I love sunflare!

I have been obsessed with sunflare in photography for a couple months now. It has really been drawing me into images by photographers I really love. I have been trying to learn how to use it a little more effectively in my own work. This weekend I made a few attempts.


This one was taken in Glenwood Springs, on a mountain, at about noon. The sun has a little bit of a starburst flare, but I like the sparkling light circles that are floating around, too.


My daughter patiently crawled around the soccer field for me, while I tried to get the sun from the right angle. I think there's a pretty decent chance her first memory of me will be with my camera protruding from my eye. I liked these two best.

Getting this right is fun to try, because it seems to be equal parts luck and technique. It's definitely a challenge to learn how to use the sun effectively in a portrait, but you also never know exactly in what way it's going to react to your lens and camera.