Our most popular post last month by far was 10 really cool examples of long exposure photography. Leaving your shutter open for sometimes a few seconds or hours can do some very interesting things to your images. I have always thought one of the coolest parts about long exposure photography is you never know exactly how the shot is going to look until after it’s taken and every image is going to be so unique. Depending on the clouds, fog, lights an image taken in the same place can look so different. If you are thinking about doing long exposure photography here are a few quick tips to help you out:
1) Get a sturdy tripod. Some of your exposure will range from a few seconds to minutes so a nice sturdy tripod is key to getting a great shot.
2) Use the mirror lock up feature on your camera. Normally when you click the shutter your camera will first move up the mirror that is in front of the sensor and then open the shutter. The mirror is pretty heavy and does shake the camera a bit so without locking up the mirror first you might get some camera shake. Most cameras have a mirror lock up feature in the menu, just remember to first compose the shot (without the mirror you won’t see anything through the viewfinder)
3) Use a cable release or remote to trigger the shutter. Just the small vibration of your finger on the shutter can also cause a little bit of camera shake in the images.
4) Experiment with different shutter speeds. When you find a image that looks good try out many different exposures. What might look good at 4 seconds can look very different at 10 seconds or minutes. Try out at least 10 different shutter speeds when you are starting out to see the differences more time has on your shots.
And to help inspire you here are 15 more great examples of long exposure photography
Image by Alex39
Image by Jakob Wagner
Photo by Mumbley Joe
Photo by Mumbley Joe
Time Machine by `werol on deviantART
the light for lost… by ~Alcove on deviantART
Another World by *robertmekis on deviantART
Forever Dreaming by ~MarcAdamus on deviantART
Song of the Tides by ~MarcAdamus on deviantART
And a few that our awesome readers sent in:
Exposure: 30 seconds @ f/11 (I think), ISO 125.
Jonathan McKnight | jonathan@jmcknightphotography.com
http://www.jmcknightphotography.com | http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmcknightphotography
Title: Dock on Lake Monona
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Nikon D50 | Nikon 18-55mm at 46mm
Exposure: 6 seconds
Aperture: f/25
Circular Polarizer
ND Grad 0.4
Tripod
Cassius J. Callender Photography
Fine Art Prints for the Home and Office
Website: http://cassiuscallender.com
Facebook: Cassius J. Callender Photography | Twitter: CJCallender
Camera: Canon 5D Mkii
Lens: EF50mm f1.4 USM
Tri-Pod: Manfrotto 055XB Classic Tripod Legs
Head: Manfrotto 501HDV Video Head
Exposure: 15 sec at f6.3
ISO: 200
Rob Robertson
www.RobertCristie.com
www.RobertCristiePhotography.com
Friend me on Facebook | http://www.facebook.com/robertcristie
Follow me on Twitter | http://twitter.com/robertcristie
Also by Rob Robertson
Camera: Canon 5D Mkii
Lens: EF50mm f1.2L USM
Exposure: Manual Mode 6 sec at f16
ISO: 100
Tri-Pod: Manfrotto 055XB Classic Tripod Legs
Head: Manfrotto 501HDV Video Head
Takanori Taira
Camera: Nikon D5000
Exposure: 10
Aperture: f/4.8
Focal Length: 32 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure: 11
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 20 mm
ISO Speed: 100
RMStringer
www.RMStringerPhotography.com
http://twitter.com/RMStringer
www.Flickr.com/RMStringer
Do you have a great example of a long exposure photo? Leave a link in the comments below.
Share this post on Google + or Twitter!
Awesome collection, love long exposure photography, makes for some great imagery, thanks for sharing.