On this video, (part of a Nature and Landscape Photography class on creativelive) photographer John Greengo talk about starburst – creating a the rays of the sun (or other light source) to burst out in your image.
In landscape photography (but this can also apply in other types of photography) you sometimes want to add a little extra – a starburst can be a create addition and it is very easy – all you need is to have a light source in your image and have your lens stopped down (f/11-f/22 – just remember – if you close your lens too much you might see image quality being reduced due to to the effects of diffraction).
What is particularly interesting in this short discussion is Greengo’s explanation of the number of rays you get and how it relates to the number of blades on your lens (definitely not something that every landscape photographer is aware of).
At the end of the day starburst is easy to use, and adds a lot to your images, don’t over do it but feel free to play with it and see in what sort of images it seems to work best for you.
We have covered many more great tips for landscape photography on our landscape photography section here on LensVid.