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Everything You Need to Know About Camera Lens Flare and How to Avoid it
Camera lens flare is considered an unwanted element which diminishes the contrast of the image, but it can be avoided by using a lens hood.
Avoid camera lens flare
Have you ever experienced a scenario where you took an image of the subject with the sunlight behind it and after taking the picture you saw an unwanted polygonal-shaped light disrupting the overall quality of your photograph? This effect is called camera lens flare.
The reason behind this disruption is the entrance of non-image-forming light into the lens sensors. This effect minimizes the details of the actual object in the photograph. Your final photograph will have a lower contrast level.
Make no mistake; although camera lens flare is considered an unwanted element in the photograph, this does not mean that it always casts a bad impression on the photo. This effect can also enhance the appearance of your picture as well. You may have seen many aesthetic photographs with this flare effect. The reason for using this is to enhance the lighting aesthetics in the final image.
Don’t worry! There are various ways you can use to avoid camera lens flare. Camera flare can become a headache if you are a beginner. Try out these methods and avoid camera flare for the entire photography session:
What do we do when there is immense sunlight outside and we have to focus on something far away? We put one hand over our eyes to create a shade for them to focus. Doing so prevents the sunlight from entering into our lens.
A lens hood follows the same principle. A lens hood is fixed on the front end of your camera to prevent sunlight from affecting the functionality of the lens. Your camera lens is no longer exposed to direct sunlight, and it becomes easier for you to capture your desired photograph without the worries of camera lens flare anymore.
Buy a lens hood instead of wasting your time searching for the best camera lens for flare. The final image taken using a lens hood will have better contrast and no flare at all. Keep in mind that the length of the lens hood is directly related to its light-blocking ability. Using a long lens hood will block the flare effect more efficiently, but this does not mean that you use an unnecessarily long lens hood, which may result in obscuring the image light.
Another benefit of using a lens hood is that it also protects the camera lens from trivial damages.
The natural way to avoid camera lens flare is to change the angle of your photograph. If you are consistently facing the issue of flare, then you must try out different angles which change the sunlight effect on the camera lens.
But this process requires some experience as changing the angle can distort the actual aesthetics of your photograph.