Flagrant Lens Flare - Flaw or Feature?

[OldCrow]

Generally I try to compose street scenes to exclude streetlights. In this case, I couldn't get far enough from the front of the building without seeing the light.

In the end, I like the flare even though some would consider it a flaw.

Out of curiosity, are there any tricks to minimizing the flare that I can try on future shots? It might be handy to either keep or reduce the flare depending on the image.



(Rebel XSi w/18mm-55Kit lens; 24mm F5.7 @(8 sec/4 sec/2 sec/1 sec/.5 sec/.25 sec) ISO 100- Manual Focus, IS off
HDR created in Photomatix Pro 3.0)

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Dave,

Another beautiful after dark HDR.

The flare is OK, I suppose you could just reduce with careful cloning on a new layer and merge it in to the final pic. (I have seen more attractive flares )

The only other thing that detracts for me is the converging verticals, I think I would have straightened things up, may be not completely, but more than we see here.

In terms of minimising, for in shot light sources, there's little you can do beyond remove any protective filter you may normally have fitted (at least that's the standard advice - I haven't any personal experience whether it makes a noticeable difference, but I suspect it may).

[kevinbythebeach]

Nice picture... I really like the old brick and the building front...the old paint advertisment on the side of the building really adds to it...Id get rid of the umbrellas if i could...

And as far as the street light flare......shot it with a bb gun....

[OldCrow]

The only other thing that detracts for me is the converging verticals, I think I would have straightened things up, may be not completely, but more than we see here.

Thanks for calling me out on that, I appreciate it. Back in my 4x5 days I would have tilted to correct the perspective. I've clearly gotten lazy!

Here is the corrected result;



Thanks again for the helpful and constructive nudge!

[Antonio Correia]

Instead of trying to erase - somehow - the street light from your composition, try the reverse:
take advantage of it.
Take the picture with the smallest possible aperture and you will get these stars.
Be aware however that diffraction may come with a long exposure...
It's diffraction isn't it Dave ?

Excuse me but I post here one of my photos to show the effect. If you wish I can erase it. I am not trying to hijack your thread.
And no, this is not a good picture but good enough to show you my point.

Click on the picture for the EXIF please.

[OldCrow]

Excuse me but I post here one of my photos to show the effect. If you wish I can erase it. I am not trying to hijack your thread.

No worries, I appreciate the tip! Your post is 100% on-topic and your point is well taken.

I usually shoot at about F8 and start at 30 seconds. It was 2:30 in the morning and I wanted to go home so I sacrificed and opened up to reduce the shutter speeds.

I'll be in the same area next week, I'll try the same shot at F22 and post the result here.