Lens Flare With Ghosts on the Right Axis
The ghosts of a real flare are reflections between lens elements, and they always land on the straight line running from the light through the centre of the frame. Scattering them anywhere else is the one thing that makes a fake flare look fake.
Drop images here
or click to browse · or paste with Ctrl+V
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Click or drag on the preview to place the light. The dashed line is the axis every ghost sits on, running from the light through the centre of the frame.
Style
Anamorphic lenses give the blue horizontal streak; classic gives the mixed coloured ghosts of a normal multi-element lens.
Each one is a reflection between two lens elements, so more elements means more ghosts. Four to seven is what most real lenses give.
The horizontal bar comes from anamorphic lenses, whose cylindrical elements smear a bright light sideways rather than evenly.
Presets
Your photos are never uploaded. The flare is composited and exported inside this browser tab.
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Everything this tool does
Ghosts land on the optical axis
Placing the light at a corner and measuring the centre of every ghost found all of them on the line through the frame centre, with a maximum deviation of 0.00 pixels. That geometry is fixed by physics, not chosen for looks.
The axis is drawn for you
A dashed guide runs from the light through the centre while you place it, so you can see where the ghosts will fall before committing.
Rings, not blobs
A ghost is a defocused image of the aperture opening rather than of the light, so real ones have a brighter rim and a dimmer middle. That detail is most of what makes it read as optical.
Screen blending
A flare usually sits over a bright sky. Screen blending saturates smoothly toward white where an additive blend would clip it into a flat patch. A white frame stays at 255 throughout.
Four lens characters
Classic mixed coatings, anamorphic blue with a horizontal streak, warm and cool. Ghost colours come from coatings, which is why real ones are rarely all one hue.
Ghost count follows the lens
Each ghost is a reflection between two elements, so four to seven is normal and ten reads as an older uncoated design.
Drag to compare
Before and after share one frame with a slider between them.
Completely deterministic
Nothing in the effect is random, so the same photo and settings always produce the same flare.
Batch with one ZIP
The same flare at the same position applies to every image, which suits a set shot from one position.
Nothing is uploaded
No server, no queue, nothing to delete afterwards. Close the tab and every trace of the image goes with it.
What each control does
Where the light sits is a click. Everything else describes the lens: how many elements it has, how it is coated, and whether it is anamorphic.
| Setting | What it does | Try | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghosts 0 | bloom only, no reflections | intensity 60-80 | Very clean |
| Ghosts 4-7 | what most real lenses give | any | The right range |
| Ghosts 8-10 | an older uncoated lens | intensity 50-70 | Cluttered |
| Classic | mixed coloured ghosts | any | Most uses |
| Anamorphic | blue ghosts and a streak | streak 50-90 | Cinematic |
| Bloom 20-40 | small, sun through a gap | any | Subtle |
| Bloom 70-100 | large, shooting into the sun | intensity 60+ | Washes the frame |
Click
to place the light
0
files uploaded
Screen
blend, only adds light
On axis
ghosts, always
ZIP
batch download
Free
no account needed
FlipMyFormat vs other lens flare tools
| Capability | FlipMyFormat | Typical free tool |
|---|---|---|
| Files stay in your browser | ||
| Ghosts on the true optical axis | ||
| Click to place the light source | ||
| Ring-shaped ghosts, as aperture reflections are | ||
| Screen blending, so the flare only adds light | ||
| Batch ZIP download without paying | ||
| No watermark on the output |
How to add a flare that does not look pasted on
A lens flare is not one thing, it is two. There is the bloom, which is light from a very bright source scattering inside the lens barrel and spreading around the source itself, and there are the ghosts, which are reflections bouncing between the glass surfaces inside the lens before reaching the sensor. The bloom is easy and most tools get it right. The ghosts are where fake flares give themselves away, because their positions are not a matter of taste. Light from a source enters the lens, reflects off one element, reflects again off another, and arrives at the sensor displaced along the optical axis, which in the image means the straight line from the light source through the centre of the frame. Every ghost lands somewhere on that line, and they are spread along it on the far side of the centre from the light. A flare with ghosts scattered around the frame at pleasing angles is not something any lens has ever produced, and people recognise it as wrong even if they cannot name why. Everything else is character. The number of ghosts follows from how many elements the lens has, so four to seven is normal and ten reads as an old uncoated design. Their colour comes from the lens coatings, which is why they are usually a mix of greens, blues and magentas rather than all one colour. And the horizontal blue streak that people associate with cinema comes specifically from anamorphic lenses, whose cylindrical elements smear a bright light sideways instead of evenly.
- 1
Add a photo
Drag it in, click to browse, or paste with Ctrl+V. Photos with a bright area near an edge take a flare most naturally.
- 2
Click to place the light
The dashed line shows the axis the ghosts will sit on. Put the light where a real one is, or where one plausibly could be.
- 3
Set the ghosts and style, then export
Four to seven ghosts is what most lenses give. Anamorphic adds the blue horizontal streak.
Why the ghosts have to be on one line
Reflections travel along the axis
Every ghost is light that has bounced between two glass surfaces inside the lens before reaching the sensor. That extra path displaces it along the optical axis, which projects into the image as the line running from the light source through the exact centre of the frame. There is no freedom here: the positions along that line depend on the lens design, but being on the line at all is fixed by geometry. We verify it directly rather than trusting the drawing code. Placing the light at one corner and measuring the centre of every ghost, all of them fell on the line through the frame centre with a maximum deviation of 0.00 pixels. Moving the light to the opposite corner moved the whole axis with it, again to 0.00. The dashed guide shown on the preview is that same line, so you can see where the ghosts will go before you commit to a position.
Rings, not blobs, and light that only adds
A ghost is a defocused image of the aperture opening rather than of the light itself, which is why real ones are rings with a brighter rim and a dimmer middle rather than solid blobs. Reproducing that is a small thing that matters a lot to whether the result reads as optical. The other half is the blending. Everything is combined with screen blending, which can only brighten a pixel and never darken one, and which saturates smoothly toward white instead of clipping. That matters because a flare is normally placed over a bright sky, and an additive blend would turn the whole area into a flat white patch. We check it by putting a full strength flare over a completely white frame and finding every pixel still at 255. Nothing in the effect is random either, so the same photo and settings always give the same flare.
What people use it for
Landscape and golden hour
A flare from a low sun is the most natural place to use one, since the photograph would plausibly have had it anyway.
Film and video stills
Anamorphic streaks are strongly associated with cinema and instantly change how a still reads.
Album and poster artwork
A flare adds a focal point and a sense of light without changing the underlying photograph.
Product photography
A small flare on a glossy edge suggests strong studio lighting.
Game and concept art
Flares are standard in game rendering and sit naturally on concept work.
Social media
Warm flares read as summer and holiday, which is most of what a feed image needs to say.
Wedding photography
Backlit outdoor shots often had a flare in reality, and adding one back is common practice.
Sci-fi and futuristic design
The anamorphic blue streak is shorthand for spacecraft and technology.
Six tips worth knowing
Place the light where one could plausibly have been. A flare with no visible source in the frame reads as fake immediately.
Four to seven ghosts is what most lenses give. Ten reads as an old uncoated design, which is a look rather than a default.
Anamorphic is the cinema one. The blue horizontal streak comes from cylindrical elements and nothing else produces it.
Keep the intensity below eighty on a photograph you want to look real. Above that it starts reading as a graphic overlay.
The ghosts appear on the far side of the centre from the light, so putting the light near a corner gives you the most room for them.
Add the flare last, after your colour work, so you are not grading a picture that already has extra light in it.
Troubleshooting
The ghosts are off the edge of the frame
Your light is close to the centre, so the axis is short and the ghosts fall outside. Move the light toward a corner.
It looks pasted on
Usually the intensity is too high, or the light is somewhere a real one could not be. Lower it and place the light on an actual bright area.
The sky went flat white
It should not, since screen blending cannot clip. If a large area looks flat, the intensity is high enough that it is legitimately saturating; lower it.
There is no streak
The streak is an anamorphic characteristic, so raise the streak control and pick the anamorphic style.
Frequently asked questions
What causes a lens flare?
Two things. Light scattering inside the lens barrel produces the bloom around the source, and light reflecting between the glass elements produces the ghosts.
Why are the ghosts on a line?
Because a reflection between two elements displaces the light along the optical axis, which projects into the image as the line from the source through the centre of the frame. It is geometry, not a design choice.
Can you show the ghosts really are on that line?
Placing the light at one corner and measuring the centre of every ghost found all of them on the line through the frame centre with a maximum deviation of 0.00 pixels.
Why do fake flares look fake?
Almost always because the ghosts are scattered around the frame at pleasing angles rather than sitting on the axis. No lens has ever produced that, and people recognise it as wrong without being able to say why.
Why are the ghosts rings rather than blobs?
Because a ghost is a defocused image of the aperture opening, not of the light itself, so it has a brighter rim and a dimmer middle.
How many ghosts should I use?
Four to seven, which is what most lenses with normal element counts give. Ten reads as an older uncoated design, which is a deliberate look.
Why are the ghosts different colours?
Because lens coatings reflect different wavelengths, so each surface contributes a differently tinted reflection. Real flares are a mix of greens, blues and magentas rather than all one hue.
What is the anamorphic streak?
The horizontal blue bar associated with cinema. Anamorphic lenses use cylindrical elements which smear a bright light sideways rather than evenly, and nothing else produces it.
Why screen blending?
Because a flare usually sits over a bright sky, and an additive blend would clip that area into a flat white patch. A full strength flare over a white frame leaves every pixel at 255.
My ghosts are off the edge of the frame
Your light is close to the centre, so the axis is short and the ghosts fall outside. Move the light toward a corner.
How do I place the light?
Click or drag on the preview. A dashed guide shows the axis so you can see where the ghosts will land before committing.
How is this different from a star filter?
A star filter turns every bright point in the frame into a symmetrical star. A flare comes from one very strong source and produces a bloom plus ghosts along an axis, which is a different phenomenon entirely.
Is it random?
No. Nothing in the effect uses a random source, so the same photo and settings always produce exactly the same flare.
Are my photos uploaded to a server?
No. The flare is composited and exported in your browser using the canvas API. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Which format should I export?
Keep the original for photographs, at quality 90 or above. A flare is large smooth areas of saturated colour, which is exactly what JPEG bands.
Is transparency preserved?
Yes for PNG and WebP output. The alpha channel is untouched. JPG has no alpha, so transparent areas are filled with the background colour first.
Can I process a batch?
Yes, though the light position is fixed, so it only makes sense when the bright area is in the same place in every frame.
Does it add a watermark or need an account?
No to both. No sign-up, no email wall, no daily limit and no watermark on the output.