Did you know there are different variations of rainbows and lensflares? 

I remember seeing a photo years ago of a little kid playing in the water on a summer day
and what really caught my eye on this photo was the beautiful lensflare the photographer used in it.
I messaged the photographer asking what she used to create it or if it was done in photoshop
and she responded saying it was done with a Lensbaby Edge 80.

I said, I have one of those! So in continuing the conversation she told me the settings must include
the aperture all the way open, tilting it at a certain angle to create the flare and to be patient and practice. 

I wish I could remember who it was, but to that photographer who responded and gave me that small tip, 
THANK YOU!!

(All images shot on a Nikon d800)

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The Twist 60 is my favorite and most used lens and lensflare.
It doesn't matter how much or how little the rays are, the subject is always sharp. 

The Sol 45 has made it into my top three favorite choices of lenses for sunflare. It's super easy to focus and find the light ring around a subject.
And because the Sol 45 has bokeh blades, those allow for different types of flares to come into a frame. 

As you can see the extreme difference of the Twist 60 and the Edge 50.
I love using this line of optics to frame an object and draw the viewers attention to a certain part of the photo. 

(I pulled the lenses out to the macro option for the Edge photos because I wanted a closer image of the flower,
but you still get the lensflare on the wide option as well.) 

The Edge 80 is very similar to the Edge 50 with the beautiful circular rainbow, but what I've found with the 80 is the wider circle.
Yes it depends on the different angle you tilt, but I still found it to be slightly wider then the Edge 50. 

The widest of the Edge optics, the Edge 35 gives a similar feel to the Edge 80 & Edge 50, but also has the ability to create two different types of flare. 
The first gives a circle, similar to its sisters, and the other that fills the frame. 

Out of all the Sweet optics, I would say the Sweet 80 has been the easiest to work regarding the lensflare.
It has those beautiful lines coming from the light source with the added touch of the circular rainbow.
Just like the Twist 60, no matter the amount of flare, the object is super sharp. 

The Sweet 50 is the optic I have worked with the least and when shooting these photos,
I honestly couldn't get the rainbow flare I was looking for.
I was still able to get beautiful light when tilted different directions, but no rainbow flare. 

The Sweet 35 was my happy accident optic. After trying and trying with the Sweet 50,
I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to get the Sweet 35 to work either.
I moved around the tree, found some pretty bokeh and a different flare to added that touch of magic to the photo.
It's very subtle and not overwhelming at all. 

The Velvet series is all about that natural glow already so finding a flare was a little difficult since it's built around the glow. 
I love this lens with a backlit photo because the sun wraps beautifully around a subject. 

The Velvet 85 creates a beautiful compressed photo with amazing large bokeh when shot wide open. 

The Velvet 28 is very similar in the sunflare effect as the Velvet 85, but allows for a wider shot.
I also found that because it is a wider lens the light spreads much wider as well allowing for more sun to wrap around the subject. 

And lastly to my Lensbaby family is the Fisheye optic.
I had no idea what to expect with this cute little lens, but I put it into my Twist housing and this is what came from it. 
I love that not only did it capture a flare in the photo, but also enhanced the story around the circle.

I love my sunflare. There's no question about that.
Once I felt I had managed this technique, it was like the world opened up to another level of beauty. 

Also, I obviously was only able to use the optics I have in my bag,
so as I add lens to my bag, I'll update this post.

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