Long Exposure for Professional Photography
You may already have found themselves in a new, recently purchased a digital camera, manual shooting mode, or even had time to take advantage of them. Likely to have the opportunity to directly control the shutter speed and aperture. If not – then there is only a choice of exposure parameters, and you will regret to have to admit that some of the tricks your camera can not. But even in this case, you can try some things that will be outlined in this article.
Long exposure and night photos
First, consider cases where normally used manual camera mode and see how it all works from the inside. Imagine that you go to the city at night with a camera and see something so beautiful that you have a desire to immediately photograph it. Aim, shoot and … the result leaves much to be desired! What is the reason? Most likely, you were shooting in automatic mode, which means that the camera man for you decide for what is happening around them. And he thought that, you may shake hands, and you’re bound to “smudge” frame. To do this, he increased the ISO image, holding the shutter in a safe and frame values. Naturally, there was a very loud noise and grain in the picture, and this is clearly not what you wanted. Especially considering it on your computer, you notice grease and images, although small.
So you’ve decided to bring home a good shot. Are you looking for a place where you could put the camera so that he did not move. For such cases, you can buy an inexpensive mini tripod , which can be carried in a pocket or purse, and for such unplanned photo shoot, he fits perfectly. Fixing the camera, you click on the frame, and one problem seems solved, the frame will not be lubricated. Well, to solve the problem with noise, will have to take into their hands.
You turn on manual mode, looking for how to change the shutter speed. Usually, the notation excerpts are as follows: “1 / 200. This means one of the two hundredth second. Or just a number, then it is just a notation in seconds. You need for your first shot, set the shutter speed to the maximum. Most likely, the result will be 15 seconds. As it is desirable to set the aperture on the most light-sensitive. Less is more. Please note – if you decide to use in his photography and still increasing, then decreases with greater multiplicity and sensitivity. In some cases, this effect can play you on the arm, but not in this particular case.
Set the white balance, if possible, to the position of incandescent lamps. If they are, of course, illuminate your subject. If you are trying to remove something in the moonlight, then you can use the preset for a cloudy day.
Do not forget to lower the ISO to a minimum because we want to get clean and clear picture.
Likewise, if you can, use manual focus. That night, and your camera can not properly determine the range, even if the uses illumination.
An important point: if you just hit the shot, the camera under the influence of your hand can move, or begin to vibrate slightly. You do can not be noticed until the picture and explore not find the edge of the subject blurry. To avoid this effect, look at your camera shooting mode on the timer. If you shoot without zoom, you can choose a small number, two, four seconds – during this period all visible to him fluctuations subside. At high zoom, use the timer for ten seconds. Just beware of the wind – it might also affect the image quality.
These preparations the force will take half a minute in, if you know where and what is your camera, and most importantly – how it will behave.
So you pulled the trigger, took his hand away from the camera, and it counts down the timer. Finally, you’ll hear the first click – it opens the diaphragm and the light begins to accumulate in the matrix. The fact is that in a short time on the small lens is simply not penetrated enough light – photons. Some photons are lost, entangled in the lens and create a glare on it. But over a longer period of time to arrive yet. Just over a sufficiently large amount of time, may be formed from parts of the photons, which seem to us at all illuminated and tread details. Another click and the camera tells you to wait, she handles the snapshot. It takes about as long as she lasted and endurance. If you put it on for 15 seconds, then have to wait about half a minute.
The photo is ready, and you can see it. Perhaps he will over lit hence, exposure is needed less, this is what you need to choose according to your taste, and in the circumstances. The main thing you already know.
However, now we have considered only the most usual case where a person uses the technology directly to its destination. That is, if less light – it means we will look longer.
Let’s imagine that you are still going on night street and see the passing cars. Let’s look at them more carefully: only bright lights, everything else is in the dark. Remember one more very important thing: the brighter the object, the brighter it appears on the matrix, and the less time is needed to ensure that it has become evident. And so brightly shining lamps enough of a second, it became clear to them in the frame, and a little more – stop signals.
Let’s put our cameras along the roadway, so that the machine did not go at us and hit the trigger. After not such a long wait you’ll see an image that can be often seen on magazine covers: a deserted street and a strip of fire, moving somewhere. If the fire red – it so happened stoplights. If the machines were completely without light inside, and drove quickly – you will not see even a trace of them, only their lights.
As this effect can still use it? Just think of that bright, and there is a very short period of time. For example, the fireworks. Just point the camera where would break the next train and wait – will get the gorgeous and beautiful cloudy. Is that the place where the fireworks will explode in the form of white dots in the case if they are not obscured by smoke pyrotechnics.
So you can think of friends here in the rain in the evening or at night: you will be able to photograph lightning. Just look at what intervals they sparkle and try to get a flash of lightning hit the gap between the fifteen seconds of your recording. If you are lucky – then your shot will fly her way. Well, if by that time flashes several lightning, you’ll see them in the picture as if they appeared simultaneously.
The same effect can be used for entertainment: make the so-called ghost image. This requires a darkened room, to a maximum exposure frame was not overlit, and everything was beautiful. Put the camera view and focus on it. Click on the picture. After waiting for half the time set shutter speed, quickly whisk the subject. For large exposure can not even hurry. The result is a “transparent” image of the subject.
The same thing you can do, asking for help from your friends. Ask them to freeze in some spectacular or intimidating pose, and then tell them to run off. The result will be lackluster.
And walking in the woods or the park, or photographing a person, you can try a way to flash photography: Do not put too much exposure and do not use a powerful flash. Shoot only from the hands. As a result, you get a dedicated subject and fully greased for him the background. The main thing to pick up the correct brightness of light and color balance, but the exact recipe, I give you can not, you are required to experiment with this.
And finally, go relax on a lake, river or sea, do not forget to grab a camera. Wait until the evening. It is necessary to sufficiently dark. Begin to take pictures. Wave, or river flow will be smoothed by time. That is, the longer the camera will focus on the water more evenly than it would be. In fact the water during this time will visit all parts of the frame and get in a fog.
Most likely, you have while reading this article, you will see many more ideas on how to use your camera with these features. Use them, and do, and do not forget to describe your ideas in the comments to this article.