The Lens flare video effect is essential for imitating the sunlight, creating a dreamy atmosphere in a video, and highlighting particular areas or objects in the scene. When used right, it can help you achieve a perfect film look.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to apply the Lens flare effect using VSDC Free Video Editor.

Before you get started, download the latest version of VSDC for Windows.

How to add Lens flare effect to your footage in VSDC

VSDC brings quite a versatile feature set that allows you to tailor the Lens flare effect precisely to your needs. To ensure that it looks realistic, the developers have included two levels of settings: one - to imitate the desired light source, and another one - to customize the flares it produces.

Without further ado, let’s see what the effect looks like when applied to footage.

To get started, follow these simple steps:

1. Launch VSDC on your computer and import your footage using the Import content button on the start screen.
2. Place the cursor at the moment on the timeline when you want the effect to appear in the video.
3. Left-click on the video and proceed to Video effects. Then select OpenGL - Lens flare
4. In the Object’s position settings window, click OK.

This is the default version of the Lens flare video effect. Once applied, you’ll notice a little cross in the center of the effect. Use it to “grab” the flare and move it around the scene or even out of the frame to achieve the desired effect.

If you’re happy with how your video looks, you might want to leave the effect as is.

If you want to explore the customization possibilities though, keep on reading this tutorial. Below, we’ll show you how to change the size of the flare, its intensity, the light source angle, the color tones, and much more.

Lens flare effect settings overview

To get started, make a double-click on your footage and left-click on the flare effect layer. Select Properties from the context menu – the Properties window will slide-in from the right-hand side.

In that window, the effect settings are broken down into four groups:

• Common settings
• Adjustment effect settings
• Light source settings
• Effect settings

Let’s take a closer look at each group.

Lens flare effect: common settings

Common settings allow you to add a title to the effect layer, set the moment when the effect will appear in the video (by seconds or by frames), and the duration of the effect (in seconds or frames).

Lens flare effect: adjustment effect settings

Adjustment effect settings enable you to choose the transparency level for the Lens flare effect. You can have the same level of transparency for the entire effect duration or you can have it gradually increase/decrease to the desired level.

For the latter, the Initial value and the Final value of the Transparency parameter should be different. For example, here is what the effect will look like if we set the Initial value at 100% (completely non-transparent) and the Final value at 10%:

Lens flare effect: light source settings

The Light source settings are applied to the artificially added source of light that produces flare we see in the video. The key parameter of this group is called Polar coordinates.

This parameter allows you to use the polar coordinate system to locate the light source more precisely. If you activate Polar coordinates (switch the parameter to True), the pole (point with coordinates 0;0) will be located in the center of the preview window, and you’ll be able to set the Light source angle and the Light source distance.

When you change the light source angle, the produced flares appear in a new location based on where the light comes from.

The Initial value for this parameter will define the angle for the beginning of the video, and the Final value – for the end of the video. That means if the Initial and the Final values are different, the light source angle will be gradually changing over time.

The light source distance defines how far the center of the light source will be shifted from the center of the scene. Note that the light source is shifted toward the angle you’ve set in the previous parameter. For example:

• If the light source angle is 90, the light source will be moving down.
• If the light source angle is 180, the light source will be moving to the left.
• If the light source angle is 270, the light source will be moving up.
• If the light source angle is 360, the light source will be moving to the right.

When the Light source distance parameter is equal to 0, the light source will always be located in the center of the scene.

If you switch Polar coordinates to False (deactivate the parameter), the 0;0 point will be located in the top left corner. In that case, you can set the location of the light source using the X and Y axis. Again, by adjusting the Initial and the Final values, you can set different light source locations for the beginning and the end of the video.

The following parameter is called Enable main light. It activates and deactivates the main light source in the video. If the parameter is enabled (set as True), the main light source will be visible. If you disable it, only flares will be visible in the scene.

In addition, when the main light source is enabled, it activates the following parameters:

• Dynamic light ray offset
• Light ray offset
• Density of light rays
• Light ray strength
• Light source size

The Dynamic light ray offset and the Light ray offset allow for controlling the rotation of the rays around the light source. If you activate the former parameter, the rays will be rotating automatically. If you activate the latter parameter, you’ll be able to set the rotation manually.Light ray offset can only be enabled if the Dynamic light ray offset is switched to False.

Light ray offset maximum value is 100, and that equals to a 360-degree rotation, or full circle.

Density of light rays, as the name suggests, defines how dense the light rays will be spread around the source of light. The higher the value is, the thinner and denser the rays are. If you want the density to gradually change over time, use the Initial and the Final values.

Light ray strength defines how sharp the light rays are. The higher the value of this parameter is, the sharper the rays are.

Light source size allows you to control the size of the light source.

Lens flare effect: effect settings

Now that you know how to achieve the desired light source appearance and the ray movements, it’s time to see how you can adjust the flares. The fourth group of settings – Effect settings –  helps you do exactly that. Below are the parameters you can work with, reviewed.

The Flare intensity is the parameter you can use to change the visibility of the flares. If you want the flares to gradually become more visible or less visible over time, use the Initial and the Final values.

For instance, look at the flares becoming more visible during the playback with the Initial value set at 100, and the Final value set at 300.

Light source power defines how powerful the light source is. For instance, this is what happens when at the end of the video the light source becomes five times more powerful than at the beginning of the video.

Now, Noise level should sound self-explanatory and it affects both the look and the visibility of the effect. The higher the noise level is, the less visible the light source becomes, and the more grainy the effect looks. When the Noise level is equal to 100, the light source and the flares are completely invisible.

Dynamic noise pattern, similarly to the Dynamic light ray offset, allows you to set an automatic pattern that will be dynamically changing the noise level as the video progresses.

Visible area is a really interesting feature that helps you change the visibility of the footage. For instance, you may want to gradually increase the visibility of the scene as the size of the light source increases. Basically, it’s a perfect way to create an illusion of a video shot during the night!

In the example below, the Initial value is set at 10, and the Final value is set at 100. Notice how the scene visibility gradually increases.

Moving on to the next set of parameters related to the flare color tones. Sometimes, video creators specifically look for yellow, blue, green, and red lens flare effects or overlays. In VSDC, you can create any of these variations manually.

To do that, find the Color tone parameter in the Effect settings group and change the flare color to the desired one. Note that the selected tone will be applied to both the flares and the original footage.

To control the number of lens flares, use the parameter named Flares enabled located below the Color tone. The maximum number of flares you can have in the scene is 4, and they all are visible by default. You can select Flare 1, Flare 2, Flare 3, or Flare 4 to adjust their parameters individually or disable any of them.

Now, each flare includes three color components: red, green, and blue. You can set up each color component individually and adjust the following parameters:

• Component intensity
• Component distance
• Component size

Component intensity is the parameter that controls the brightness of the selected color component. For example, you can reduce the red tone in the selected flare, and by doing that you’ll automatically increase the blue and green tones for it.

Component distance allows you to decide how far the color component will be shifted from the center of the scene to the selected lens flare. For example, if you set the value for this parameter at 0, the color component will remain in the center of the scene. And if the value equals 100, the color component will be located right over the center of the flare.

In the example below, we gradually relocate the color component for the Flare 1 from the center of the scene to the flare location. In other words, the Initial value for the component distance is 0, and the Final value is 100.

Finally, the parameter named Component size enables you to change the size of the selected color component for a particular flare.

How will you use the Lens flare effect?

There are lots of ideas for using the Lens flare effect. If you pay attention, you’ll notice it in space videos, footage of nature, and even memes!

Need ideas? Then join us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for your weekly dose of inspiration.

Download VSDC Free Video Editor

Video editing technology has advanced so much, you can now control the weather in your videos! Let’s suppose you want to create an illusion of falling raindrops or severe fog that makes the camera lens look steamy. In VSDC Free Video Editor, you can do all of that – and even more.

Download VSDC Free Video Editor for Windows

The new feature allows you to add the effect of falling raindrops to your video, achieve the foggy glass look, and the best part – you can customize those effects very precisely. That means VSDC doesn’t just provide you with an all-size-fits-all “filter” to lay over your video, but it allows you to control such parameters as the size and the number of water drops, the speed they are falling with, and even imitate raindrops freezing on the camera lens.

Note that you’ll be able to apply this effect to the entire scene or to a particular area using video masking. For example, if there is a window or a glass in the scene you’d like to use this effect on without modifying the entire footage, you’ll be able to do that.

In the tutorial below, we’ll show you how the raindrops video effect works in VSDC, and how you can use it for your projects.

How to add the raindrops effect to a video in VSDC

First, we recommend downloading the latest version of VSDC. Even if you already have this software installed on your PC, it’s always better to upgrade whenever a new version is released.

Once ready, launch VSDC and follow these steps:

• Import your footage to the scene using the Import content button on the start screen.
• Make a left-click on the footage and select Video effects. Proceed to OpenGL → Raindrops.
• In the pop-up Object’s position setting window, hit OK.

Now, the default version of the Raindrops effect is applied to your video.

Next, you have a set of tools to fine-tune it to your needs. To get started, make a double-click on the footage, left-click on the effect layer and open the Properties window.

This is what it looks like:

There are three groups of setting available for the raindrops effect in the Properties window:

1. Common settings
2. Adjustments effect settings
3. Effect settings

Common settings allow you to add a title to the effect layer, set the moment when the effect will appear in the video (by seconds or by frames), and the duration of the effect (in seconds or in frames).

Adjustment effect settings enable you to choose the transparency level for the effect. You can have the same level of transparency for the entire effect duration or you can have it gradually increase/decrease to the desired level.

For the latter, the Initial value and the Final value of the Transparency parameter should be different. For example, here is what the effect will look like if we set the Initial value at 100% (completely non-transparent) and the Final value at 10%:

Effect settings include multiple options to change various parameters, such as:

• Intensity of the fog on the glass
• Size and number of raindrops
• Trails that running drops leave on the glass
• And more

Because there is a lot to unveil, this group of settings deserves a review on its own. Below, we’ll take a closer look at each parameter and show you the results they produce when you increase or decrease their values.

Raindrops video effect: advanced settings overview

The first parameter is called Effect type and it opens two options: Rain and Foggy glass. “Rain” creates an imitation of raindrops falling on the glass (or camera lens), and “Foggy glass” creates the look of a steamy glass with water drops and traces here and there.

The next parameter is called Blur type. It allows you to adjust the level of blur and therefore - control the fog intensity. There are three blur types available:

• None – the absence of fog
• Type 1 – the glass is slightly fogged-up
• Type 2 – the glass is covered with fog

If you select Type 1 or Type 2, you can also set Blur quality and Blur radius. The latter defines how much fog there will be on the surface, and you might want to set a dynamic change of this parameter using the Initial and the Final values.

For example, here is how a window becomes more fogged-up over time if you set the Final value for Blur radius higher than the Initial value.

Next comes the Droplet visibility parameter. By changing it, you can make the droplets more distinct. Again, if you want to show the dynamics and increase (or decrease) the visibility of raindrops during the playback, the Initial and the Final values for this parameter should be different.

Here is what the effect will look like if the Initial value equals 1 and the Final value equals 10.

Note that if the Droplet visibility value is equal to 0, no droplets will be visible.

Trails intensity is the parameter that helps you control the intensity of water drop trails. Again, if you want to show the effect progress, use the Initial and Final values.

For example, in the video below, the Trails intensity parameter goes from 0 to 200.

Notice that when the value is 0, there are no trails visible.

The next parameter named Continuous trail will only be available if you choose the Foggy glass effect type and set the Droplet visibility value is above 0. When switched to “True”, this option helps imitate smooth, uninterrupted trails.

If you want to create an illusion of raindrops freezing as they fall on the surface, use the parameter called Frozen raindrops. When its value equals 0, the effect isn’t being applied, but the higher the value is, the deeper the water freezes.

Density of drops allows you to control how many random-size droplets will be added by the effect. The higher the value is, the more of the surface will be covered with raindrops. In the example below, the Density of drops parameter value increases from 0 to 100.

Notice how the number of droplets in the video increases along with the size of some of them.

Drops scale simply allows you to enlarge the drops of water that leave trails. In the example below, the Drops scale value is gradually increased from 20 to 200.

If you want to change the speed of water drops running down, use Drop falling speed. Note that this option will only affect the droplets with trails.

To adjust the look of the water drops that don’t have trails, use the Small drops menu. It includes the parameters similar to the ones we’ve reviewed above: Density of drops, Drops scale, and Drop falling speed.

Finally, the last group of settings is called Adjust image, and it enables you to correct the colors of the raindrop effect. Specifically, you can correct the colors of the footage you’re applying the effect to and the color of the water drops as well.

There are three editing modes available for you:

• Don’t use adjustment (no color correction applied)
• Image adjustment (color correction applied to the footage only)
• Effect adjustment (color correction applied to the water drops):

For the Image and Effect adjustment modes, you get the Red/Green/Blue value scale to multiply values of the selected tones in the footage by the number you input.

For example, this is what Image adjustment will result in if we gradually increase the blue tones.

And this is the result of blue tones increased in the Effect adjustment mode.

Notice that the color adjustment menu also includes Red/Green/Blue value offset parameters. By increasing the value for the selected tones, you increase their intensity by the value you input.

Here is an illustration of gradual Blue value offset increase for the footage.

And notice the difference when we perform a similar parameter adjustment for the effect.

Go ahead and try the new effect available in VSDC

The new effect can be a stylish addition to your video and help create a realistic look of raindrops, fogged-up windows, or just condensate on any surface. If that sounds like something you’ve been willing to try, download the latest version of VSDC and try it for yourself!

Join our community on Facebook and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for weekly editing tutorials.

Bokeh is a stunning visual effect that requires a special shooting technique. To get the famous soft blurry background, you’ll need to use a particular lens and change your camera settings to make sure that the lights behind the object you’re shooting are out of focus.

Sounds easy? Well, for those with some experience (and a good camera) it’s doable. However, there are many situations when you might need to apply Bokeh effect after the shooting session is over. For instance, you might not find the right location with the right amount of flashing lights in the background. Or you may struggle to find the right camera lens. Or you may simply decide that you want to use the effect when the video has been already recorded.

Whatever the reason is, VSDC is here to the rescue! It allows you to quickly apply Bokeh glare effect to any video or image for free. Moreover, you’ll be able to customize the effect and change the shape, the size, the color, the density, and the movements of the flares. See it for yourself:

In the tutorial below, we’ll show you how to work with the Bokeh effect in VSDC to achieve the desired look.

Without further ado, let’s dive right in.

Download VSDC Free Video Editor for Windows

How to apply Bokeh effect to a video in VSDC

To get started, launch VSDC and import your footage using the Import content button on the start screen. Then, follow these steps:

1. Make sure you’ve placed the cursor at the beginning of the timeline if you want the effect to appear from the beginning of the video.
2. Left-click the video file and open the Video effects menu.
3. Proceed to the OpenGL category and select Bokeh glare.
4. In the Object’s position settings window, hit OK.

You’ll notice light flares on the sides of the scene - that’s a default Bokeh effect applied (see the image below). It might not look as dense or as bright as you anticipated, but this is just a starting point.

Now, let’s see how you can modify the effect to achieve the desired look of the flares.

Properties window overview

To access the settings, make a left-click on the effect layer and select Properties. The Properties window will slide-in from the right-hand side.

There are four groups of settings available for this effect:

1. Common settings
2. Adjustment effect settings
3. Effect settings
4. Flare settings

The first two groups of parameters are common for all effects in VSDC.

Common settings allow you to add a title to the effect layer, set the moment when the effect will appear in the video (by seconds or by frames), and the duration of the effect (in seconds or frames).

Adjustment effect settings enable you to choose the Transparency level for the Bokeh effect.

Note that you can set the same level of transparency for the entire effect duration or you can have it gradually increase/decrease to the desired level.

If you decide to go the second route, the Initial value and the Final value of the Transparency parameter should be different. Think of it as the fade-in and fade-out effects. For example, here is what it will look like if we set the Initial value at 100% (completely non-transparent) and the Final value at 10%:

The last two groups of settings in the Properties window allow you to work with the Bokeh elements directly. We’ll take a closer look at them.

Effect settings overview

Once you apply the effect, you’ll notice a cross in the center of the free zone (the area in the center of the effect that is free of flares). Grab this cross with a mouse and use it to manually change the position of the effect. If you, however, want to locate it more precisely, you can do it with the following parameters.

Polar coordinates is the first parameter in this group. It allows you to adjust the location of the Bokeh effect in the scene using the Polar coordinates system. Make sure it is switched to True before changing the settings and keep in mind that the pole (point with coordinates 0;0) will be located in the center of the scene. If you deactivate Polar coordinates (switch the mode to False), the pole will be located in the top left corner.

Using Polar coordinates, you’ll be able to adjust the parameters named Angle and Distance. In short, Angle defines the direction where you’d like to shift the free zone, and Distance defines how far it will be shifted.

Note that when the Distance equals to zero, the free zone will remain in the center of the scene, regardless of the angle. When the Distance parameter is more than zero, and you start changing the angle, the free zone will be moving clockwise.

For example:

• If Angle = 90, the free zone will be shifting down
• If Angle = 180, the free zone will be shifting to the left
• If Angle = 270, the free zone will be shifting up
• If Angle = 360, the free zone will be shifting to the right

You might want to use the X and Y axis to change the position of the effect in the scene. In that case, switch polar coordinates to False and use the parameters named Center X and Center Y.

The following parameter is titled Apply effect to aura. First of all, in case you didn’t know, “aura” is the area that starts with the circle of flares and spreads to the edges of the scene.

Although it doesn’t necessarily contain flares everywhere, it’s a part of the effect, and you have control over the way it looks. Specifically, VSDC allows you to change the radius and the appearance of the aura. For instance, you can choose one of the following options from the Apply aura effect dropdown menu:

• Copy – every object in the footage that falls into the “aura” zone gets duplicated
• Blur – everything in the “aura” zone is blurred
• Radial blur – radial blur effect applied to the footage in the “aura” zone
• None – there is no aura

You can also change the Aura radius and Aura strength. Aura radius controls the radius of the area inside the effect. By changing its size, you automatically change the radius of the aura.

Aura strength increases the effect you’ve selected one step earlier. For instance, if you’ve selected “Blur”, the higher the value of Aura strength is, the blurrier it will be.

Darken aura is a parameter that defines how dark the aura should be with 100 being the maximum value.

If you choose to darken the aura, the Smooth darkening option allows you to achieve a gradient effect that starts in the free zone and continues to the end of aura. The higher its value is, the smoother the gradient will be.

Number of flares is an aptly named parameter that controls the number of Bokeh flares in the video. It is typically used along with Minimum spread and Spread delta.

The Minimum spread parameter sets the minimum distance between the free zone and the glares. Notice how the flares move further from the free zone as we increase this value:

Meanwhile, the Spread delta parameter sets the possible range for the Minimum spread value. If the Spread delta is equal to 0, all flares will be located at the minimum spread distance from the free zone. In the example below, we gradually increase the value of Spread delta. Notice how the density of flares in the scene decreases.

Note that if you’d like to change the way flares are spread, you can also do that by hitting a green button named Generate another map.

The Flare rotation type parameter sets the rotation of flares around the free zone. There are four rotation types available to choose from:

• No rotation
• Rotate clockwise
• Rotate counterclockwise
• Random direction

Note that if you select any rotation type, you can also set Maximum and Minimum rotation speed.

Bokeh effect: flare settings

The last group of settings helps you customize the look of the flares. It includes a handful of parameters related to the size, shape, color, brightness, and flare movements. Most of them allow you to set the dynamic change of values by using the difference between the Initial value and the Final value.

You’ll also notice that many parameters include the minimum value and maximum value. The reason being the effect suggests that the flares displayed at any given moment should not look the same. As a result, the minimum and the maximum values are randomly assigned to flares, and that produces the illusion of sparkling lights in the background.

Now, let’s review your options one by one.

Minimum/maximum flare size – this parameter should sound self-explanatory. It allows you to set the minimum and maximum possible flare sizes. That means your Bokeh effect will include various flares, but none of them will be smaller than the former or larger than the latter.

Each flare in the effect has its limited lifespan. The parameter titled Min/Max TTL allows you to define the minimum and maximum possible duration of that lifespan for each flare. As flares reach their time limit, they disappear from the scene replaced by new flares.

Flare min/max brightness – this parameter is also self-explanatory. Along with the value you set, it is limited by the level of Transparency you selected in the previous group of settings.

If you want all the flares to start displaying at the minimum level brightness (as opposed to random brightness level), set True for the parameter named Start from min value.

Similarly, you can decide whether you want flares to be of the same color when they start displaying or of random colors. If you set Use random colors -> False, you’ll be able to choose the Flare color and set the Color deviation. The latter parameter defines how far the color can deviate from the original tone.

If you don’t like the default hexagon flares, there are three more Flare shape options for you: a circle, a heart, and a star. The star shape is the most customizable one. If you choose this shape, you can also set the following parameters:

• Number of star points
• Star outer radius
• Star inner radius

In addition to the color and shape, you can choose to fill the flares in different ways. There are four Fill types available: solid, smooth, center, and point.Just switch between the available fill types and check the results in the preview window.

Fade out strength is a scale from 0 to 100 that allows for applying a smooth fade-out effect to the flares. When equals to 0, the fade-out effect is absent. As you increase the value, the light source inside the flares moves from the center and creates a fading effect.

Finally, the last parameter is called Flare sharpness. By changing it, you can change the strength of the light source sharpness inside the flares. As a result, the higher the value is, the bigger the light radius becomes.

Bokeh glare effect is not just for romantic videos

Now that you know the ins and outs of applying the Bokeh effect to videos, keep in mind that it’s more versatile than you might have thought. Don’t limit yourself to the romantic genre.

For instance, although it’s traditionally considered an effect for nighttime shooting sessions, it can be a beautiful addition to a daytime video or photo. It’s also not just for backgrounds! Try reducing the flare brightness and use the effect as a foreground, too.

Let your creativity take over and experiment with the new tool. Need some inspiration? Check out our YouTube channel. We publish weekly tutorials for all levels of experience, and you’ll surely find lots of ideas.

At VSDC, we believe that Artificial Intelligence is the future of creative tools, and the AI Art Generator is a great example to illustrate that. It employs the power of neural networks to help you turn images and videos into unique, stylish masterpieces.

By using the presets from the collection below, you’ll be able to edit your footage in one click – without performing any editing! Check out the collection, download any preset to your taste, and scroll down to see how to apply it to your video.