Lens flare question

[Staceymariesam]

Question! So I just started teaching myself to photo edit, today is literally my first day. I watched a video online about adding lens flares. I placed it on top of the photo, I set it to “screen” and moved it, but I cant seem to make the box / edge of the lens flare picture go away. I don’t want to set it to the size of the background photo because then the flare will be too big. Any suggestions on how to get rid of the outline? TIA. 

[R C-R]

It would help if you provided a link to the video you watched & to the lens flare file you used.

[Alfred]

Choose the Erase Brush Tool, reduce the ‘Hardness’ setting and brush over the edges of the lens flare layer to soften the transition between the flare picture and the main picture.

[R C-R]

4 minutes ago, Alfred said:

Choose the Erase Brush Tool, reduce the ‘Hardness’ setting and brush over the edges of the lens flare layer to soften the transition between the flare picture and the main picture.

It is going to be difficult to erase just the 'non-flare' parts of that layer & still preserve a realistic lens flare look. In particular, the 'halo' arc below the faces should extend from the top to the left edge of the image.

It would probably be a lot simpler to find a more suitable lens flare file that does not need to be rotated to get the desired effect, or to make a custom one using brushes, layer effects, & maybe a few vector shapes rasterized & blurred.

[Staceymariesam]

3 hours ago, R C-R said:

It would help if you provided a link to the video you watched & to the lens flare file you used.

This is the video i watched. at the end of the video he shows how to eliminate the edge of flare photo using the eraser tool. But for some reason I can’t do it. I guess with a little more practice I will figure it out lol. Maybe. 

[Staceymariesam]

2 hours ago, Alfred said:

Choose the Erase Brush Tool, reduce the ‘Hardness’ setting and brush over the edges of the lens flare layer to soften the transition between the flare picture and the main picture.

Thank you. That’s what the video I watched explained to do but for some reason I can’t master it yet haha. I’ll keep practicing. Thank you!! 

[Alfred]

13 minutes ago, Staceymariesam said:

Thank you. That’s what the video I watched explained to do but for some reason I can’t master it yet haha. I’ll keep practicing. Thank you!! 

You’re welcome, but as @R C-R has pointed out it’s going to be difficult with the lens flare file that you’re trying to use, and it would be simpler to find a more suitable one.

[Staceymariesam]

17 minutes ago, Alfred said:

You’re welcome, but as @R C-R has pointed out it’s going to be difficult with the lens flare file that you’re trying to use, and it would be simpler to find a more suitable one.

I’m having a hard time finding high resolution flare photos that I don’t have to pay for. If any of you have a recommended site that offers free photos I can use, that would be great. 

[v_kyr]

• https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/lens-flare
• https://de.pngtree.com/so/lens-flare
• Google search

[Staceymariesam]

37 minutes ago, v_kyr said:

• https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/lens-flare
• https://de.pngtree.com/so/lens-flare
• Google search

Thank you!! I will try some of these!

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, Staceymariesam said:

This is the video i watched. at the end of the video he shows how to eliminate the edge of flare photo using the eraser tool. But for some reason I can’t do it.

Thanks for the link. One reason you are having difficulties with the erase tool is the lens flare being erased in the video is very simple & linear, whereas the one you are using is complex, with several different kinds of flare.

Another problem is the complex lens flare file rotated in the video is much larger than the canvas -- the narrator mentions that this is important. The one you are using appears not to be, but without the link to it I asked about, we can't be certain about that.

[Staceymariesam]

6 minutes ago, R C-R said:

Thanks for the link. One reason you are having difficulties with the erase tool is the lens flare being erased in the video is very simple & linear, whereas the one you are using is complex, with several different kinds of flare.

Another problem is the complex lens flare file rotated in the video is much larger than the canvas -- the narrator mentions that this is important. The one you are using appears not to be, but without the link to it I asked about, we can't be certain about that.

That makes sense. Sorry I don’t know the link, I just googled lens flare photos and picked a random one from google images, or else I would provide it to you. Thank you all for the pointers! 

[IanSG]

1 hour ago, Staceymariesam said:

Sorry I don’t know the link, I just googled lens flare photos and picked a random one from google images

If you tell us the filename that might be enough.

[Dazzler]

You may also be able to use the existing flare you originally had by clicking the cog in the layers panel with the lens flare layer selected, then on the graph for source layer ranges you can drag down the left hand side to make the darker areas become transparent. You can even add a curve here if you untick the linear box underneath, and you can also slide the right handle across the bottom to the right a bit to really make it more transparent. Just keep a careful eye on the flare though as you may very well make it look bad or really weak if you are too heavy with the curve/line. However, if it gets too weak you may be able to duplicate the layer to increase the strength back up.

It may work to some extent, but as others have said, it may be better to use a flare file that covers your area completely without the flare being too big.