Skip to main content
Tech Radar Tech Radar TechRadar The source for Tech Buying Advice
Subscribe
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
Technology Magazines
Technology Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviews
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12.99
View Deal
  • News
  • Best
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
  • How To
  • Deals
  • More
    • Versus
    • Appliances
    • Audiovisual
    • Cameras
    • Car Tech
    • Computing
    • Coupons
    • Downloads
    • Entertainment
    • Fitness
    • Laptops
    • Phones
    • Smart Home
    • Tablets
    • TVs
    • Wearables
    • About Us
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Memorial Day sales
  • iPhone 15
  • Google Pixel Fold
  • ChatGPT
  • Wordle hints
  • Best VPN

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. How-to

How to add lens flare to a portrait

By Tom Welsh
published 20 June 2016

Do it with flair

Master lens flair portraits

Master lens flair portraits

Lens flare is something we normally try hard to avoid in our images. Indeed, lens makers go to great pains to develop coatings that reduce the effects of flare, and lens hoods are designed to prevent flare-inducing stray light from striking the front element. But in this tutorial we're going to use lens flare to our advantage for a creative portrait.

Lens flare is caused by light bouncing around in the lens barrel as it is reflected off the various glass elements inside the lens. It is most commonly seen on bright days when the sun is in the shot, where it manifests itself as bright, colourful rings that radiate from the light source, or, if the sun is just out of the frame it can make the entire shot look hazy, flooding the image with a soft, bright light that reduces contrast and leaves the shot looking washed out. This is due to light leaking in from the sides of the frame.

  • 18-55mm lenses: how to shoot stunning portraits using just your standard lens

Although lens flare is usually considered undesirable, it can be used to enhance images with creative effects, either in an abstract and overpowering style for some unusual shots, or subtly to add a faint, soft, romantic glow to your portraits, ideal for spring and summer shoots.

To balance exposures when using such strong backlighting, try using a reflector to fill in some of the shadows and brighten up your subject, thus enabling you to capture an exposure that darkens brighter skies and keeps the cloud textures from blowing out.

  • How to get rid of shadows in your photos
Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
1. Low light

1. Low light

Shoot late in the afternoon on a sunny day so you can place the sun low in the sky behind your model. If you shoot too early in the day, you will have to frame your model at an extreme – and unflattering – angle.

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
2. Find the angle

2. Find the angle

Position your model to the west, so that you're shooting directly into the sun, and at an angle where the sun is partially blocked by their head, so its light wraps around them, creating a rim light effect.

  • The best camera settings for outdoor portrait photography
Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
3. Frame the sun

3. Frame the sun

Having the sun clear in the sky will blow out the highlights and flood onto your model, obscuring their face. Block the sun from view and then move slightly to let it creep around your subject for a subtle flare.

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
4. Difficult Focusing

4. Difficult Focusing

Shooting into light can cause autofocus problems. Set back-button focusing, so the shutter button only fires the camera; now you can focus as your model blocks the sun, then shoot the flare without refocusing.

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
5. Aperture Priority

5. Aperture Priority

Set your camera to Av mode to control the depth of field and set a wide aperture to blur the background; we've used f/2.8.

This softens the light and lens flare for a more pleasing light around a shallow focal point.

  • The Exposure Triangle: aperture, shutter speed and ISO explained
Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
6. Exposure compensation

6. Exposure compensation

To keep your model from underexposing against the bright sky, dial in positive exposure compensation to lighten shadows. Start off with 1/3 stop, and increase it until there's a good level of detail in your subject.

  • How to take double exposure pictures in your camera
Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
Tom Welsh
Social Links Navigation
See more Photography & video capture how-to
More about photography video capture
Macro of a red flower petals

6 photography tricks for taking beautiful flower pictures

DJI Mavic 3 Pro drone in flight on a intermittent cloudy day

DJI Mavic 3 Pro review – three is the magic number

Latest
Computex

Computex 2023: everything to know about the biggest computing event of the year

See more latest ►
Most Popular
How to watch MasterChef USA season 13 free online: stream every episode of United Tastes of America from anywhere

By Daniel PatemanMay 24, 2023

How to boot someone from your Netflix account and stop password sharing

By Amelia SchwankeMay 24, 2023

How to prevent a data breach

By Nikki JohnstonMay 24, 2023

How to download videos from Twitter

By Josephine WatsonMay 24, 2023

Fiorentina vs Inter live stream: how to watch the Coppa Italia final anywhere

By Kevin LynchMay 24, 2023

How to watch Indy 500 2023: live stream IndyCar online from anywhere

By Aatif SulleymanMay 24, 2023

Overwatch 2 Symmetra guide: lore, abilities, and gameplay

By Elie GouldMay 24, 2023

Overwatch 2 Torbjörn guide: lore, abilities, and gameplay

By Elie GouldMay 24, 2023

How to watch the May 2023 PlayStation Showcase

By Cat BussellMay 24, 2023

How to create an online store

By Kenneth C. NzeoguMay 24, 2023

How to watch American Born Chinese online: stream the new Disney Plus series from anywhere

By Daniel PatemanMay 24, 2023

  1. A screen shot of the Live TV tab on Android TV
    1
    Android TVs are getting 800 free channels in a great free update
  2. 2
    Apple TV Plus is now a sci-fi TV show utopia – here are 4 series you need to watch
  3. 3
    The latest iPhone 15 charging rumor sounds very un-Apple
  4. 4
    Don’t panic: there’s a reason your iPhone’s battery is draining faster than usual
  5. 5
    You'll soon be able to create all kinds of documents in Google Docs - here's how
  1. iOS tips
    1
    These 5 hidden iOS tricks will help you navigate your iPhone faster
  2. 2
    Amazon dunking on Netflix's password rules takes us back to PlayStation vs Xbox One
  3. 3
    Don’t panic: there’s a reason your iPhone’s battery is draining faster than usual
  4. 4
    Feeling pumped after Arnie’s Netflix show FUBAR? Watch these 6 action comedies now
  5. 5
    Microsoft is finally introducing the feature that’ll make me upgrade to Windows 11

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.