I’mfascinatedby bokeh,lens
flareand starburst.Howcan
I guaranteeto seethese
in-camera effects in my shots?
Sarah Goff, Leicestershire
Tim says: Lens effects are one of those
wonderful blends of science and art
that photography does so well. Without
gettingintoanythingreallycomplex
intermsof explanations,it’sworth
understandingthattheseeffectsare
a productof thewaythatlensesareput
to getherandhowlightmovesbetween
- and is internallyreflectedby – the
variouspiecesof glassandmetalparts
ofthelens.As such,theyarevery
muchaffectedby choiceof lensdesign,
aperture,focallengthandlighting.
Bokeh
Bokehis recognisedas theartisticwayin
whicha lensrendersout-of-focuspoints
oflight.Gettingbokehis quiteeasy– you
needa lenswitha wideaperture,setto
it s smallestf/number,anda backdrop
withsomehighlightsin it (fairylights
are alwaysa winner).Theout-of-focus
highlightsgiveyouyourbokeh.The
‘q uality’of thebokehis downto thelens
- primelensescreatemuchbetterbokeh
thanzooms,andlenseswithround
aperturebladesarguablymakenicer
bokehthanthosewithstraightblades.
Flare
Flareis producedby internalreflections
inthelens,as lightbouncesaroundthe
variouspiecesof glassthatmakeup
yourlens.Manufacturerstryto limit
flareby coatingthelensglasswith
anti-reflectivechemicals,but pointing
a cameratowardsa strongsourceof light
- suchas thesun– shouldstillproduce
flare.Youcanaddflarewhenyou’renot
fa cingthesunby reflectinglightintothe
le nswitha shinyobject,suchas a CD,
heldcloseto thefrontelementof the
le nsandangledto directthelight.
St arburst
Starbursteffectscanbe producedwith
specialisedfilters,butyourlenscan
createthemnaturallyviainternal
di ffraction.All youneedis a small
aperturesetting– ideallyaroundf/22
- and a strongsourceof light.Often
ni ght-timeurbanscenescanreallybe
enhancedwithstarbursteffectsfrom
brightlights.
Above & left Starburst and lens flare effects
need a bright light source in front of the lens.
AboveBokehshapeandsizeis affected
bylensdesignandtheapertureused.
Know Your Stuff
Is there a guaranteed
way to get lens effects?
Withphonecamerasnow
capableof takingreally
goodpictures,do we
st ill need‘proper’cameras?
BrianChadwick,Preston
Adamsays:Yoursis a question
th atmustkeepmanycamera
manufacturersawakeat night!It’s
a tr uismthatthebestcamerayou
haveis theoneyou havewithyou,
and,as we all carryphonesthese
days,it is inevitablethatmostof
ustakethemajorityof ourshots
ona smartphone.Indeed,phones
haveeffectivelykilledoff thebasic
compactcameramarket– though
th ere’sstilla placeforthe‘tough’
modelsandthemorehigh-endkit
wi thlargersensorsandpremium
br andnameson them.
But whilephonecameras
continueto improve,noneof them
ri val‘real’camerasin termsof the
qualityof output,andtheystill
don’tdelivertherangeof user
controlthata DSLRorCSCcan
of fer.Interchangeablelenses,
fu ll controlovershutterspeed,
apertureandISO,longexposures
- th esearenotoptionson most
phones.Therearebenefitsto
beingableto shoot,theninstantly
edit andshareshotswhenon the
go,butfortheseriousshooter,
th ereisn’tyet
a smartphone
outthere
that’s good
enoughto
replacea
DSLRor CSC.
BOKEH
STARBUST FLARE
Why not just
shoot on your
smartphone?