davidsmeaton.com

I’ve seen lots of great pictures where photographers have kept the shutter open for a long time. How can I get good shots this way? Peter, Seoul.

Shooting with long shutter speeds can be a great way to achieve unique images. It can also be very difficult to accomplish and also takes lots of trial and error to get right.

Obviously, shooting long exposure photographs is a lot easier at night. When it’s dark, you can open your shutter for much longer without overexposing the image. At night there is also a lot of artificial light from buildings and vehicles that can make your shot look much more interesting.

Daytime long exposures are much more difficult. One way to help is adding filters and using smaller apertures. Stack a few filters onto your lens and it cuts down the amount of light the camera receives. Neutral density filters are great for this purpose. Polarizers are also handy. However, when stacking filters, beware of vignetting (the appearance of circular edges in the corner of photos).

With the slow shutter speeds, it’s possible to make water blur for great effect. Waterfalls and rivers can look much more ethereal and tranquil when the water’s detail is blurred out. It also creates a nice contrast with the sharp focus of rocks or surrounding features.

As well as filters, a good tripod is essential. It’s impossible to hand hold photographs for 10 second exposures. A sturdy tripod is better, for avoiding vibrations. Many tripods have a hook in the bottom, so you can add extra weight (like your camera bag) to help make the tripod sturdier.

The third essential item is a remote shutter release. Pushing down the shutter on your camera often causes the camera to move slightly. The remote shutter release (either a cable release or newer infra-red remote unit) will allow you to activate the shutter without touching the camera.

Once you start working with slow shutter speeds, trial and error is a good method of working out shutter times. Many photographers set their camera to ‘bulb’ when shooting long exposures. The ‘bulb’ setting means that the shutter will stay open for as long as you want. It’s a manual way of controling the shutter. Once you press the shutter button (on your remote cable) the shutter will remain open until you release the button. So you can time the exposure using a watch or by counting. If you have very long exposures (such as 30 seconds or more) the remote cable has a lock function to keep the shutter open without you needing to hold the button down manually.

When you master long exposures, you can have a lot of fun. Try photographing streets at night with the cars zipping by, or the Han River with boat cruises and buildings in the background. You can also try writing messages or making ‘light graffiti’ by setting a long exposure then using a light (from a torch) to make patterns in the air. Photograph stars streaking across the sky or waves splashing onto rocks.

Long exposure photography is a lot of fun and with a little practice, some stunning results can be achieved.

Happy shooting!

David Smeaton

 Link to this page

 Link to this page