NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY - 10 Tips For Long Exposure Photography Light Trails
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
- Long exposure night photography producing light trails is the focus for this tutorial. Ray Scott offers up 10 great tips that will show you how to take stunning light trails photos. The tips are many including what kind of aperture and shutter speed to use. What ISO settings are best. How to stabilize your camera with a tripod. Shooting more than just light trails by being aware of the background meaning taking the typical highway overpass picture is okay but why not head into the city and use the buildings and other structures to add interesting backdrops to create beautiful images. One could also create truly abstract photography art as well. This is definitely something that can be accomplished in the city as a form of street photography. Your pics will be different from your average photo making for unique images. Learn night photography camera settings and various night photography techniques with this inspiration video. It's a top 10 tips tutorial for light trails photography which will enhance and expand your night photography and long exposure photography experience.
Whether you say it as photographing light trails, light trails photography or anything else, this fun form of photography can be for everyone.
When in studio or in the field Ray uses Canon gear. This is a choice he made years ago knowing that he was buying into a system that he could grow into. His go to camera is the Canon EOS 6D with the second camera being a Canon 5D. Lenses used are all L series f/4 except for the 50mm macro with extender. 16-35mm f/4L, 24-105mm f/4L, and 70-200mm f/4L round out the kit which is carried about with either a Lowepro Urban Reporter 250 messenger bag for city shooting or a Lowepro Sling Bag for landscape field work. While Ray does more camera handholding than before due to the image stabilization capabilities of his various lenses, he still is a believer in using his Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod. It's light and it is sturdy.
Ray is a firm believer in exposing himself to as much photography and its history as possible. By looking at other people's photos, he has gained a big appreciation of what this medium has to offer. Ray doesn't think that "copying" someone else's style is a good thing but rather feels that exposing oneself to others work can work as a teaching and inspirational tool. With this in mind, Ray has amassed a list of favorite photographers that he uses for inspiration. Some of these artistic photographers are Galen Rowell, Ansel Adams, Frans Lanting, Annie Leibovitz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Freeman Patterson, William Neill and Richard Avedon.
One of the playlists on this channel is called "neighbourhood photographer" which covers tutorials shot in urban and suburban areas. It's always a challenge to see different things of interest when you've been to an area many times yet this is the best way to create good images. You need to return to familiar locations many times. To do so, Ray often drives by car to an area but when he really wants to cover ground yet see things more clearly, he uses his bicycle…bike…and explores the given place.
Whether shooting landscape, macro, portrait or abstract images, Ray always tries to be aware of his surroundings to capture the best pictures possible. Part of this workflow means he is very aware of composition and uses various tips, such as the rule of thirds, as a good starting point in composing. He also likes to break rules from time to time to add new effects to his photos. Being aware of angles, shadows, shapes, lines, textures, patterns and colours goes a long way to making good pictures. He is also a big believer in "getting out there" and shooting as much as possible as it is the only way to improve and flex one's imagination. His message is it doesn't matter if you do your photography in the city, suburbs country, mountains or by the sea, just make sure you do it and follow your artistic passion.
Find me also on…
Facebook...www.facebook.c...
Your lessons are great, and right to the point. I have been studying photography for years, now focusing on night photography and most instructors just talk about themselves, thanks for being so direct and helpful !
You are very welcome and thank you so much for watching. I'm really happy you are enjoying the tutorials. Have a great photography day.
Sogo Smile hhhj
Thanks for this! I was doing a time lapse on my iPhone one day and saw an opportunity to do light trails with my DSLR. I had NEVER done it before though I had read about it a little bit. Fortunately I had a second tripod so I gave it a shot. The results were pretty good for someone who never did it before! So I liked your photos and the tips of shooting on the street. I've been trying to find spots "high above" but they are a challenge in major cities (at least mine). I think a lot of overpasses have fences and barriers for safety reasons (or preventative stuff). But I liked your street photos. I'll have to give it a shot once the weather out here clears up!
Good for you. You can't keep an inspired photographer down. Yes, there are obstacles all over the place in my city too but we do the best we can right? Good luck with your next light trails shoot.
Amazing photos..
Ray, some very interesting photos. Have you ever photographed a Ferris wheel at a local fair. In the 70’s when I was young, I climbed up on a parked flatbed truck at a fair, placed my camera on a tripod and took several shots. That was the film day, but I got some interesting light patterns. There are some good spot along I-20 just out of Atlanta, but most of the roads over the interstates have fences that stop people from throwing things at the cars. You’re right, you definitely need to be careful in some areas, you could loss your equipment or your life, that is a very good tip.
Hi Jules. Yes, I’ve done the Ferris wheel shoot on film too. Take care and thanks.
i really like that trick with the bulb mode and cardboard
Thanks...and it really does work!
I was thinking the same thing. I want to make an exposure longer (30+ sec) but, without the carboard, I couldnt do more than 7 seconds. I hope with this trick it finally works.
Please do more tutorials like this please, I want to learn more about the cardboard technique.
Excellent tips, but the best one is about safety because you can get so caught up in what you are doing that you forget where you are or the time that you are there.
Indeed!
Fantastic video, thanks mate
Clear and easy explanation. Thanks
Thank you and enjoy your weekend.
Thank You Very Helpful and Constructive.
You are most welcome and have a great day.
You sound like Jeff Goldblum, loving it!
great information and yes,watch your backs when carrying around your gear..insure it,and don't take chances with your life
Thanks Michael. Have a good one sir.
Great video, thank you.
Nice shots! My favorite though....the back ally shot. Which is funny, because I came to watch light exposed trailing.
Hey there Dustin. Thanks very much. In the back alley shot take another look at the end of the alley and you'll see light trails moving right to left in the image. Take care and thank you for watching.
Thanks so much. Light trails my next assignment at college so you have given me lots of ideas. Thanks again!
Hi Carrie. I’m really happy you enjoyed the video and that you got some fresh ideas for your assignment. Good luck and thanks for watching.
Enjoyed this one too Ray, another great assignment! You are keeping me busy, lol. thanks, liz
Thank you, Liz.
Great you've got another follower 👍
Tip #11...Bring mace for those sketchy parts of town:)
As usual THANKS A LOT! Your tips are wonderful! Though I made many night shots, after seeing your video I realized how primitive they are. With your tutorial I will certainly enrich my technique. I will include the tip with the cloth, and all compositional aspects of shooting at night. Thank you, Ray!
Thanks so much Anatoly. Your words really mean a lot. It'll be great when you take another night shoot. Good luck to you!
Great tips! Answered a lot of questions I've had about long exposure photography. I will be trying these soon. Thank you for the great videos! Keep it going😀.
Thanks Jo Ann...Good luck!
Jo Ann Johnson So did you? How did it turn out?
I look forward to trying out these cool tricks, notes were precise and easy to grasp.
Thank you Owula. I wish you good luck with your photography and have a great day.
great tips thank u very much
That cardboard trick seems really neat have to try it!
It really works well so give it a go. Good luck!
Thanks for the tutorial. Very inspiring, useful and easy to understand.
Super! Glad to hear. Have a great day.
Great Video!......Hello from a UK Viewer. The Background is so important in an image, why i didn't think of this earlier is beyond me, I was so focused on settings I completely forgot about background goings on. So thanks for that!
So happy this video opened something up to you. Have a great weekend and thanks so much for watching.
Great tutorial.. valuable info on shutter, aperture, iso.. cheers, vernon_alvares Mumbai
Many thanks. Very relaxing and enjoyable tutorial.
Thanks Matthew, glad you enjoyed it.
great tips
Glad you liked it Jimmie and have a great weekend.
Amazing tips! And great tip about bringing a friend, it's sketchy around downtown when I live
Yes, you can't be too careful but it can be very rewarding. Thanks for the nice words Aylene and good luck.
I've tried all of his before Brilliant - I love the black card hack, must try it 👍
Great. Good luck and have a really good day.
Great video.
Thanks Christian and have a great day.
Thank you!
Hey Ray, great video. I learned a lot in a short period of time. Thanks.
Thanks very much Robert. Happy you enjoyed the video and good luck if you go out to capture light trails.
I'm loving ur channel really, good job!!
Thank you. Much appreciated.
Wow love watching your videos and love that you have one for everything I enjoy shooting, I truly appreciate the tips
Bermia, I truly appreciate your really nice comment. I thank you and I’m happy you are enjoying the channel.
Very cool doing this with photos. I have been testing techniques with videos in post to get results like this. This is awesome stuff.
Thanks Jack and have a great day.
Great advice, never tried this but always wanted to and you give straight talking device. Thanks
Glad to help Brian. Good luck and have a great day.
@@VisualArtPhotography I'll give it a go this week
Got it first time thanks to you and a friends advice, only a quiet local road but as they went around a bend. Shot on Bulb which I’ve never used either
Fantastic as always - lots of great tips. I had a go at doing light trails before but had too large an aperture which let in too much light. Will have another try and see if I can get it right next time. Thanks.
Thanks Laura...The other benefit of using a small aperture, say f/16 or f/22, is that you get those amazing starbursts wherever there are lights. Good luck with your next night time shoot.
Thanks for explaining such great views.
You’re welcome Sonrique and thanks for watching. Cheers!
I love the black cloth idea. It seems no matter how busy the street when I push my shutter button no cars come or one car will drive through with his high beams on and ruin the shot. I can just block that one out with a black cloth
Yes indeed. It really works and makes the job so much easier with fantastic results.
This is cool stuff because you don't know exactly what you'll end up with in the final shot. A long time ago I used to set up my tripod inside my car and drive around at night while taking long exposures with ISO 25 film. Doing that gives a totally different perspective. Shooting straight out the windshield while driving gives a warp-drive effect.
Hey Carl. I like your the "warp-drive" effect. I think I may try it one day. Thanks for watching.
Very nice explanation. Didn't feel like I'd spent 10 mins watching this video. I'm going to try it today itself!
Hi Bhargav. I'm extremely happy to hear you are going to try capturing light trails. Thanks for the nice comment and good luck!
I did try it yesterday, and it came well :) Many thanks to you :)
I don't want to share link & spam your personal channel, but if you like to take a look, it's the last uploaded photos my 500px page :)
Hey Bhargav...I didn't see any light trails photos on your 500px page but I did like your sandals in the snow shot :)
Okay, I got it. Really nice Bhargav and I liked the lower angle on the first one. Good on you sir.
Thank you so much :) Credit goes to you without any doubt :)
Before taking a shot, did you focused on something for example the building or a sign?
Hi Ruslan...Yes I did. In the photos that included the crosswalks I actually focused one third into the frame for maximum depth of field. I have a video showing this technique. In other photos I focused on signs or buildings etc.
Great video..
Really helpfull
Thanks very much. Glad you found it helpful. Enjoy your weekend.
thank you reminding me, how much i like to take long expo photos :)
They are a lot of fun. Enjoy and thanks for watching.
Thanks for this great tuturial my step guide for my night photography😊
Hi Rene...You are so welcome. I'm glad it helped. Have fun with your night photography.
Feel you man. I am a small guy and hate it when I go out shooting at 3am alone.
Whoa! Not sure it’s good to ever go out shooting at 3am. 😊 Take care and have a great day.
Great video ray. Fantastic
Thanks so much James and have a great day.
Brilliant insight with using bulb mode for light trails! I've always tried timing intersections or when vehicles are about to come, which takes awhile. Have you encountered any issues with putting up the blacked out cardboard with dimming the photo, or it works fine mostly?
Hi Brandon. Never any dimming or exposure problems. It’s about letting in the proper amount of light manually.
thanks. actually on my way out now for night photography and last minute check for some tips from the experts.
Have fun and happy shooting.
thanks, I thought everything was well explained. And your persona as a dad or teacher is entertaining for me.
Thanks so much and I’m happy you’re enjoying the channel. Have a great day.
Thanks for the help! Gave you a thumbs up
Hey Bryan...You're welcome and thanks for the thumbs.
your explanation is very straightforward thanks. I will try this in Nairobi
Hi James...Thank you and good luck with your light trails photography project.
Amazing., I will give this a try soon
Glad you liked it and good luck.
Great tips, enjoyed that, many thanks
Thank you Neil. Hope you try it out and have great success.
I was wondering where to pratice this only to realize you've done this shots in my city lol!
It’s a small world for sure. Thanks for watching.
you're the best. really helpful tutorials.
Thank you Chris and thanks for watching.
No thank YOU..I was in a vehicle the other night,taking night shots with my camera,and getting some interesting light trails.Since of course the camera was moving,most of the shots were a bit too streaked to actually use.You kept it simple,and I think I am going to use my cellphone with an app to control the camera functions as in tethering..I am using the Pentax k1 Mark2 FF ..
Sounds good to me Michael. Good luck with your shoot.
Thank you for this video.
You’re very welcome Kevin.
For a background I was thinking the Paree street overpass overlooking Decarie Highway ... ;-)
Bonjour Pierre...It would be a really interesting view for sure. Try it out and have fun.
great tips i will go out and try some of this stuff ,
SUPER. Good luck.
Excellent tutorial thanks
Hey Alan...You're very welcome and I'm happy you enjoyed it.
That looks like my hometown Montreal!
Hey Kathy. You are so right. All photos were taken in our hometown...Montreal.
Would you ever consider coming to The Montreal Camera Club as a guest speaker? We are always looking for experienced photographers who would share their craft.
Hi again Kathy. Since I would rather not use the comments section for personal use I will give you my email and we'll talk that way okay? It's...visart66@gmail.com
Great video!!
Has anyone ever told you that you look like Rio Ferdinand??
Thanks Frankiie. Yes, I’ve heard that. Have a good one.
Great tutorial and tips!! Thank you so much! Do you use manual focus or autofocus? Thanks once again!!
I use both. It just depends on the situation. Have a wonderful day.
Great tips!
Thanks Christopher and enjoy your day.
This great tips, Thank you! sir.
Thank you for watching and have a wonderful day.
anyone interested in light trails photography using smartphone?
Yes
No
I’m very limited, with stuff. But I also limit myself with equipment, I’m capturing this on a go pro hero 5. Even at that. I got a few good photos.
Nice!
Great tip at 6:20
Thanks Brian and thank you for watching.
Rio Ferdinand look-a-like haha
Sure is!!
Great videos as always. I got two Question: Q1. How do you avoid camera shake (even using tripod with self timer or so) from vibration (Cars/trucks passing) when you are so close to highway or near crosswalk? Q2. You are approaching beautiful city like LA and want to take night shot or light trails shot while you are landing; how do you avoid camera shake from plane/chopper vibration? Thank you!
Hey there. Q1...I haven't had problems with passing cars or trucks for 2 reasons. 1. I use a very sturdy tripod and ball head and 2. If your camera vibrates a little for say a couple of seconds then settles down again and your exposure is for say 40 seconds, then that little vibration probably won't register except maybe in the light trails and that may end up being a cool effect. If you are shooting from a bridge you may encounter almost constant vibration from passing vehicles and that can be a real challenge. Q2. I've never done light trails while moving so I honestly can't help you with that. Hope some of that helps and have a great day!
Thanks Boss!
Very cool
Martin...glad you enjoyed the video.
You give me inspiration to get the camera out of the closet.
PERFECT! Ken, that is music to my ears. Thank you and I hope you make some great images.
i actually liked the quote
its not about what u see, its about how u see it!
Sounds familiar.
I never knew what bulb was for but now I have another way to use it hahaha
Sounds good Mark.
I am new to dslr. Thank you! I learned much in night photography from this video
I’m glad. Thanks and have a great day.
Hi Ray my name is Ian. Many thanks for the tutorial. I have never been a night shooter really until bonfire night this year and this has given me new inspiration, I managed to photograph the fireworks handheld at shutter speed 1/5 with some great results. Now going to try the light trails. Cheers.
Hey Ian...Glad you had success with the fireworks. Thank you for watching and good luck with your light trails project.
Great tips, what do take a shot with camara that is beautiful images of night. Thank you a lot of, Ray.
Glad you enjoyed the video and I hope you give it a try 😊
nice work man
Hey, I appreciate that.
What a lovely photos! I enjoyed a lot while watching your video. I will definitely try this later. You mentioned the time of seconds but how to set it up? I just bought Nikon dslr D5300 along with kit lens AF-P 18-55mm not sure if it will work on it 🤔
Hi there. The best way to control the long exposures over 30 seconds is to use the BULB mode on your camera. This is the "B" setting. This way you can leave the shutter open as long as you'd like. Try it out and good luck and thanks for watching.
I'm new to photography and want to get into this kind of stuff. Do you adjust the f/ with a lens or with the camera? Also, what does changing the ISO do to this type of photo?
I use a DSLR so I change aperture in the camera. Lower ISO means a slower shutter speed thus making it easier to take long exposure photos. Hope that helps.
Great video, I have just got into taking long exposures. I started doing day time exposures on water so I been using a 10 stop filter.
My question is with doing night photography on light trails do you need you use any filters?
When I do light trails I’ve found I don’t need to use filters as the light is low enough to create long exposures.
Thanks for your reply. I went out this evening and gave it ago with no filter. Was quite happy wit out come.
Amazing guide. Do you think entry level DSLR's like the Nikon D3100 can pull this off?
Thank you. Yes, you can do everything that you saw in the video with the Nikon D3100. No problem at all. Have fun and create something special.
Thank you. As a 19 year old photographer I have to say that your video was amazing in terms of content and presentation. All the other tutorials on youtube are somewhat muddled by lack of organization. Your video was concise and even included real world examples. Great work.
Remember to set the white balance to a great setting, otherwise the photo will look kinda yellow or red tinted.
I usually go with f/11 for long exposures.
Sketchy dudes jeje. Nice shot, though.
Thanks and have a good day.
One thing that appeared to be happening, that you didn't put on your list, was shooting from closer to the ground...on at least a couple it appeared you were shooting from perhap 2 feet off the ground and angling the camera up into the image...as to unsavory types: if I go out alone at night to shoot, I turn the timer on my cell phone to go off after 15 minutes...I try not to stay in any one place more than 15 minutes...I figure if someone has spotted me, by the time they decide to make a move, I am onto the next place. It's very sad but us ladies are just simply vulnerable when our heads are behind the lens.
great tips! just 1 question, how do you manage to dp such long exposures of 30 or 60 seconds? There's one of 30 sec that it's not even night time yet, do you use a ND filter to lower the exposure?
Yes
Do prefer manual mode for this photography?and under manual mode which mode should we go for?Like S SH SC and Timer Mode?
I use manual mode for exposures no longer than 30 seconds. If the exposure is longer than 30 seconds I set my exposure dial to the “bulb” mode. That way I can leave the shutter open for an infinite length of time..
awesome video. quick queston did you colour corect for this video just it seems too orange?
Good catch Gareth. I forgot to correct for the segments you see of me (a little yellow). As far as the light trails shots are concerned, I skewed the headlights a little to the warm side. White lights didn't convey the feeling I wanted. Thanks for watching and have a great day.
But when shall i have to click the button i mean the capture button im so confuse in it help me out
Sorry this might sound dumb, but how do you take pictures of the lights that curve and stuff ? I thought they are car lights but i see no cars
Alexander...They ARE car lights. When you open the shutter of a camera for long periods of time, things that move are not recorded the same way that static objects are. The lights of the cars record because they are bright but the darker car does not show up. The curve in the lights is caused by the cars turning a corner. Hope that helped.
Thank you so much for these great tips, what does the carbourd do in bulb mode? Sorry if thats a dumb question am new to photography, just got my 1st camera , Lumix gx80 am trying to figure all this out lol
Hey Monty and thanks for the nice comment. Okay, when you place the dull black cardboard in front of the lens, it stops light from entering the camera. Pretty simple eh? and it really works. By the way, no questions are "dumb" and at some point in time we are all new to something. Enjoy your new camera and enjoy this beautiful thing called photography. Good luck to you!
Visual Art Photography Tutorials thank u so much, i will, have subbed so looking forward to watching more from u 👍
can you please what lens did you use to get this much depth of field? I have 35mm lens I wonder if it can capture that much field view?
Hi there Mukesh. I was using a 16-35mm wide angle zoom lens for many of the shots. Hope that helps.
On what focal lengths did you shoot those photos?
hello sir, thanks for this amazing tips.what is your opinion on Nikon Coolpix p900 ,is it a good buy?
Hi Ashish. I'm a Canon shooter so I don't know too much about Nikon gear but more importantly I don't know what your specific needs are. I will say that Nikon generally make great products. This particular camera sports an extreme zoom on its lens...24-2000mm equivalent so it is often used for travel or even wildlife. It seems to be well constructed. Buying equipment is such a personal thing so I can't recommend or not recommend a particular camera but I will say that it is hard to go wrong with Nikon products.
If you were wondering if this camera can be used for capturing light trails you should know that it does not have Bulb setting meaning you cannot leave the shutter open indefinitely. I believe the maximum amount of time the shutter can be open is 15 seconds but that's something you'll need to check into. I could be wrong. While you can capture light trails in 15 seconds I personally prefer to have more time.
Hunt around, figure out what types of photography you'll likely be doing and take your time and you should come up with something that suits you. Good luck!
Sir thanks for the instant reply...I like nature and wildlife photography mostly
How can i set the seconds for the aperture?
Hey Mikko. If you set your camera to aperture priority and then set your aperture, the camera will set the shutter speed. If you are shooting longer than 30 seconds you will need to use the "bulb" feature on your camera. Hope that helps.
In the very first video did yo put the two 2 star burst in. I see the same star burst on so many different photos
Hi Mark. I did not place the starburst in. By using a small aperture you get the starburst effect. Have a great week.
Visual Art Photography Tutorials , thanks for getting back, just another awesome tip
Any tips on keeping people out of the images, and also being safe?
If the exposure is really long and people are moving at a relatively good pace, they may not show up in the photo. It’s tough so if you don’t want people try to shoot in a location where there aren’t too many people around.
On being safe, try to stay out of bad neighbourhoods and since you will be concentrating on what you are doing, bringing a friend can help. Have a great day Kevin.
could I do this with a Nikon D5300 ?? if so what lenses would you recommend
Absolutely you can do this with a Nikon D5300. When I do this type of photography I usually shoot in the range of 16mm to 70mm on a full frame camera, depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. There is no "right" focal length for this but typically if you are reasonably close to the traffic you'll want something with a wide angle. Have a super day!