 50mm Summilux is sharp, handles backlighting extremely well, and has great character. It was when I started shooting it on the Sony A7II a couple years ago, I noticed how much control I had with the flare using LiveView. Now that I no longer have any Sony bodies, I shoot the 50 Summilux on the Leica M (type 240) using LiveView and have the same control.

Canon 45mm f/2.8 TS-E Tilt-shift

Canon 5D MarkIII – 45mm TS-E – Shot at f/2.8

If you’re shooting this lens for portrait or wedding work, you’re most likely using it for creative purposes. This was the first tilt-shift lens I fell in love with, and even more so once I realized that it also created some really nice lens flare as you can see below.

There are definitely a lot of others out there that I have used and just can’t recall, so I would love to have anyone reading this throw one of your favorites in the comment section. I still haven’t found a Nikon lens that creates a nice looking flare, even with some of the older lenses. I own the Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 and surprisingly I haven’t been able to get it to create any nice flare. Other Nikon glass that does create flare, the flare typically doesn’t look that good.

FOCUS & CONTROL

Leica M9 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.4

When aiming to get good lens flare, the sun needs to be above and behind your subject. With a bright sun backlighting your subject, nailing the focus can prove to be difficult. There are a few things you can do to make focusing a lot easier. If you have tried backlighting your subjects with a bright sun, you have noticed your AF often has trouble finding enough contrast to lock on. You can try manual focusing, which may or may not make it easier for you; you can try using LiveView and zoom in, but manual focusing is much easier. You can also focus and recompose. You can place your subject directly in front of the sun to block the sun from hitting your lens, get your AF locked on, and then recompose.

Leica M240 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.

I use different focusing techniques depending on the gear that I am using. If using my Leica, there is no AF, so I have gotten very good at focusing manually in backlit situations. With that being said, the technique I use most is focusing via LiveView. Not only does zooming in help with nailing your focus, but it also helps give you more control over the flare itself.

With both my Leica M and my DSLR bodies, using LiveView will give you a preview of what the lens flare looks like. This allows you to move your lens until you get the flare to look exactly how you want it to. I can make sure it’s not covering my subject’s faces, as well as getting it to work well with my composition. I highly recommend using LiveView if you are going to give lens flare a try.

Leica M240 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.4

The other factor in having control over lens flare is knowing how your aperture affects the look of the flare. When shot wide open, lens flare takes on more of a circular shape (as in the image above). As you stop your lens down to a higher aperture, the flare quickly takes on the shape of a star that streaks out from the center of the sun (as in the image below).

Leica M240 – Voigtlander 15mm – Shot at f/11

CONCLUSION

As I mentioned in the intro, I love me some good lens flare. I know it’s not for everyone, and as with any other special effects technique, it should be used carefully and intentionally. If you are like me, and like the artistic look that lens flare can give an image, give one of the lenses I listed a shot. If you have a lens that does create a good flare that I didn’t mention, let me know. It takes practice to get good at nailing the focus, and even more practice to get more control over the flare.

Leica M240 – 50mm Summilux ASPH – Shot at f/1.4

Remember to have it be an addition to an already strong image, to help bring focus to your subjects, and don’t make the flare itself the subject of your image. Hopefully, you enjoyed reading this as it’s been an article I’ve been wanting to write up for a long time now. As always, any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section and I’ll be more than happy to answer them.

What Is Lens Flare And How To Use It Or Avoid It For Better Photos

For many years in photography, lens flare was actively avoided by photographers. Flare, which is basically a light scattered within the lens due to unplanned reflection and lens impurities, was considered something that ruined a photograph. Equipment like lens hoods was invented to help prevent it. But times change and so do fashions.

You don’t have to use a lens hood each time you plan to shoot in a strong light. The so-called flare look can be used creatively!

These days, not only many photographers do not mind some lens flare, they actively seek to get it to add some creativity to their shots. And, to be fair, quite often it looks pretty cool.

Read on to learn when and how to shoot with or without lens flares.

Understanding Lens Flare Effect

You should understand why lens flare happens – we will try to explain this phenomenon in simple words.

The flare appears when the light that doesn’t form the image (stray light) enters the lens and hits the camera's digital sensor (or film). It’s easy to identify lens flare – it has a typical polygonal shape, with sides that depend on the shape of the lens diaphragm.

What’s the main problem with lens flares? It can lower the overall contrast of a photograph a lot, which can be problematic in both portraits and landscape shots. However, some types of lens flares can make images more artistic. Understanding lens flare can help you use it or avoid it — you just need to understand what kind of atmosphere you want to achieve in the final version of your image.

Photo by Josh Blanton

How Lens Flares Happen

Every camera lens consists of several lens elements. The flare is caused by non-image forming light – this kind of light does not pass directly along its intended path but instead reflects internally on lens elements before finally reaching the sensor. Essentially, non-image forming light is stray light.

Lens elements contain some type of anti-reflective coating which aims to reduce lens flare. However, this coating can’t completely eliminate lens flare. Light sources always reflect a small fraction of light. Although flare is caused by internal reflections, it often requires a very strong light source (such as the sun) in order to become visible in a photo.

Flare looks like a polygonal shape and its exact shape depends on a number of factors. The aperture is one of them. For instance, if your lens is opened up (the depth of field is shallow), the flare will look more like a blob, without definition. As you stop down (use more narrow aperture values), the flare will become more defined.

Factors That Impact Lens Flare

There are many factors that can impact this effect in your images. These are the most important ones:

Lens Elements – The more lens elements, the more lens flare can potentially show up in your images. Simple as that.
Focal Length – Wide lenses are designed to handle flare well. Telephoto lenses, on the other hand, are much worse in this sense because they are very complex and they can easily amplify everything.
Lens Quality – Optical quality of the lens can definitely impact lens flare. Bear in mind that multi-coated (MRC) lens elements have a huge impact on flare performance. It’s a good idea to invest in such lenses if you want to reduce lens flare in your photographs.
Filters – Just like low-quality lenses, low-quality filters can create more flare and ghosting issues in images. Unless you want to experiment with a lens flare in your images, don’t buy low-quality filters.
Dust And Grease – All lenses accumulate dust over time – you need to clean the front element regularly. The internal dust is even more problematic because it can create even more flare. Also, make sure not to touch your lenses with greasy fingers.

Photo by Zoltan Tasi

How To Minimize Lens Flare

Lens flare might not always ruin your photos, but it’s good to know how to minimize it. Check out the following tips!

Use A Camera Lens Hood

If you’ve never used a lens hood before, now it’s the perfect occasion to learn more about them.

To put it simply, the main purpose of a lens hood is to block or reduce the amount of lens flare and glare in your photos by acting like sunglasses for your lens. A good lens hood can almost completely eliminate flare caused by stray bright light. Although using a lens hood may appear to be a simple yet perfect solution, in reality, most lens hoods do not extend far enough to block all stray light.

There are two common shapes of the lens hood and these shapes affect the performance when it comes to reducing lens flare. Tulip lens hoods are designed for wide angles and typically you’ll get a tulip-style lens hood when you purchase a wide-angle zoom. On the other hand, longer focal length lenses use longer, tube-shaped lens hoods.

So-called tulip lens hoods eliminate lens flare better than tube-shaped hoods. This is because tulip-style hoods take into account the aspect ratio of the camera's sensor.

While most lenses come with a hood when you purchase them, if you don’t have hoods for your lenses there’s nothing to worry about. Lens hoods are inexpensive and easy to purchase virtually anywhere. Just be careful if you’re using a third-party lens hood, as incompatibility can result in vignetting, which is another common problem in photography. But just like lens flare, vignetting can be used creatively in certain situations.

Photo by Lilly Rum

Use Primes When You Want To Reduce Lens Flare

Generally speaking, fixed focal length (or prime) lenses are less susceptible to lens flare than zooms. This makes sense having in mind that primes are rather simple, optically speaking.

More complicated zoom lenses contain more lens elements. Zooms, therefore, have more internal surfaces from which bright light sources can reflect, which results in more lens flare.

However, this doesn’t mean that a zoom lens can’t minimize flare – the very best modern zooms handle flare really well. Modern high-end zoom lenses typically contain excellent anti-reflective coatings.

Photo by Alasdair Elmes

Be Mindful Of Composition

You can affect the amount of flare in your images by composing them in certain ways.

Flare is ultimately under the control of the photographer, based on where the camera lens is pointed and what is included in the frame. This is great news, right? No matter what lens and lens hood you have, there is a way to avoid lens flare if you take the time to compose your images carefully.

Although photographers don’t like to compromise their artistic freedom, it is still very useful to know that certain compositions can be very effective at minimizing flare.

A great trick is to place the main subject (or secondary subjects) in your image in such a way that they partially or completely block the flare-inducing light source. This is a challenging technique because you should combine it with compositional rules such as the rule of thirds, golden ratio, leading lines, etc. Even if the problematic light source is not located within the image, photographing the scene from a position where the source is obstructed can also reduce flare. In this case, you need to experiment with different vantage points until you find the perfect one.

The easiest approach is to capture the scene while keeping the problematic light source to your back, but unfortunately, this approach can be too limiting or simply not possible. Of course, try this straightforward approach in case it can benefit your image.

Photo by Aaron Blanco Tejedor

Use Your Hand To Block Off Sunlight

This is probably the simplest way to reduce lens flare. If nothing else works, you can use your hand to block off sunlight. This can be a very effective technique – just putting your hand over the lens to block off a light source can easily eliminate ghosting and flare.

How to do this properly?

Just cup your hand around the top of the lens, making a “c” shape, and keep adjusting the shape and angle of your hand until the lens flare is magically gone. This simple method is often used in landscape photography.

Of course, you should be careful – your hand shouldn't cause any unwanted shadows, interfere with focusing, or leave stains on the front element of your lens.

Photo by Kilarov Zaneit

Are Lens Flares Always Bad?

Now you know how to effectively minimize this effect in your images. Another important thing you should learn is when to embrace lens flare and let it complement your images.

You must have noticed that lens flare is damaging to images if it covers up a big part of the scene. Such images tend to look overexposed, they lack contrast, and sometimes it’s very hard to fix them in editing. However, not all flare is bad – some photographers and videographers use flare intentionally in images and videos. You have certainly spotted the creative use of lens flare in the movie industry.

If you want to experiment with a cinematic look in your images, ditch your lens hood occasionally! Shoot into the Sun and see what kind of shot you’ll end up with. You might be pleasantly surprised with interesting colors and shapes that can actually complement your subject.

When To Embrace Flare?

Light flares have become trendy as a way to emphasize the brightness or warmth of a scene. You can see many photographs with artistic flare on stock photography websites nowadays, which means the demand for them is rather high.

How To Create Lens Flare: Creative Uses

Portraiture – Surrounding your subject with lens flare can enrich the composition, create a sense of mystery or make the shot look very soft and romantic. If you shoot wedding photography, you should take advantage of lens flare. Your customers will love it too!
Product Photography – If you shoot products like jewelry, watches, or cars, you can try to incorporate subtle lens flare. It will make your shots more dynamic and stylish. Just be careful not to go overboard with a lens flare in this care, because your product shots will turn tacky and dated.
Street Photography – Capturing lens flare in street shots can be quite effective. If you want to add cinematic vibes to your street shots, make sure to experiment with lens flare. You can do this even at night (find suitable streetlights!) for even more unusual shots!

Photo by Eric Alves

How To Achieve Lens Flare

Here’s what you need to capture flare in your shots:

Bright Light Source

The most important requirement for achieving flare is a bright light source. The sun is the most accessible option, but you can use sources of artificial light too.

Proper Equipment

Lens flare occurs with specific lenses. Zoom lenses and various vintage lenses are the best choices. Older lenses are less likely to have an anti-reflective coating, which is good for you if you want to capture some spectacular flares!

Photo by Bart Zimny

Shooting Techniques

It’s crucial to know a few shooting tricks – just having a bright light and a suitable lens is not enough!

Whether you’re pointing into the sun or artificial light, always make sure the light gets into your camera lens.

Shoot starbursts – Starbursts look magical if captured correctly. You can shoot them at sunrise or sunset and use different focal lengths. You’ll likely find that wider lenses give you more of a distinct burst. You don't have to have special equipment to incorporate a starburst into your image. All you need is a bright light source, good subjects, and the right settings. You can use an aperture of f/16 or higher when composing your image. With some lenses, pushing it up to f/22 may make the starburst crisper.
Play with your camera’s aperture – The choice of the aperture will affect the shape of the lens flare.
Use filters – Embrace the filters! UV filters, polarizing filters, and graduated neutral density filters can help you create beautiful flares.
Don’t forget to experiment at night – Yes, you can capture the flare even at night. Of course, streetlights aren’t as bright as the sun, but they are still a suitable source of artificial light.
Give yourself many options – If you’re not happy with how you captured the flare, don’t get frustrated. Try out a different composition or change the settings. Just changing the aperture can make the flare appear totally different. Like any other art form, capturing lens flare requires a lot of trial and error.

Photo by Jordan McQueen

Blue Lens Flare And Red Lens Flare

The color of your lens flare generally depends on the color of the light source unless you are creating an artificial flare in Photoshop. This means that light sources such as the sun or various warm-colored light bulbs create a reddish flare. On the other hand, cooler light sources such as blue or purple neons create a blue lens flare.

How To Create Artificial Flare In Editing

In addition to achieving lens flare naturally, you can also create an artificial flare while editing. The results can look pretty natural if you take the time to create a subtle enough flare.

You can mimic the natural flare in both Lightroom and Photoshop.

Lightroom

Open the Develop Module.
Select the Brush Tool.
Set the exposure to about +3, the flow to about 50-70%, and the feathering to about 15.
Keep clicking to make the flare stronger if you wish. Experiment with the size and strength of the brush until you achieve your desired effect.

This is a rather simple and effective way to mimic the natural lens flare. You can experiment with this method even if you are a beginner in photography.

Photoshop

Unlike Lightroom, Photoshop has a Lens Flare filter.

Just go to the Filter menu in the Menu Bar along the top of the screen, choose Render, and then choose Lens Flare.

This filter adds a simulated flare effect to the image, and you can choose from one of four different types of lenses (50-300mm zoom, 35mm prime, 105mm prime, and movie Prime). Each one will give the effect a different look – it’s up to you to decide which one works best.

Flare filter in Photoshop

Use Phone Apps To Create Flare Effect

You’re probably familiar with various photo editing apps for iOS and Android, but do you know there are dozens of apps specifically designed for adding special effects to your photos? These apps are very versatile, and they allow you to enhance your image with a subtle flare, a splash of color, and various retro effects that mimic analog images.

Check out these popular apps and make your mobile photography even more awesome:

LensLight
Lens Distortions
TinType

Photo by Aaker

Further Reading:

How to Use Old Lenses and Speed Boosters With Your New Camera
4 Simple Strategies to Awaken Your Photographic Creativity
A Guide to Creating Mood In Your Images
How To Eliminate Lens Flare
What Is “Lens Flare” And How Do I Avoid It?
5 Ways To Avoid Lens Flare With Studio Lighting
Inspirational Black and White Quotes

4 ways to create spectacular highlights in portrait photography

It can be argued that the eyes are the most important part of a portrait. For the most part, it is the eyes that are the focus of the portrait, they immediately attract the viewer's eye.

The photographer needs to be able to correctly focus on the eyes of the person depicted in the photograph. One of the main ways to do this is to use highlights, reflections of light sources in the eyes.

Why are highlights so important, how to use them and how to control them for artistic purposes? nine0003

What is glare?

Glare is the reflection of a light source, natural light or flash, on the shiny surface of the eye.

From a photographic perspective, the presence of flare in portraiture means that details in the subject's eyes will be visible in the final images. If there is no detail in the eyes, it will be much more difficult for viewers to interact with the object. You've probably heard of the term "dead eyes" before. This is exactly what is meant. nine0003

Make sure you have highlights

Make sure highlights are a prominent feature in your subject's eyes, this will help you create more memorable portraits. Canon 5D Mark III|Canon EF 50mm f / 2.5 Macro|50mm|1/125 sec|f/5|ISO 100

To create bright highlights in your portraits, it's easiest to aim your main light directly at the subject's eyes. Since this main light will be the brightest light, this will help to maximize the brightness of the highlights. nine0003

If you are using natural light or studio lighting with modeling light, you will be able to see the glare in your subject's eyes before you even take the picture. All you have to do is turn the person so that the bright light is directed at them. If you are using a light source without a modeling light, be careful. Take a test shot to correct the subject's pose if necessary.

Highlight placement

A good starting point is where the main light hits the top of the subject's eye. This is a natural spot for highlights, leaving most of the eye unshaded. Canon 5D Mark III|Canon EF 50mm f / 2.5 Macro|50mm|1/60 sec|f/5.0|ISO 100

You can light the subject from above for more natural results. This method has several effects. The first of these is that it places highlights at the top of the subject's eye, as if the person were outdoors and lit by the sun from above. In addition, the glare at the top of the eyes helps to better see the eye in the frame.

If you want to use several highlights, the position of the rest doesn't really matter, it's important to place the main highlight exactly at the top of the eye. nine0003

Large or small flare

The size of the flare will depend on the light source you choose and how far that light source is from the subject. If you are shooting in the middle of a clear day, the light source will be the unclouded sun, and the flare will look like a small ray of light in the eyes.

If you shoot on an overcast day, the whole sky becomes your light source. Often the highlights look massive, like a reflection of everything that appears above the horizon. nine0003

If you are in the studio and using a large softbox close to the subject, the flare will be huge and take up most of the eye.

This way you can control the size of highlights. Often photographers prefer highlights to be medium. Too small will be barely visible and not expressive, especially in close-ups. Highlights that are too big take up a lot of space and dominate one of the most important parts of your image.

But there are no rules here, use highlights of any size. nine0003

Bright or dim

Another aspect of flare in portraiture that is dictated by the size of the light source is the brightness of the flare. Highlights created by smaller lights, such as the sun or small studio modifiers, will appear brighter than those made by larger lights, such as overcast skies or large studio modifiers.

Large lights close to the subject will produce dimmer highlights. Smaller light sources will result in brighter highlights. You should keep this in mind0003

Again, how you use this is entirely up to you. In a close-up portrait, when the eyes take up a significant part of the frame, the brightness of the highlights does not matter much. However, in a three-quarter or full-length shot, where the eyes make up a much smaller part of the image, you may want to brighten the highlights to make the eyes stand out more.

Of course, you always have the option to lighten highlights in post, but making the right choice while shooting can save you a lot of computer time. nine0003

More ways to use lens flare in portrait photography

Besides simply placing lens flare in the subject's eyes, there are other ways to use lens flare in portrait photography that can be quite fun and rewarding.

Add more lights

Adding more lights that reflect in your subject's eyes is one easy way to change the highlights in portraits. Canon 5D Mark III|Canon EF 16-35mm f / 4L IS USM|35mm|1/125 sec|f/5.6|ISO 100

Perhaps the easiest way to make the highlights in the eyes more interesting is to simply add a couple of extra lights. Any additional light that is in your subject's field of view usually appears as a second flare in their eyes.

The two fill lights appear as two extra highlights.

But here you have to be careful not to overdo it. If your subject's entire eye is filled with many large highlights, it will probably confuse the viewer. nine0003

Use a reflector

A plain white reflector is a great way to add a second faint highlight that brightens up your subject's eyes. Canon 5D Mark III|Canon EF 16-35mm f / 4L IS USM|35mm|1/125 sec|f/14|ISO 100

Adding a simple white reflector as a fill can help highlight your subject's eyes with flare. This usually produces a subtle effect, but can result in brighter, more vibrant human eyes in your images. nine0003

Reflector effect

Try different lighting schemes

Some lighting schemes, such as shell lighting, create really interesting highlights. Canon 5D Mark III|Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro|50mm|1/100 sec|f/9|ISO 100

Using lighting schemes that require multiple light sources can also produce unusual highlights. Cross lighting and clamshell lighting create interesting effects. Both of these configurations require only two light sources. nine0003

Here you can see the effect shell lighting has on the subject's eyes.

Use the new light sources.

Ring lamps and other new light sources create unique highlights. Canon 5D Mark III|Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro|50mm|1/60 sec|f/8|ISO 1000

There are a number of interesting lighting options on the market that provide unique highlights. The most notable of these is the ring light. When using a ring lamp, you shoot through this ring and the flare appears in the subject's eyes in the same ring shape. nine0003

Here you can see the distinct ring shape of the highlights created by the continuous ring light

But while many people really like the effect of new and unusual light sources, there are quite a few who are negative about their use. Focus here on your goals and on your customers.

Conclusion

Flare control helps the photographer get the most out of portraiture. Finding interesting highlights can lead you to a lot of interesting lighting configurations and settings. nine0003

4 ways to create spectacular highlights in portrait photography Grifon blog/news

Published: 08/24/2020 00:00

It is believed that the eyes are the main area of portrait photography. With a successful shooting, the gaze is the first to attract the attention of the audience, acting as an accent of the created image.

To make the work as successful as possible, professional photographers use glare - reflections of light fixtures or natural light sources in the eyes. nine0003

What are these highlights? What function do they perform? How can they be used? What equipment is needed to get good shots? Let's figure it out.

Glare is a specular reflection on the surfaces of the eyes, which is formed from the flickering of flashes, the radiance of the sun or artificial lighting devices.

The presence of such reflections in the eyes makes the portrait of the models live, and the image complete. With the help of glare, you can convey different emotions from boundless happiness to deep disappointment. The absence of flicker in the eyes will make them "dead", and the portrait - boring. nine0003

Make sure there are highlights

To maximize the glow of the eyes, it is enough to focus the main light source on the eye. Position the model so that the light beam is directed into her eyes. In this case, you will achieve the maximum effect.

Whether you're shooting outdoors, surrounded by sunlight, or in a studio using professional equipment, you'll be able to judge the quality of the highlights even before you start filming. The sparkle in the eyes is visible to the naked eye. If the primary result does not suit you, use auxiliary elements. Often, artists are helped out by reflectors on a 5-in-1 type spring. They remove unnecessary shadows from the face or, on the contrary, add drama to the image. nine0003

If the lighting on the site is unstable or the photo session is held at home, we recommend taking several test shots from different angles. This will help you determine the best area for shooting and choose the best pose for the subject.

Fixture Arrangement

Reflections look natural when the light source is placed over the object. Reflections in this case are in the upper part of the eyes, they emphasize the expressiveness of the look, its attractiveness and natural beauty. When shooting, you can use multiple light sources, such as sunlight and studio light. In this case, one will take on the main focus, and the second will be auxiliary, less expressive. nine0003

Large or small highlight?

What will be the size of highlights depends on several factors. Let's consider them.

Small reflections - obtained in open areas on bright, cloudless, sunny days.
Large glare - formed during overcast weather, when the light is scattered and muffled by clouds.

Flare is formed in a similar way in studio shooting conditions. By placing the softbox close to the model, the photographer will get large reflections in the eyes. As it moves away from the object, the size of the highlights will decrease. nine0003

Professional photographers prefer to use medium-sized highlights that do not cover the pupil or most of its half, but only emphasize the cut, the expressiveness of the eyes.

Vivid or subdued

The brightness of highlights in a photo depends on the size and type of light source. Small artificial glow devices or sunlight give rich, bright highlights. But large studio modifiers, located close to the object, cloudy sky, muffle the glow of highlights. nine0003

Brightness of highlights should be adjusted according to shooting conditions. If only the eyes are fixed in the frame, then the saturation of the shine in the look does not play a special role. But if the model poses in full growth or half, the expressiveness of the eyes should be adjusted with the help of highlights - to make them clearer, more noticeable.

Additional Flare Options

Photographers experimenting while shooting often results in unexpectedly successful shots. Creating highlights is one of the noteworthy ways that helps to make many good shots. nine0003

What is worth trying?

Use multiple lights around the perimeter of the set, facing the model. They will shine in different parts of the eyes and will give the look a sparkle, playfulness.
Use reflectors in good light. In this case, you will get double highlights - bright and muted, slightly noticeable.
Introduce novelty and variety. New ring lamps - a kind of know-how in studio shooting. With their help, distinct bright highlights in the form of rings are obtained. nine0076
Try cross light. To do this, place two light sources at the top and bottom of the model's face or on opposite sides of it. In the subject's gaze, you will see a "shell" or other double glow effect.

In conclusion

Playing with light, using peripheral equipment will allow you to get interesting portrait shots with glare in the eyes, to master a new shooting technique. Experiment, try, improve your professionalism and never stop. nine0003

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