Photography Tips: How to Photograph Lightning
Lightning may strike anywhere, and getting the dramatic image on film is relatively easy compared to other nature photography situations. If you’ve been a photographer for a while, you’ve probably heard the old photographer’s secret of success: “f/8 and be there.” This is absolutely true when photographing lightning with one big exception. The f/8 is especially good, but you don’t want to be exactly there. Five miles away is close enough.
THE HARD WAY
So how do you photograph lightning? If you have a place in mind that has a good vista, watch the weather reports and “be there” while the storm is passing.
The following procedure assumes a tripod, ISO 100 film speed, and a dark night sky:
1. Set the aperture at f/8.
2. Focus at infinity, and autofocus off.
3. Set the shutter speed at “B” or “T.”
4. Frame and aim the camera at the storm.
5. Hold the shutter open for one or more hits of lightning.
To photograph lightning during daylight is next to impossible. There’s too much light to slow down the shutter speed enough to capture lightning even under the dark clouds of a heavy storm. Lightning takes its own picture when and where it wants, and no matter how fast your reflexes are, it’s gone before the shutter opens. If an image happens, it is either an accident, or the photographer was lucky enough to have a very long sequence of lightning hits at the same place. Almost all daylight situations can be very frustrating.
The darker the sky, the longer the shutter is allowed to stay open at f/8. Therefore, your chances of getting a good photograph of lightning are best on a very dark night. In this situation you may leave the shutter open indefinitely and get multiple bolts in the same frame.
The intensity of the storm, your distance from it, and your film speed are variables. However, assuming the storm is approximately five miles away and you are using ISO 100 film, f/8 is the best aperture. Lightning will make an exposure at almost any aperture, but if you try to lengthen the exposure time by closing the aperture more, or by using neutral density filters, you risk getting images of the lightning bolts that are thinner than desirable. If the storm is more than five miles away, or filtered by smog, you might try opening the aperture to f/5.6. If it is closer than three to five miles try f/11, but think of your safety first.
Be near a storm with a wide horizon and a visible sunset (or sunrise). As the sky gets darker (or before the sunrise gets too light) your time exposure becomes long enough to better your chances of lightning striking while the shutter is open (anywhere between two and ten seconds). In this situation, take a meter reading of the sky at a point within the storm clouds not too far above the sunset (or sunrise), but out of the bright area. Then, keeping f/8 constant, cut the shutter speed in half (equal to decreasing the exposure by one full f/stop). In other words, if the meter calls for an exposure of f/8 at six seconds, then set the exposure time to three seconds. This should give you a dark blue/gray sky that fades into almost black. Take meter readings frequently; the light at these times of day changes fast. You will probably get only one or two decent images per roll of film, but that seems to be the case in most other situations of nature photography so don’t be too dismayed.
Now that you’re a pro at shooting lightning, try throwing some curves into play. Remember those filters? Use ‘em. Open your lens one half stop and stick that yellow in front. Wait a couple a bolts then open your lens an additional two and a half stops and put that #25 red in front. Next, try an #80A blue, then close it one stop and try a green. You could go on forever! All that work for one frame of film. When you get your photos back, they should resemble the surface of some unknown planet with multicolored streaks of lightning. Just remember to compensate your aperture for the varying densities of the filters.
THE EASY WAY
Photography with the Lightning Trigger is possible because a lightning flash is not a singular event. A flash is comprised of multiple strokes occurring over as much as several hundred milliseconds that are spaced approximately 40 milliseconds apart.
Camera Settings:
Camera Settings Quick List:
* Shutter speed priority mode
* 1/8 to 1/4 second exposure
* Single exposure mode
* Manual focus setting
Shutter lag time is an important consideration since you will want to capture as much of the lightning flash as possible. You should take advantage of reducing the lag time by manually setting the lens focus. A zoom lens is best since the location of a flash is usually not very predictable. Using a wide angle of view will help ensure that you capture the flash.
Take advantage of your camera’s metering system. Use standard methods normally recommended for lighting situations without considering the lightning flash.
Preset the camera shutter speed at 1/8 to 1/4 second to ensure that you capture the flash duration. Using a shutter speed faster than 1/20 second (50 ms) reduces the probability that you will capture a stroke on film. Single shot mode is recommended for most cameras. Multiple exposures are easiest to achieve at night.
Usually to achieve such a slow shutter speed, the lens will need to be stopped almost all the way down. This will also improve your depth of field. You may find during bright lighting conditions, minimum aperture is reached at a higher shutter speed. A polarizer or neutral density filter can be used to achieve a further 2 to 3 stop reduction. Be sure check your camera’s instruction manual so that you use the proper type of polarizer, i.e., circular.
More info on Ligthing Trigger can be found here
LIGHTNING FACTS
* Lightning is actually hotter than the surface of the sun — in fact, it can be as much as three times hotter!
* An individual bolt can pack several hundred million volts at 10,000 amps, one trillion watts, briefly burning up more electrical power than is being used in the entire United States.
* To estimate how far away lightning is, count the seconds between seeing the flash and hearing the thunder. Each five seconds equals one mile.
* Lightning can be erratic. If you’re closer to it than five miles, you can be struck. Take proper precautions when you photograph lightning.
*Good common sense should tell you to stay away from the highest point, or to be under a tree that is likely to be hit and share the shock with you. Good advice would be to make your photograph within fifteen feet of your car. Or think about using a radio control or infra-red remote while sitting in the car. If you are working at the tripod and you feel goose bumps, or the hair on the back of your neck suddenly tingles, it is a sign that lightning may strike nearby. Jump in the car immediately.
Written by Milton Heiberg
Milton Heiberg has been a professional photographer for thirty years. He’s the founder of the Photography Committee of the New York City Audubon Society, and created their popular Nature Photography course. Thousands of his photos have appeared in publications in the United States and internationally.
See also: Photography Tips
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