Sunburst Style Sun Flare - 10 Ways to Achieve This Star-Like Effect

Have you ever wished you could make the sun have a star burst effect?. Sun flare, once you learn how to achieve it, is fun and very addictive!

Here are 10 easy to follow tips to help you achieve sun burst defined “star-like” style sun flare.

1. Start with clear day. A few clouds can be around, but the sun itself works best against a vibrant blue sky.
2. Shoot in Manual Mode! You need control.
3. 1st set your speed, likely to be ISO 100 but if near sunset may be ISO 200-400. Then set your aperture between f16-f22. Sun flare can be achieved when opened up more but the more “wide open” your lens, the less definition you will get. If you shoot with wider apertures, you may get Lens Flare and that hazy look, but not the crisp star burst effect.
4. Lastly set your shutter speed. You will need to vary this setting quite a bit depending what you want to preserve (sky or subject). I often split the difference and try to retain some blue sky (light) while not completely underexposing my subject. The exposure I can then adjust in Lightroom or Photoshop.
5. If you are having trouble getting the sky and subject exposed properly, you can either use fill flash or reflector if the subject is close. If the “subject” is a building or anything else and is far away, you likely will want to take two exposures back to back. Take one exposing for the sky and one exposing for your subject. Then merge in post processing.
6. Though the sun can be just about anywhere as you can see from these shots, the lower in the sky, the better. This is especially true if you want to get people in the shot. You can see in shots where it was high in the sky, it would be hard to include people in the shot.
7. One really great way to get sun flare is to use a building or tree - let the light play off the edge.
8. Shooting into the sun like this makes seeing your screen difficult. I strongly advise you not to look directly at the sun through your viewfinder. Ouch! After taking a few shots, turn the other way and check your images so you can see them better. See what needs to be altered with your settings.
9. Use your lens hood. Using one will help cut down on haze (unless of course that is the look you are going for).
10. Be creative and have fun. I personally love this look with architecture and environment. It works for portraits as well, but try not to overuse it. You can have too much of a good thing.

This article was written by Jodi Friedman of MCP Actions. MCP Actions offers original Photoshop Actions and Workshops to customers internationally, which enable photographers, at the click of a button, to enhance and enrich their photos in a fast and efficient way. Check out our website at: http://www.mcpactions.com and our blog at: http://www.mcpactions.com/blog