How to Remove Lens Flare in Photoshop

Photoshop is a great photo editing tool where you can edit photos, correct any errors, fix lighting, remove unwanted details, and many more. Lens flare is a common problem; sometimes, it is tough to remove. Every photographer faces a lens flare in their image that can be removed via photoshop.

In this article, we’ll walk you through two simple techniques for removing color tints and light streaks caused by lens flare in Adobe Photoshop. So let’s get started and learn how to quickly and easily remove lens flare in Photoshop!

What is Lens Flare

Lens flare is an unnecessary formatting light caused by bright light traveling before it reaches the image sensor.

It reduces an area of actual image color, contrast, and saturation, and you will see spots on the image. It also can degrade image quality and render the image unusable.

How to Remove Lens Flare Before Shooting

The flare happens when the sunlight is bright or when you are shooting directly at the sun. You can prevent this with a few tips. Such as using a lens hood, the hood makes a cover on the lens so that the light won’t reflect. Also, shoot under any shade, like under a tree or beside a large rock.

When you cannot prevent sunlight from directly falling onto the lens, use a tripod and compose the photo. Block the sun with your thumb, then take a picture.

How to Remove Lens Flare in Photoshop After Shooting

Photoshop has many tools to remove lens flare. Using which tools will be effective depends on the flare size and amount.

You can follow three different methods to remove flare, and the simplest one is cloning the photo. Whatever the method is, the job should be done cleanly by using the computer or laptop.

Method 1: Content Aware

First of all, open photoshop and import the picture. Photoshop has content-aware spot correction, so select the content familiar at the top menu. Zoom the flare area to remove it more cleanly. Create a new layer, select the flare area, and then paint it entirely. Photoshop will handle the rest. Sometimes the removal could not be perfect, so undo it and paint again to see if it does a better job. If it does not work perfectly, use the clone tool to correct the mistakes.

When selecting the flare, leave a little space between the edge of the flare, so photoshop will add pixels to make the edge smooth.

Method 2: Cloning

Select the clone stamp tool, then set the size. After that, select a clone source near the flare area so that when you remove the flare, the area will look like there was no such thing. Now paint the room until the flare is gone.

In cloning, use a stiff brush with 100% opacity so the detail won’t blur. The area should blend smoothly, and set the opacity at 50% to remove any junction. Also, try to match the pattern. The shortcut of the patch tool is “J.” You may need to correct some spots locally and try to avoid repeated texture.

Method 3: Frequency Separation

Professionals mostly used the frequency separation method. However, the process is not easy as content awareness or cloning, and you have to learn it. You have to change the color without changing the detail. First, duplicate the background, select it, and press ctrl J twice so the background will repeat twice. Go to one layer and select “filter<blurr<gaussian blur and set the radius around 10 pixels. Rename the layers for better understanding.

Then select the other layer and turn the visibility. Select “image<apply image, then select the color layer and check if the channel is RBG and working is 16bit. Then select the “invert” and set the “blending” to add, set the scale 2 and click “ok.”

After that, change the blend mode to linear light. Put the two layers into layer groups. Select the first layer and click alt so the entire image will blur. Click the clone tool and paint the flare area with a large soft brush. The beauty of this method is the texture remains the same.

Here the flare doesn’t remove directly; the tool matches the flare with the near or underneath area. Some flared areas might look a little crunchy, so adjust them locally. This process is time-consuming and you can face some complexity, but it works well.

Method 4: Curve Correction

Curve methods are more colorful than the previous three methods so that the contrast could be lost from the image. The curve tool sets the exact color underneath the flare. Create a new curve adjustment layer, then go to the color channel and select a color that matches the flare.

Such as, if the photo has an orange flare, choose a red color. Also, you need to know the color theory.

Set a black point to the channel and remove the photo’s light. Then go to the second channel, select layer mask, fill it with black, and invert it. Do it gradually, and the flare will start to disappear. Return to the original image and paint the flare with 10% opacity.

How to Remove Light Streaks in Photoshop

Don’t worry! With just a few simple steps in Photoshop, you can remove light streaks pretty easily. Lens flares happen by light directly reflects off the camera’s lens. That makes a bright area of light or even a rainbow-like effect.

Create a duplicate layer by pressing Command/Ctrl+J in photoshop and applying the “Luminosity” blending mode to separate the colors you want to reduce. Usually, it can be found in the drop-down menu found on the options bar near the top of the software interface.

Adjust the opacity until you get the desired result, then use filters such as “Gaussian Blur” or “Noise Reduction” to remove any residual light streaks. With these easy techniques, you’ll be able to get rid of pesky lens flares in no time!

FAQs on Removing Lens Flare in Photoshop

Check out them:

How Do You Reduce Lens Flare?

You can reduce lens flare in some ways. Such as, attaching a hood to the front of your lens can help to shield it from stray light that can cause a lens flare. Sometimes, simply changing the angle at which you’re shooting can help to reduce lens flare. A polarizing filter can help to minimize lens flare by decreasing the glare that reaches the lens.

If you can, try to move the light source, so it’s no longer shining directly into the lens. You can also use image editing software to remove lens flare from your photos after they have been taken.

What Filters Reduce Lens Flare?

Polarizing filters and Neutral Density (ND) filters are great camera accessories that can reduce lens flare by blocking glare and reducing the amount of light that enters the lens. Another easy and cheap solution is a UV filter. It cuts down the shiny lights that try to reach lenses.

Conclusion

Lens flare, whatever may be the intensity, is an unwanted thing in your images. You should take necessary preventive measures so that it does not happen with your images. If it happens, we have mentioned some easy methods for removing lens flare in photoshop.

There are many other methods that you can apply to modify your image to make it more realistic and eye-catching. Hope you find this writing useful. Stay with us for more updates.