How to Photograph Lightning, From Start to Finish. Now that storm season for North America is either already here (or coming soon), I thought it would be a good time to write a tutorial on how to photograph lightning. Lightning is a very elusive beast that many seem to struggle with, so read on, and by the end you will be able to hunt and capture it like a pro! Here’s what you’ll need: CameraTripodRemote shutter control (optional)Camera rain protection (see previous tutorial here) Safety When Shooting Obligatory: first and foremost is your safety — lighting is dangerous! Finding Lightning to Shoot I am not going to spend a lot of time on this part, as it is a never-ending wormhole of information. To keep this short and sweet, we will assume that you are going by your local weather forecast.
Getting the Shot Once you have figured out where the storm is going to be, it is time to set up and get the shot. This way, once you DO get a lighting strike, the photo will be that much better! Editing Your Lightning Photo(s) Stacking Your Lightning Shots. How to Photograph Lightning (With Awesome Examples) The following two tabs change content below. I'm Rob, the editor of Light Stalking. I try to keep this ship on course. Photographing lightning can be a damn tricky thing to attempt. Besides the obvious safety concerns, the photographic variables are difficult to overcome and the conditions don’t usually make for easy shooting. Even so, as the shots below show, good preparation and knowledge of how to photograph lightning properly can lead to some incredible photography! Photo © 2006 G Meyer | more info (via: Wylio) photo © 2005 Jeff Kramer | more info (via: Wylio) photo © 2009 greo77 | more info (via: Wylio) Equipment for Photographing Lightning It’s important to get your setup right and this is something you have a little while to think about (unlike the actual process of shooting lightning which can be quite adrenalin-filled).
A quick thing to remember is that it is likely that you will be in a spot where you and your equipment are getting rained on! The Simple Explanation Storm Safety. How to Photograph Lightning | BH Insights. Photographs of lightning aren't particularly difficult to take. It's mostly a matter of being prepared to get a good image when lightning appears. My friend Christina Lawrie is much better at photographing lightning than I am. Here's how she does it. Preparation The problem with many lightning photographs is that although the lightning itself is interesting, what's illuminated on the ground is not. Christina lives at the edge of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
When choosing potential settings, Christina looks for an interesting foreground. During storm season, Christina keeps an eye on the weather forecasts, both short-term and long-term. Exposure When setting up for a lightning shot, Christina turns off the auto-focus feature. Photographing a storm consists of taking long exposures and hoping that lightning will strike while the shutter is open. Christina turns off the in-camera feature that reduces noise during long exposures. It should go without saying that safety comes first. Photographing Lightning. Lightning Photography Tips | Night Photography Tips. Find a Good Location When photographing lightning, it’s important to realize that the conditions you are shooting in are unpredictable and dangerous, and there will always be an element of chance and luck involved.
Since we cannot see the lightning coming, we need to predict where it will strike. How do we do this? By observing the lightning pattern and using a wide-angle lens we are covering enough area to hopefully catch an image of the lightning bolt. By keeping the shutter open for several seconds we might get lucky. Set the Lens to Infinity You’ll want to disengage the autofocus on your lens, and set it to Infinity (the sideways 8 on the lens barrel); this isn’t always apparent on some digital lens, so you have to figure this out for your given lens. Timing is Everything If you are attempting to photograph lightning with a specific object in focus, in this case a pylon, then you will want to get the item in focus first. Composing the Photo How to Protect your Gear Recommended Settings. Photography techniques: How to photograph lightning. Introduction Lightning photography is both one of the most tricky and one of the most rewarding types of photography.
Some reasons which come to my mind for saying this are: 1) You get only one chance for the particular situation - it is not like portrait photography where you can go back in the studio if the photos didn't come out well; 2) lightning varies so much in brightness, intensity and location that guessing the proper exposure requires a lot of experience, as well as luck; 3) you are always at some risk when photographing worthwhile lightning; and 4) lightning is a point (line) source, and demands the most of the optical quality of your camera system. Equipment For lightning photography to be successful at all, you will need: SLR camera with B-shutter speed (preferably SLR; you might try using your digital camera, if it has B mode, but this is much more difficult) lenses ranging from 28mm to 135mm at minimum.
Fixed-focal lenses are preferred over zoomlenses. Location The technique. How To Photograph Lightning.