Achieving great looking flares in photoshop???

[tf22raptor]

Hi all,

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if this images flares have been added in post?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27620885@N02/5078091387/

If so just wondering how I can bring in flares like that via photoshop. (I can never get my flares to look anywhere like this).

Is there a 3rd party filter out there somewhere that help to create great looking flares.

Any help would be great

[Nike SB'd]

I would say that the image you're looking at was a natural flare, mostly from the ghosting at the bottom edge of the frame. Typically that type of artifact is left out of a flare added in post.

There are flare brushes available online made with Knoll light studio, but they're too "perfect". I use them but blur them using a zoom blur with a slight gaussian after. Here are some examples of photos I have added in a flare in post...

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1436/4...a164efc1_o.jpg

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4033/4...cbac6d85_o.jpg

I've been meaning to make my own for the last year or so, maybe it's time I get off my butt and do it.

[Chain]

I wish Adobe would turn their Lens Flare filter into something useful that actually creates nice lens flares...

[tf22raptor]

Nike SB'd thanks for posting those pics, that's exactly the sort of thing I am trying to accomplish, that sort of overall ambient light feel.

Were those flares done with Knoll light, or can I download the brushes from somewhere?

With you Audi image, was that car dropped into the frame?

And with your race track image to get that dirty feel was that done with a filter like Lucis Art, or is it HDR, or some other tone mapping filter or a combination of both?

I'm trying to work on improving my skills in the area of setting up a composition combined of several different stock photos and then uniting them to make an image that overall looks real and feels the same, has the same overall tone etc.


PS. Chain yeah I hear you.

[Nike SB'd]

Originally Posted by tf22raptor

Nike SB'd thanks for posting those pics, that's exactly the sort of thing I am trying to accomplish, that sort of overall ambient light feel.

Were those flares done with Knoll light, or can I download the brushes from somewhere?

With you Audi image, was that car dropped into the frame?

And with your race track image to get that dirty feel was that done with a filter like Lucis Art, or is it HDR, or some other tone mapping filter or a combination of both?

I'm trying to work on improving my skills in the area of setting up a composition combined of several different stock photos and then uniting them to make an image that overall looks real and feels the same, has the same overall tone etc.


PS. Chain yeah I hear you.

You can download the exact brushes I used here - http://colorburned.com/2009/01/20_hi...otoshop_l.html

The car was actually shot on-site but it was processed in a separate group from the background so I could manage everything individually since the car needs different adjustment than the background.

The race track image was basically just a lot of local adjustments using adjustment layers. If you take a look at my blog (http://seanklingelhoefer.com/blog) I have quite a few image builds that should give you a good idea how I go about doing things.