Lens Flare For HDR Enhancement And Lighting Repair

Using the Lens Flare Resolve FX to add dynamic range and smooth clipped highlights

This Insight teaches you how to use the Lens Flare ResolveFX to replace and repair lighting while adding dynamic range to a shot. This is particularly helpful for High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) workflows when labouring with blown-out lighting from Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) or archival media. Still, it works well even in fully Standard Dynamic Range workflows.

Smoothing clipped highlights

I work predominantly on long-form documentaries, which often contain a substantial amount of archival media. The lens flare plugin in DaVinci Resolve has become my go-to fix for any footage with blown-out or clipped lighting, such as the sun or lights.

Lens Flares are also a great way to tie shots together if they have different times of day but are cut together from various angles, one with a blown-out sun and the other shot with no sun or flare. When done right, that little touch of magic dust sprinkles a shot and elevates it to the next level.

Use your favourite Lens Flare plugin

I’m using the Resolve FX Lens Flare since it ships with DaVinci Resolve. But like every effect within the Resolve Fx Light category (except Light Rays), this is a Studio-only effect. But given that most 3rd party Lens Flare plugins cost the same (or more) for a license of Resolve Studio, if you like what you see in this Insight – then upgrading to Resolve Studio opens up the ResolveFX Lens Flare plug-in and dozens of other features.

Key takeaways from this Insight

By the end of this Insight, you should understand how to:

• Use the lens flare OFX in DaVinci Resolve
• Track with the FX Tracker to blend in the flare with the movement of the shot
• Mask the flare with on-screen elements
• Look at the shape of the light in the scopes and use that as a reference for repairing the clipped data

External Links

• Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve Training landing page: You can download project media from this page to follow along.
• DaVinci Resolve 18.6 Studio and iPad Features PDF – This is a direct link to the January 2024 version of this document. If you want to know everything included with a license of Resolve Studio, click through and read on.

Related Mixing Light Insights

• Colour Grading with the ResolveFX Lens Flare Plug-in – Dan Moran shares his experimentation with colour grading using lens flares for subtle lighting effects to help match and lift scenes.
• Sculpting Clipped Highlights – Roll-offs, Tints, Glows, and Streaks – Dealing with clipped highlights is a regular annoyance. Peder Morgenthaler teaches how to make these artifacts look more natural and intentional with color grading.
• Finding Opportunities when Color Correcting – How do you stay creative when not feeling creative? Learn how colorist Patrick Inhofer is always finding opportunities when color correcting – including using lens flares.
• Colourist Comparison Part 2: Comparing Workflows and Techniques – Colorist Kali Bateman CSI talks extensively about using lens flare to create texture in clipped highlights – as part of a much longer discussion about workflows and node trees.

Questions or Comments? Leave a comment!

Do you use the Lens Flare as a repair or shot-matching tool? Let us know how you like to use it and if you have any favourite settings that help you dial its look.

– Zeb