Five stunts of capturing lightning by long-time exposure

The dazzling lightning flashes in an instant, and it is often difficult for people's eyes and senses to see the whole picture. Fortunately, we have a camera, which can skillfully use the characteristics of long exposure to leave all the lightning on the photosensitive element to form a spectacular lightning light and shadow photo.

In the face of the forces of nature, shooting lightning challenges the strength of the heart, while paying more attention to your own safety. Let's see how professional photographers shoot beautiful and moving lightning.

Many professional landscape photographers are constantly chasing extreme weather and storms and shooting dazzling and spectacular lightning. How did they do it? Pentax official website, Australia has released a lightning photography teaching and explanation for curious photographers to try.

Of course, on the premise of safety first _!

First: a stable tripod.

Lightning is often accompanied by storms. Therefore, in extreme weather such as storms, in addition to rain and warmth, we should also prepare a camera and lens with drip-proof and dust-proof characteristics, as well as a tripod that is stable enough for the camera to face the wind and rain.

Second: long exposure

Using tripod photography can make photos exposed for a long time clearer. In order to shoot lightning in the sky, it is recommended to use a shutter of 20-30 seconds or even a B shutter for a long exposure, so that the camera has enough time to capture the lightning moment. In addition, under long exposure, it is suggested to use the cable release to trigger the shutter, which can effectively avoid the jitter of the camera body. As for ISO brightness, the lower the better, which can reduce some noise under long exposure.

Third: manual focusing

In extreme weather conditions, the sky is dark and lacks contrast, and the camera's autofocus system may be inaccurate or unable to focus. At this time, we can switch to manual focusing mode and set the focus distance of the lens to infinity, so that we can clearly capture the lightning in the distance. For the aperture value closely related to the depth of field, it is suggested to fine-tune the exposure brightness from F5.6 to F 1 1 centering on F8.0.

Fourth: the timing of shooting

The speed of lightning is so fast that the speed of human physiological reflex nerve can't keep up at all. Therefore, we should construct the map in advance, focus well, then set the exposure time, aperture size and ISO brightness of the camera, then wait for the time period when lightning frequently appears, and then press the shutter to expose.

Fifth: the constituent elements

If you only shoot lightning alone, it seems that there is a lack of some changes and diversity. We can try to add some elements to the photo composition, such as the lighting, outline and shape of distant buildings, or the strong lightning reflected from the ground and water, which can create impressive lightning photography.

After the above conditions and photographic equipment are ready, it is a bit like fishing to have patience and keep trying. As long as you wait patiently, I believe you will gain something.

And remember, never take pictures in an open place or under a big tree!