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Allann
30-04-2009, 12:13pm
Ever wondered how people manage to get those nice stars around lights when taking night time shots? Ever thought, "I want that effect too, but how expensive could that filter be"? Would it surprise you that it's possible to do WITHOUT a filter? Well this little tutorial is here to help you get that effect, and not just at night, but during the day too.

I won't tell you how to achieve these setting on your camera as camera are all different, instead, dig out that manual and have a quick read, it'll tell you how much better than i could.

First, we need a subject, you can use my shot for inspiration or find your own. A sub reflection in the car chrome is another good subject too.

Second, we need to set you camera to manual mode, then set your apature to the highest value possible, on most it's around f22.

Now for the fun part, you need to adjust your shutter speed so that the image won't over/under expose. Most cameras have a little "needle" in the view finder, it needs to be as close as possible to the middle. Note: If your shutter speeds becomes too slow (anything less than 1/40 or so) which will happen at night or in the shade, you'll need a tripod or somewhere stable to put the camera on. At night, a remote release, or just use the camera timer to prevent shake.

Now take the picture with a bright spot in the image, e.g. the sun, and have a look at the result.
http://allannielsen.smugmug.com/photos/524015168_9RKt6-M.jpg
ISO100 13mm f22 1/80

You may need a few goes to get it right, changing the shutter speed to get the right exposure, but practice, practice, practice, and it won't be long before you get a keeper.

Here's an interesting bit of trivia, each lens will produce a different starburst effect according to how many blades are inside the lens. The image above was taken on a tokina ultra wide angle lens, whereas the one below was taken with a canon 24-70.
http://allannielsen.smugmug.com/photos/521010554_pVaF8-M.jpg
ISO100 24mm f16 20secs

As can be seen on the image above, it is possible to reduce your apature, but experiment as different lenses will give you a different effect.

Another way to get a good looking image is to put the bright spot on the edge of something, as this will also help generate a starburst, but usually only towards the edge covering the bright object.

http://allannielsen.smugmug.com/photos/521011029_zNHr8-M.jpg
ISO100 48mm f22 1/25

As this image shows, the starburst only shines towards the ocean because the sun is slightly covered by the cloud. You could also use the V in a tree trunk for example.

Anyway, time for me to stop, and you to go try. This effect can be achieved day or night, so go and play. Remember the key is a high f-stop number.

old dog
30-04-2009, 6:06pm
good information Allan.

Shane
30-04-2009, 6:45pm
Thanks Allann, I haven't ventured into manual mode yet. You have motivated me to do so. I'll give it a go this weekend.

Darvidanoar
01-05-2009, 4:59am
Hey, nice one Allan. :th3: I think all us have that same sun shot from the meet :)

pirate59
28-05-2009, 11:04am
thats a really good way to get an effect without relying on PP.

cant wait to try it out on some longer traffic trails exposures

Terri
28-05-2009, 11:11am
Thanks Allann! I might have to give this a try :)

Cris
28-05-2009, 7:34pm
Thanks Allan, another gem I didnt know, now to go and clean my sensor to get rid of the dust bunnies.

Cris

dalewilde
28-05-2009, 9:54pm
very informative thanks

Analog6
29-05-2009, 4:43am
I like the jetty one with the mutliple starbursts, a great effect.

bigdazzler
01-06-2009, 4:52pm
general rule of thumb is the smaller the aperture the more pronounced the effect .. well done Allan .. :th3:

AshDav
15-06-2009, 9:48pm
Thanks for that Allan. I'll certainly be giving that a go sometime soon :)

milspec
16-06-2009, 6:34am
Great tutorial. Thanks Albert :p

pgbphotographytas
16-06-2009, 6:38am
Really nice work with this guide, something else for me to try sometime.

Paul

beckett5361
16-06-2009, 9:54am
Thanks I will give that a go asap. :banana: :banana:

jamalnic
16-06-2009, 10:04am
Thank you Allan. I must give that a try.

Di :)

Allann
16-06-2009, 10:04am
Thanks I will give that a go asap. :banana: :banana:

It's great to see so many people wanting to try this. Can I suggest a few people post their results for different lenses so others can view the different starbursts that can be produced. Try not to post similar starbursts for lenses that have already been posted unless the starburst itself is very different. Make sure if you post you include the lens and camera used, and the settings.

driftr
16-06-2009, 10:12am
thanks alot, this will be very helpful. cant wait to try it :)

Seven
18-06-2009, 8:30pm
Allan done these a few times and must say great tip for everyone

mercho
19-06-2009, 8:19am
Great tips mate, thanks for sharing! :th3:

Krzys
21-06-2009, 10:21pm
Max Cooper (http://darktopography.blogspot.com) taught me that, in regards to night photography, f2.8 and larger will create orbs of light where f8 and smaller will create the stars discussed in this thread, though I wouldn't go past f8 at night.

http://www.darktopography.com/images/sad/sad157a.jpg

stoj19
28-06-2009, 8:43am
thanks for the help

driftr
01-07-2009, 8:32pm
thanks alot for the info allan,
i was waiting for my indian take away and had my camera with me and was playing around tonight. went through each fstop to see the difference... i will remember it next time im doing night shots :)

Dr Zeus
19-01-2010, 1:11pm
Thanks for the info great help

IanB
19-01-2010, 2:10pm
That maybe the new fizzbang way Allann; and this is an old fashioned way; fly screen gauze.

One piece in front of the lens like a filter will give a four point star; double it will give 8 point star.

But I'll have to try the new way; thanks for that Allann :)

Clubmanmc
19-01-2010, 2:38pm
hmmmm

i wish i had my old 75-300 that had a F32...

M

Allann
19-01-2010, 5:48pm
hmmmm

i wish i had my old 75-300 that had a F32...

M

70-200 does as well, and you have one of them.

makro
20-01-2010, 11:56am
thanks for the tutorial allan.

mikew09
20-01-2010, 12:42pm
Hey Allann,
I have wondered about the star burst effect in some of the forum photos. I always thought it was filter related only. Armed with new knowledge I will give this a crack.

Thanks

Mike

Allann
21-01-2010, 11:04pm
Max Cooper (http://darktopography.blogspot.com) taught me that, in regards to night photography, f2.8 and larger will create orbs of light where f8 and smaller will create the stars discussed in this thread, though I wouldn't go past f8 at night.

To quote darktopography.com from 6 june 2009:

-I used two apertures, f2.8 and f8. I would shoot five frames of each, starting at 5 seconds, and bracketing up to 80 seconds. This assured a VERY wide range of exposures, so that I could be reasonably sure I got the shot. It also gave me two different renderings of light sources.

The inclusion of light sources in those early images was very important to me. In addition to aesthetics, I had thematic reasons for including a source. Wide apertures render light sources as indistinct orbs; narrow apertures will bend light around the corners of the iris, creating sharp star-shapes.

This i can understand how the higher f8 at a long exposure could probably create such a star shape. But I have found that even at f32 on my 50D at the time and 5D2 now will produce limited stars (70-200 2.8). The sharper the aperture blade corners in the lens the bigger the star shape. Each lens will be different.

Quick question though, did you get the OK to post his image on AP or are we now in breech of copyright on that image?

melmo78
21-01-2010, 11:52pm
wow thanks for the tutorial im going to give that a go this weekend

Jacs14
03-04-2010, 10:03pm
Thanks Allan for the tutorial ... tried it out the other day!!!!
1st attempt

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4485951391_5a28aa6f9a_b.jpg

Allann
04-04-2010, 1:37pm
Great first attempt. Well Done. I realise it was an attempt to do the starburst, but in this shot I would have either put the sun right in the middle, or 2/3 across. Keep em coming though, try a street shot next using the street or car lights at night.

Natsky
04-04-2010, 2:04pm
Been playing around recently with starbursts so here are 2 lenses to add to the mix.

This is the Nikon 14 -24 f/2.8 @ f/11
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GqJPvLYZrmU/S7MARhES0DI/AAAAAAAAAVA/1gGcIc-S8nk/s1600/lismorepolitan1003++005.jp

and this is the Nikon 10.5mm f2.8 @ f/8
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_GqJPvLYZrmU/S7L1GldZObI/AAAAAAAAAUY/R-1Qt7ryFm0/s1600/fisheyeflatrock++003.jpg

After reading Allann's post, I will be choosing a much smaller aperture next time I have a play.

Wayne
04-04-2010, 2:18pm
I wonder where diffraction plays it's part if at all given the small fstop's like f22-32

dieselpower
06-04-2010, 6:30am
Thanks for this handy Tip Allann.

Put it into practice yesterday while out 4wding and got a few shots.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/thomasando/Murphys%20April%202010/94776cff.jpg
I know this one is blurry - slow shutter speed (1/30) and moving subject made it somewhat difficult.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd19/thomasando/Murphys%20April%202010/bd9fbe9f.jpg

beckett5361
28-04-2010, 1:48pm
Hi I gave this a try and while it was not as good as I wanted it I will give it some more practise thanks for the info.

makro
04-05-2010, 1:08pm
a quick question. wouldnt all this looking into the sun play havoc with your vision? Maybe using live view mode (if your camera has it) would be better if you are taking shots of the sun.

Thoughts anyone?

Regnis
08-08-2010, 8:13pm
thanks very much for this allen..will come in very hand in the next couple of weeks for me :)

Elvie
27-02-2011, 10:41am
Thanks Allann, I will be having more practice with this now that I am wiser on the tricks. Elvie