4 steps to fisheye photos with amazing lens flare

What I Used:

1. Lensbaby Scout
2. Fisheye Optic
3. Sun at "magic hour"
4. Metadata: ISO 400, shutter speed 1/1600, aperture f/5.6, Over exposed by 1 & 1/3 stop

How It Came Together:

1. I wanted to use the lovely color and angle of the early-evening sun as the star of my image, but any bright light source can potentially work. If your subject is somewhat translucent, like the leaves of the sunflower in this image, so much the better as it can make your image pop even more.
2. On this photo walk, I had the f/5.6 aperture disk in my Fisheye Optic. In the shade, I needed to use the f/5.6 aperture at this hour of the day to let enough light into the lens. I could have switched to an f/8 or even 11 while shooting in the sun to get a little bit sharper near the edges, but I think it turned out just fine.
3. As I composed the shot, I chose to place the sunflower in the left third of the image as I felt that the building to the left, the leading line of the sidewalk, and the textured brick of the wall to the right framed the flower perfectly and lead the eye through to the sun at the end of the street. And, of course, I pointed the lens right into the sun - on purpose.
4. I got nice and close to the sunflower. Close focus (you can get up to 1/2" away from your subject!) is one of the best things about the Fisheye Optic. I was probably about a foot or so back from the sunflower for this shot.
5. I adjusted my angle slightly to let the light seep into the lens and embrace the outside of the image with a glow that matched the lovely tone of the sun.
6. I tried a few shots and ended up over-exposing by 1 & 1/3 stop. Listening to my camera's light meter would have meant a more silhouetted foreground, which is not what I wanted for this photo. So with a little educated guessing, the over-exposure did the trick.
7. At home, I made some quick, basic curves, levels, and contrast adjustments in Photoshop.

To see more Fisheye images, visit our Fisheye gallery page or our Scout with Fisheye Facebook tab.