Sun flares and starbursts bring sparkle to any photo, and fortunately are not difficult to create. They are created by the light passing through the aperture of the lens. The aperture is formed by a small number of overlapping blades which reduce the hole as we increase the f-stops. When the whole is small, for the sake of argument f/11 and above, the light is diffracted, or bent a little as its passes through the aperture. This creates the starburst on the captured image. The number of points on the star is defined by the number of blades, and the number of blades tends to increase with the price of the objective. Shooting sun flares and starbursts can be achieved in few simple steps.
In these 2 photographs the light source is the sun, but it doesn’t have to be. The first is taken at 1/125s f/11, the second 1/60 at f/16, both with a 50mm objective.
I have chosen to have a small sun flare in these two photos. You can adjust your settings and position to make them bigger.
Equipment:
- light source
- for example 18mm to 50mm focal length objective
- small aperture
- tripod
Steps:
Time needed: 10 minutes
Shooting Sun Flares and Starbursts
- Assess the lighting
If pointing at the very bright sun, consider fixing a filter to the objective, if at night use a tripod
- Set to Aperture priority
- Set ISO to 100
- select F/22 to start
- Shoot without looking directly at the sun and adjust as needed
Some of my photos are available for purchase on my Adobe Stock store or directly below.