Lens flare
Streaks, colored ghosts, or milky haze caused when a bright light hits the lens and bounces or scatters inside it.
See it
What it is
Lens flare happens when a strong light enters the lens and reflects or scatters inside it before reaching the sensor. It can appear as a milky loss of contrast, colored ghosts, aperture-shaped polygons, or a streak. The blue horizontal flare associated with Star Trek (2009) is the anamorphic version of the effect.
Reach for flare when the light source should feel physically present: a backlit portrait, headlights at night, or low sun grazing the frame. Remove the lens hood, place the source just inside or outside the frame, and make small camera movements until the ghosts clear the subject.
Gotcha: flare lowers contrast and can hide important detail. Dust, cheap filters, and a dirty front element can add uncontrolled haze, while a flare pasted far from any plausible light source reads as decoration. Clean the lens and let the source determine the geometry.
Ask AI for it
Photograph this backlit portrait with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM, remove the lens hood, and place the low sun just inside the upper-left frame edge. Keep the face exposed and sharp while allowing one soft amber veiling flare and a short chain of faint aperture ghosts to cross the empty side of the frame, with no flare covering the eyes.