How to Achieve This Effect!

Christopher Lew · October 17, 2015

Hello,

I've been searching for a while now on how to achieve this effect. Here's a perfect example:

It's the beautiful ghosting effect when the light hits the lens at particular times. It looks as though some kind of classic soft filter and they're letting light leak behind it? Or is this a separate piece of glass?

Thanks!

Chris

David Mullen ASC · October 17, 2015

It's just a veiling glare, helped by the fact that there is a filter in front of the camera -- could be Soft-FX, hard to say but you can see the pattern of the filter in the bokeh of the lens flares. But the lens itself may also be prone to veiling when flared from the edge.

Christopher Lew · October 17, 2015

It's just a veiling glare, helped by the fact that there is a filter in front of the camera -- could be Soft-FX, hard to say but you can see the pattern of the filter in the bokeh of the lens flares. But the lens itself may also be prone to veiling when flared from the edge.

Thanks David! Would you have any recommendations as to how this could be achieved? Particular lenses that have very obvious veiling? It looks as thought they're able to get varying degrees of intensity.

Satsuki Murashige · October 17, 2015

Older lenses with fewer coatings are more sensitive to light hitting the front element and and thus produce more veiling glare. Anything made pre-1980 should produce the effect you're looking for - Zeiss Super Speeds, Standard Speeds, Cooke Speed Panchros, old manual focus stills lenses like Nikkors, etc.

Aim a sharp light source like a fresnel, ellipsoidal, parcan, or led flashlight at the lens from just off camera. Remove the matte box or lens shade for more flare. Sometimes people do the flashlight trick or use a small mirror to flare the lens from next to the camera because the effect is more controllable.

David Mullen ASC · October 18, 2015

Zoom lenses are also more prone to flares but in terms of the veiling problem, you'd have to test different lenses at the rental house for that, basically by hitting the lens from the edge. Ones where the front element is close to the end of the lens rather than deeply recessed will make getting that flare from an edge light easier. As Satsuki says, older lenses are more prone to flare.