Where is the LENS FLARE TOOL??

[moovme]

Where is the lens flare tool? I mean seriously? Do you expect us to screw around wasting serious amounts of time with pathetic brushes when all you have to do is include a simple all-in-one lens flare tool for photo work?

Whats going on at Affinity?

[NotMyFault]

Any reason why you created a new thread for the same topic, and using language which can be perceived as aggressive by most?

It wold be nice if you can respect the Forum guidelines to keep everything civilized 

 

[moovme]

You’re very clearly confusing frustration for aggression. Please don’t. 

How many years has it been now that Affinity has deliberately not offered/included a basic lens flare tool that other software has as a built in fundamental? Since day 1.

It would be nice if you could offer help as opposed to legalistic judgement. Many thanks. 

Continued requests (in the nicest way possible) are the hope for this absolutely ESSENTIAL feature in their photo-editing software that may one day find its way there... When they are blatantly ignored, that simply raises levels of frustration. After all Affinity asks it’s community to make software requests to improve the usability of the software. Am I seriously the only one who thinks this should be included under basic tools like EVERY other photo editing software out there? There’s a reason they all have it - and don’t use brushes to skirt it. 

Pretty please Affinity, add in a Lens Flare Tool for us all to enjoy.. Please. 
 

 

[firstdefence]

The Photoshop Lens Flare filter, is ok, it's a pretty half-hearted filter, its a single preset for each of the four lens options and has a slider for brightness but it's biggest flaw is the light source cannot be moved out the bounds of the canvas, so you have this false naff looking light source. You can expand the canvas first, apply the filter with the light source outside of the original dimensions and then crop it back to the original dimensions afterwards to omit the naff light source but that's just a PIA.

Would be an idea to list the apps that have lens flare and any plugins that can do lens flare.

Most lens flare capable plugins I know of are for video, like Knoll Light Factory by Red Giant and the standalone Lens Flare Studio by Brainfever.

[moovme]

Great reply. I understand where you’re coming from with the Photoshop lens flare tool.
 

I’m curious to know if you’re happy with the segregated lens flare brushes from Affinity that don’t offer any preview on the canvas and make you back track on everything whilst trying to find the most appropriate flare? 
Which do you prefer, a fully encompassed and unified lens flare tool (with the extremely valuable preview option), or stumbling around with lens flare brushes and their inherent usability flaws? 
 

Just looking for some honest feedback. Perhaps I’m the only one who prefers the much more fluid and user friendly experience of a dedicated lens flare tool.. 

[mikerofoto]

if you're a fan of lens flare you can create your own brush in AP, or check online for thousands of png lens flare, drag and drop in a new layer, move it, change color or what ever you want to do.

why would you want a baked lens flare tool that every users would have the same thing as you do?

[Westerwälder]

Ich verstehe nicht, wieso immer wieder PS-Anwendungen gefordert werden. Ich bin froh nicht mit dem überteuerten und sich in die Total verkehrte Richtung bewegenden PS arbeiten zu müssen. Ich lese immer wieder, einfach wie PS, das habe ich nie so empfunden. Wer sich nicht in Affinity einarbeiten will, sondern immer Adobe als Beispiel bringt sollte sich mal Gedanken machen! 

Bisher habe ich mit Affinity Photo alles fertig gebracht, so wie ich das wollte. Als ich noch im Chemie Fotolabor meine Bilder ausgearbeitet habe, da habe ich neben meinem Beruf, viel länger an ein Bild getüfftelt. Das könnten auch mal zwei drei Nächte oder ein Wochenende für ein Bild geopfert werden! Aber alles soll schnell gehen und ruck ruck für den Papierkorb sein! Viele meiner PS-Bilder waren für den Papierkorb.

Google-Übersetzer

I don't understand why PS applications are being asked for again and again. I'm glad I don't have to work with the overpriced PS that's moving in the wrong direction. I keep reading, just like PS, I've never felt that way. If you don't want to familiarize yourself with Affinity, but always use Adobe as an example, you should think twice!

So far I've gotten everything done the way I wanted with Affinity Photo. When I was still working on my pictures in the chemistry photo laboratory, I spent much longer tinkering with a picture in addition to my job. That could also be sacrificed two, three nights or a weekend for a picture! But everything should go quickly and be in no time at all for the wastepaper basket! Many of my PS images were for the trash.

[moovme]

55 minutes ago, mikerofoto said:

why would you want a baked lens flare tool that every users would have the same thing as you do?

That’s a good question! I think because with a dedicated lens flare tool you can create hundreds of differentiations or modifications to existing flares all in the same tool, without ever having to leave it. Personally, I find the lens brushes very cumbersome and time consuming to select and get right. Especially the fact that you have to actually apply a brush to the canvas before you can see what it is and what it’s characteristics are. Then if it’s not right, you need to back track and start all over again. 

Does it not make sense to have an all-inclusive tool that can contain and customize all the lens flares in one place, and with canvas preview?..

I’m guessing you’re a fan of the brushes and that’s fine. I guess I’m just wanting a much more streamlined process with more ease of use. 

[firstdefence]

3 hours ago, moovme said:

Great reply. I understand where you’re coming from with the Photoshop lens flare tool.
 

I’m curious to know if you’re happy with the segregated lens flare brushes from Affinity that don’t offer any preview on the canvas and make you back track on everything whilst trying to find the most appropriate flare? 
Which do you prefer, a fully encompassed and unified lens flare tool (with the extremely valuable preview option), or stumbling around with lens flare brushes and their inherent usability flaws? 
 

Just looking for some honest feedback. Perhaps I’m the only one who prefers the much more fluid and user friendly experience of a dedicated lens flare tool.. 

I've never, used a lens flare brush because they are fixed and do not have the nuance and colour variegation (Chroma split) one would expect in a lens flare, if anything, I'd use an overlay so I have the colour information.

If an app is lacking a feature, I find a solution until such time as that feature is eventually included in the app. For me, that solution is Len Flare Studio (LFS) by Brainfever.
I'd like a sophisticated lens flare tool/filter in affinity but if it doesn't at least match or exceed LFS; for me, there is no point and Affinity would be hard-pressed to match the level of sophistication LFS has in producing the light effects that LFS can. It's a shame this app isn't plugin capable.

[moovme]

59 minutes ago, Westerwälder said:

But everything should go quickly and be in no time at all for the wastepaper basket! Many of my PS images were for the trash.

I hear you. But that’s kind of my point, I’m looking for a much more user friendly experience to implement a lens flare. For me, brushes don’t do it. But that’s me. They aren’t able to come close to the compactness and speed that an all-in one lens flare tool can offer, along with being able to make personalized modifications and a well sought after preview. 
 

Being able to add in pngs etc from the web would be a fantastic addition to the tool as well! 
 

[Hilltop]

10 hours ago, moovme said:

Being able to add in pngs etc from the web would be a fantastic addition to the tool as well! 
 

Perhaps I misunderstand your remark as you only have to download the lens flare PNGs, drag & drop them in APh and adjust the position and blend mode & options. 

[moovme]

My apologies, yes I am aware that this can be done currently. It’s just a bit of a mess to achieve something that can be so easily overcome with an all-in lens flare tool where all the settings/modifications etc can achieved all in one place, as opposed to running through different settings and blend modes etc. after the fact. Hope that helps to clarify. 

[mikerofoto]

i think the only software i've seen having flare tool was exposure software. 

[firstdefence]

In my quest for everything "Lens Flarey", I found Befunky: https://www.befunky.com/create/ and they have a great lens flare effect that is so easy to use you'd have to be a blob of jelly to get it wrong. So, as an example for Affinity Devs take a look at BeFunky, add something like that and you'd have at least two happy little affinity bunnies but I bet theres a few bunnies hiding in the hedgerow waiting for a lens flare effect tool.