Behind the Lens

2.8Light Reading: Learning to Create and Control Lens Flare

Back when I was a wee lad and an electrician working in films, a cinematographer once looked at me and said, “Do you know the difference between an accidental flare and an intentional one?” I thought for a moment and had to admit, I did not. He said, “Your day rate.”

I had to laugh. What is, optically, an aberration and a fault of the optics can also be seen as quite beautiful and organic addition to the frame and mood of the scene.

A lens flare results from non-imaging light that enters the lens and is reflected off of the various surfaces within the lens to be photographed by the sensor. This means the flare is not part of the scene being photographed, but rather is an artifact created ...