Photo Tips: Star effect on Sun

I have heard some of people said that this photo has been edited due to the star effect and flare. Well, actually it is not. So, how do I make it?

First of all, you will need a better lens. The start effect is related to the number of aperture blade. Normally kit lens have only 6 blades, therefore you will only get 6 point star. However, if the number of blades is odd, then you will get double, e.g. 7 blades will get 14 point star. But why i said you will need a better lens? Because normally the edge of spike of 6 point star isn't sharp, and the length of spike is short, hence the effect is very very poor.

Second, you have to set to small aperture. For reference, photo above is f16.

Next, for easier to get the start effect on sun, you will need something to block on part of the sun, as the photo show above, the roof has block part of the sun, and the spike came out from where the sun has been blocked. So you got your star effect =)

However, it is possible to get full star effect on the sun.



To get full star effect on the sun, you have to close down the aperture to very small, and expose with a little under exposure, and the ground will definitely become dark. The photo show above is HDR image, that is why you can still see the clear ground. For reference, this photo has set to the lowest aperture of the lens which is f32. If you have a kit lens, you can still try it out =)