A starburst effect is a photography technique that is used to create the illusion of rays or beams of light emanating from a central point. This effect is often used to add drama or interest to a photo, and can be achieved with both natural and artificial light.

There are a few different ways to create a starburst effect, but the most common is to use a small aperture (f/11 or lower) when taking the photo. This will result in a long exposure time, which is necessary to capture the starburst effect. Another way to create a starburst effect is to use a filter, such as a star filter, when taking the photo.

If you are using natural light to create a starburst effect, be sure to position yourself so that the sun is behind your subject. This will help to maximize the effect. When using artificial light, such as a flash, you can experiment with different angles to see what works best.

The number of aperture blades on a lens affects the shape of the starburst produced by the lens. Even-numbered lenses produce stars with the same number of spikes as the number of blades, while odd-numbered lenses produce stars with twice as many spikes as the number of blades. Some lenses also produce “twinning” or “splitting” of their spikes.

The lens with which this picture was taken has 11 blades. This creates a sun star with 22 rays.