Add artistic flare with prism portraits

Dan Mold shows you how to inject creative flare effects into your portraits using an affordable glass prism

- Dan Mold

THE MISSION

Inject flare with a dynamic prism portrait

Time needed 30 minutes

Skill level Intermediate

Kit needed

• Kit lens or 50mm

• Glass prism

With the advent of digital imagery and websites now enabling us to zoom right in on images to ‘pixel peep,’ we’ve become slightly obsessed with megapixels, image quality, and getting the sharpest possible shots.

Perfection isn’t the be-all and end-all though – you can get fantastic images by introducing distortion and flare when used with the right corrective vision.

For a flare effect you’ll need some basic photographic kit, such as a Canon EOS DSLR or mirrorless camera with manual and semi-automatic modes, as well as a lens. A 50mm prime lens for portraits will work best, yet you’ll get great results even with a kit lens. Shooting towards the sun with your lens hood removed is one way to introduce flare into your shots – this will create a diffused, washed out and dreamy quality, great for creating a soft and gentle aesthetic.

You can also hold an inexpensive glass prism in front of your camera’s lens to create flair, diffusion, vibrant distorted colours and reflections.

Glass prisms come in all different shapes and sizes and can be picked up readily online for a few pounds, you can even get specialized kits, like the Lensbaby Omni system. We however used a 15cm tall triangular prism for our shoot that cost about £7. These super affordable accessories are well worth having in your kit bag as they open up a world of creative opportunities – particularly for portrait work.