It's pretty much a given that you need light to take a photo. The important thing to remember of course is that you don't have to take what you are given.
 |
| Cath and Doug in Cairns, July 2011 |
Light can be increased, decreased, changed in colour, bounced around and generally made to do whatever you want.
 |
| Adam and Danielle, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, January 2006 |
One of my favourite ways to play with and manipulate light is using lens flare. Flare manifests as a general haze across an image making it look washed out, or as spots, rings and artifacts. The more complicated your lens and the more elements inside it generally the more funky the flare can turn out.
 |
| Columns at the Legion of Honor, San Francisco 2012 |
There's a whole school of thought on preventing the evils of lens flare. Really though it's as simple as don't shoot into the sun, use your lens hood to block the sun or even your hand if your lens hood maybe got mysteriously lost, and pay attention to what you are doing. Look at the LCD on the back of your camera, that is what it is there for, and move if you are getting unwanted flare.
 |
| Cerkan waiting for Jayda, November 2006 |
Yes, flare can be annoying, inappropriate and a total bastard to try and edit out of an image. But when you can't beat it, join it! In situations where I've found it hard to avoid getting flare in an image I simply used it to my advantage.
 |
| Margo and Ben, Tweed Art Gallery, March 2008 |
 |
| Somewhere on the way to Anza Borrego, shot on film November 2004 |
 |
| Kate and Grant at Point Danger, April 2007 |
 |
| San Francisco, September 2007 |
 |
| Pamela and Stuart at Seaworld, July 2007 |
 |
| Elise at Hastings Point, April 2014 |
