Lightning shooting techniques and considerations

Summer night, while asleep by the noisy due to the Earth, but refuse to cast sky nature of pyrotechnics, staged a brilliant lightning Symphony. With brilliant brilliant lightning across the world, the night of photographers but are suffering from the cold, patiently waiting for. When Lightning by high-altitude momentarily waving towards the ground, the inner joy unmatched. Saw no negative bitter summer night, while asleep by the noisy due to the Earth, but refuse to cast sky nature of pyrotechnics, staged a brilliant lightning Symphony. With brilliant brilliant lightning across the world, the night of photographers but are suffering from the cold, patiently waiting for. When Lightning by high-altitude momentarily waving towards the ground, the inner joy unmatched. Our efforts are not responsible for, and finally "seize the moment, the eternal", the inner joy and sense of accomplishment, you also have experience?

Safety is the basis for photographing lightning

Lightning, there is a striking beauty, but no one could predict where it may appear at any moment.

Its beautiful appearance after uncountable cold two words — the danger. Those who often engaged in outdoor sports, people will find that Lightning usually passes some dangerous signal, as the lightning often accompanied by heavy rain, lightning danger exists. In view of this, if you want to shoot lightning, at a minimum, you should leave the lightning occurs more frequently in areas some distance before, or simply in a building or car, hotel or overnight stay at the top of the window are the best locations to shoot. If you have exposure to the outdoors, the lightning storm arrive prior to their own to find a place where you can hide it, at least you should make sure that your camera and you will not get wet by rain.

Determine filming locations

Shooting lightning location is important.

As a result of shooting lightning needs long time exposure, you must consider the effect of the background light. General requirements for darker background light, the better.

Filmed in the city, because of the street lamp and lighting of buildings, suffuses the clouds black sky obviously not be as wild as dark.

This means that if you use a timed exposure, films in a few seconds then fully exposed, so whether lightning is, you have to bring the film to the next. Because of the background light is too strong, exposure time unable to set out, the effect is not very good.

For backpackers, outdoors activities encountered rain or frustration, because this is the best time to shoot lightning.

Exposure time can be set very long, it is possible to get more chances to lightning.

By lightning point distance to determine the aperture

Thunder is estimated lightning far away from you.

Due to the aperture when shooting lightning is based on the estimated distance of lightning. Due to the speed of up to 300 kilometers per second, we can ignore the lightning light propagation time. While the speed of sound in air is 340 meters per second. According to see lightning light to hear thunder time between, you can estimate occurrence of lightning cloud the distance from us. For example, see the Flash back 10 seconds before they hear thunder, you can generally figure out a lightning cloud occurred off our 3.4 kilometers away.

Aperture data decisions according to the lightning distance from you.

The general rule is to use ISO 100 speed, approximately 8 km away from the lightning, f/8 is the best choice of aperture. If lightning is 8 kilometres away, it is best to use the aperture f/5.6; if it is almost 5 km, use f/11.

The timing of shooting lightning

Whether during the day or night, you can shoot lightning, generally speaking, the night shooting lightning more vivid.

Daytime shooting lightning no skill at all, because you want to shoot during the day to good lightning picture is almost impossible, because the background light is so bright. Lightning may at any time, any place, and very quickly. No matter how you react fast, when you see lightning, press the shutter, Aperture open before Lightning has disappeared. And lightning to occur by chance, in the same location the opportunity for continuous occurrence of lightning is very small. Therefore, the day shooting lightning could be the chance of good films.

If the night shooting lightning, most likely you will get very good lightning picture, you can use the shutter-release speed control in a few seconds to several minutes to record a series of continuous lightning process.

Shooting of relatively simple, lens General take standard wide-angle lens or slightly. Manual focusing at infinity. Since long time exposure, of course, you should use the relatively stable tripod and use shutter line or the remote control.