Low Light, Long Exposure Photography

 

Want to learn how to take pictures of fireworks or lightning? Want to be able to take those cool pictures with only a background and the blur of a light or of writing in the air with light? Well you can create all these effects and more using one simple rule: low light, long exposure. All you need is a tripod and a camera with an adjustable shutter speed. Set up in an area with little or no light (except the subject of your picture, of course) and set the shutter to be very slow (several seconds). Be sure not to move or jerk the camera when your picture is being taken (using a camera remote helps, but is not needed) and you can capture moving lights and objects creating unique, artsy, or just plain cool pictures. Below are a few examples to start with, but there's really no limit to what you can do.

Blurring Lights

One application of this is blurring lights. Many of us have seen this technique (maybe on video) where the background is clear and crisp, but anything moving appears blurred with the lights showing up particularly well. For outdoors pictures, twilight is best (or even when it's dark). Take the picture when one or more objects in the picture are moving. It looks best when a moving object is lit up (i.e. headlights on a car) because this will show up best in the picture. The length of your exposure (as always) depends on the speed the object is moving and the light level around you. Set your exposure as long as you need to in order to capture the scene. If the picture turns out overexposed or even completely white, shorten the time your shutter is open.

Drawing With A Laser Pointer In Your Pictures

Have you ever seen Picasso's light drawing of a bull? This was doing by using a very long exposure time and a bright light beam (point flashlight). When I first showed my friend this technique, he thought the pictures were of someone writing on glass. In actuality, the subject simply writes slowly in the air with light while the shutter is left open for a long time (depending on how long the artist needs and how long your camera will allow you to keep the shutter open). If you've never tried this technique you should. It is great fun and you get a product that definitely gets a second look. Just remember to set up in a room or area that is VERY dark. If you can block any light coming in, do so. This way the writing or drawing will show up best.  

Taking Pictures of Fireworks

Using a long exposure time is also a great way to take lightning or fireworks pictures. You really can't just guess when lightning is going to strike (and if you can, please tell me how) and it may be hard to predict fireworks as well. In a lightning storm (or fireworks show), simply set a long exposure time and let the camera sit. For lightning, you probably want to start with the slowest shutter speed possible and work down. Fireworks can use a faster shutter speed because you can predict them better and they may blur. Since these pictures will be generally shot at night or under dark cloud cover, you don't have to worry about overexposure, but the slow shutter speed will allow you to capture the light show without psychic powers. If you don't want to do all this hard work yourself, many cameras have a fireworks setting that does all the work for you. But using a tripod still helps for crystal clear shots.
 

These are just a few ideas for great pictures you can take using this technique. There are endless possibilities for other fun things you can do. Why don't you try using this idea to take pictures of stars (watch your exposure time though, the stars do move), go out during a meter shower,  or come up with some ideas of your own?