Lens Flare - Deliberate Use

Deliberate Use

A lens flare is often deliberately used to invoke a sense of drama. A lens flare is also useful when added to an artificial or modified image composition because it adds a sense of realism, implying that the image is an un-edited original photograph of a "real life" scene.

For both of these reasons (implying realism and/or drama) artificial lens flare is a common effect in various graphics editing programs, although its use can be a point of contention among professional graphic designers. Lens flare was one of the first special effects developed for computer graphics because it can be imitated using relatively simple means. Basic flare-like effects, for instance in computer and video games, can be obtained using static or animated starburst, ring, and disc textures that are moved according to the position of the light source. More sophisticated rendering techniques have been developed based on ray tracing or photon mapping.

Lens flare was typically avoided by Hollywood cinematographers, but when filming Easy Rider, Laszlo Kovacs was forced to jury-rig a camera car for his Arriflex, which resulted in numerous lens flares as he shot motorcycle footage against Southwestern U.S. landscapes.

JJ Abrams, the director of the 2009 version of Star Trek, used this technique. "I wanted a visual system that felt unique. I know there are certain shots where even I watch and think, "Oh that's ridiculous, that was too many." But I love the idea that the future was so bright it couldn't be contained in the frame." Many complained of the frequent use, Abrams admitted it was "overdone, in some places."

David Boyd, the director of photography of the sci-fi Firefly series, desired this style so much (harking back to 1970s television), that he sent back the cutting-edge lenses which reduced lens flare in exchange for cheaper ones.