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Home > Long exposure photography

Long exposure photography is a creative technique that allows you to play with light and time.
You will need some additional equipment and some free time to explore all the potential options that long exposure photography can give you.

So here we go, this is what you need.

  1. A tripod. It is essential. You cannot handhold your camera with long exposures unless you want a complete blur.
  2. In daylight, you will need an ND filter. You can buy a filter that delivers from  2 stops (0.6 ND) all the way up to 20 stops (6.0 ND). This means it is like closing the aperture or lowering the ISO. Each stop of the ND filter is reducing the light entering the camera without changing the colour of the scene.  Also, keep in mind if you are using a filter it is very hard for Autofocus to work, so take the filter off and Manually focus first.
  3. Your starting point with exposure will probably be a low ISO like 100 or 200 and close your aperture to F.11. Your shutter will depend on your filter used and the effect you want to achieve.
  4. Cover the viewfinder so stray light doesn’t enter.
  5. If using 30 seconds or more on your camera you will need to use BULB mode.
  6. Find Mirror Lockup in your camera body to remove any chance of movement as the shutter closes.
  7. Take long exposures when there is a little wind or cloud in the sky so you get interesting movement in the picture.
  8. Invest in a cable release or an app where you can take lock your shutter open.

Fancy taking a trip with your camera now!


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