How to Achieve the Sunburst Effect in Photography

Have you ever seen photographs where the sun is shaped like a perfect star, with beautiful rays radiating away from a central point? This phenomenon is known as the sunburst or starburst effect and can be easily achieved by adjusting the aperture of the lens on your digital camera. All you need besides a camera is the ability to access this one manual function that is also known as f-stop. All digital SLR cameras have this ability, and many point and shoot digital cameras do as well. Look in your camera’s instruction manual to find out whether you can adjust the aperture of your lens and if you can, then read on to find out how to create this amazing effect with the sun!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A digital camera
• The ability to adjust your lens aperture or f-stop
• The sun

1. 
    
   Sunny day

   Wait for a sunny day.

2. Set your digital camera’s shooting mode to either Aperture Priority Mode (often indicated with the letter A or Av) or Manual Mode (often indicated with the letter M).

3. 
    
   Flower Sunburst

   Adjust your lens aperture (also called f-stop) to the smallest opening (for example f/22 or f/36). A smaller hole allows the sun’s light to become like a sunburst or starburst. See the tips section for a more thorough explanation of how aperture is measured.

4. If you are shooting in Aperture Priority Mode, then your camera will choose an appropriate shutter speed to complement your chosen f-stop. If you are shooting in Manual Mode, then you will need to choose a shutter speed yourself.

5. 
    
   Sunburst Effect

   After you have adjusted your settings, you are ready to shoot the sun and achieve the sunburst effect.

Tips & Warnings

• Aperture, or f-stop, is a numerical measurement of a small opening allowing light into your camera’s lens. This number is a fraction, meaning that when the denominator is big (e.g. f/22), the actual aperture, or hole, is small. Conversely, when the denominator is small (e.g. f/2.8), the actual aperture is big.
• The best shooting times on a sunny day are in the morning and the evening due to less intense light, warmer tones, and longer shadows.
• Try to position the sun slightly behind another object such as a tree branch, a mountain peak, or a building. Partially hiding the sun like this may enhance the details of your sunburst.
• Use a tripod if your shutter speeds are too long to hand-hold your camera.
• You can also use this technique when taking pictures of lights at night or even sunlight reflections in water.
• Do not look directly at the sun because this is harmful to your eyes.
• Be careful not to use long shutter speeds when pointing your camera directly at the sun because this could damage your digital camera’s sensor.

[harvard]

on 4/15/2009 Stellar advice on achieving the starburst effect. This little trick can give your photos pizazz! Thank you.

[babygirl35768]

on 3/18/2009 I have always wandered how to do that and I have tried many times to do it. Thanks!! 5*

[SchoolOfLife]

on 3/12/2009 A well written and useful article. Thank you for this one. Keep them coming! :)

[slphilbrick]

on 1/14/2009 I always love your tips on making the best of these types of shots ! 5*

[Susanh]

on 12/8/2008 Thank you! I am still experimenting with our digital camera and you've given me yet another great tool to use for taking unique photos. 5*****