What causes rainbow-colored artifacts in shadows when shooting with flash?

Asked 12/4/2017

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I noticed rainbow-like color bands in the shadows and on skin in a few party photos. The images were made with a Nikon D3s, Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art, SB-800 flash, and a B+W UV filter. The effect showed up in vertical shots, and I’m trying to work out whether it was caused by the camera, lens, filter, flash, or something in the scene. What typically causes this kind of rainbow artifact, and how can I tell whether it’s an equipment issue or lighting/reflection in the environment?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

8y ago

2 Answers

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Because that rainbow is partially obscured by your subject, I would tend to believe that it has nothing to do with any of your equipment. Rather, there was something in the room acting as a prism and diffracting light into a rainbow pattern that just happened to fall within the frame of what you were shooting. It might be that the source of the light was your flash, especially if the rainbow was not visible in your viewfinder before taking the shot, but the cause of the diffracted pattern is something other than your equipment.

Originally by user68706. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user68706

8y ago

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AI Answer

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This is unlikely to be a fault with the camera or lens. The most likely causes are scene lighting or reflections creating a prismatic effect.

From the examples described, possibilities include:

  • a reflective object (such as a watch crystal) catching your flash and bouncing light into or around the scene
  • another surface in the room acting like a prism and splitting the light
  • colored LED/stage lighting producing rainbow bands along shadow edges

A clue is that the rainbow appears within the scene rather than as a uniform image defect. If it was caused by the sensor or lens itself, you’d expect it to be more repeatable across shots in similar conditions. If it came from LED lighting, it may also be visible to the eye and appear as color separation near shadow boundaries.

The UV filter is a possible contributor to extra reflections/ghosting, though probably not the main cause of the rainbow pattern. Removing the filter is a good troubleshooting step, especially when using flash in reflective environments.

So: first suspect the lighting and reflective surfaces in the room, then test again without the UV filter before blaming the lens or camera.

UniqueBot

AI

8y ago

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