1. An image processing method, comprising: an input step inputting a color processing target image obtained through a shooting optical system; a detecting step detecting a high luminance area included in the color processing target image; a first discriminating step discriminating whether or not the detected high luminance area is an occurrence area of a color flare; a second discriminating step discriminating whether or not a color correction is performed on the occurrence area by comparing a value of a color component of a pixel included in the occurrence area with a preset threshold; a restoring step restoring a color distribution of the occurrence area after the color correction to a color distribution of the occurrence area before the color correction; a flare estimating step estimating an influence of the color flare in the occurrence area based on the color distribution of the restored occurrence area; and a reducing step reducing the estimated influence of the color flare from the restored occurrence area.