Springtime is upon us and with it can come thunder and lightning storms. I've loved watching storms since I was little and so has my friend Ben Jacobi. Here are tips from Ben on photographing lightning.
FYI: Ben is 19 years old and has been a photographer for the past 5 years. He is already a phenomenal photographer and has some beautiful work displayed on his website:
http://www.bdjphoto.com/ (His lightning photos are in his "Texas Storms" gallery.) Check out his blog too!
www.photographybybenjacobi.blogspot.com People have been asking many questions about my lighting photography. They have been asking about the aperture, shutter speed, and different techniques that they can use to capture lightning. I’m here to tell all of you people—it’s really, really simple. I live in the middle of northern Texas just about a half hour from the Red River. This is in the Tornado Alley, and we see a lot of storms. There is nothing that I love more than to shoot these powerful weather phenomenons. But the one thing that I find more hypnotizing than storms is the lightning.
At 1 million volts and 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit it’s no wonder why we fear lighting. But imbedded in the fear is a great sense of awe and beauty and we can’t help but realize how majestic lightning is. And what better way to show its beauty then by the medium of photography. Lighting photography can be frustrating and dangerous when proper technique is not used. However, it is far more rewarding when executed correctly.
Things You Need for Lightning Photography:
1. A camera that offers Manual control settings (shutter speed, aperture, ISO, ect): All DSLR’s offer the necessary controls to create a lightning shot. Point and Shoot style cameras are much more limiting. However, you can achieve lightning photos from a P&S camera, but I don’t recommend them.
2. Good range of lenses: I personally have a Nikkor 28-200 AF-G lens that is my “lightning lens”. Any lens will do. You want to have good wide angle to a medium-medium high telephoto. (No more than 300mm)
3. A remote/cable release: This will allow you to activate the shutter without touching the camera thus eliminating vibrations.
4. Equipment Protection: When the rain comes pouring down you want to keep your equipment safe and dry. There are many rain covers and ponchos for your camera out on the market. I have tried many of these, but if you don’t want to spend the extra money a trash bag and some rubber bands will work very well.
5. A good sturdy tripod: This is a must! You don’t actually need all this other stuff (though it does make it easier). You can’t go wrong with a good tripod. Thunderstorms tend to produce high winds and no one wants blurry lightning photos. I would also strongly suggest a good ball head.
Okay now we’ve got our equipment what is next? Now we learn the technique. All of these are basically the same and simple to remember. There are three times to capture lightning; Daytime, Early Morning/Late Evening, and Nighttime. Just follow these steps and you’ll be capturing lightning photos soon!
Nighttime:
Nighttime is the best time to capture lightning. The dark sky allows for longer exposures and gives a better probability of getting lightning. It also makes it much easier to capture multiple bolts in a single frame. Here are the steps to Nighttime Lightning Photography.
Step1: Set camera up on tripod and point in direction of lighting
Step2: Set camera to “B” (bulb) and open aperture (start at f/5.6 for single and f/11 for multiple bolts)
Step3: Enable remote or attach cable release
Step4: Focus to infinity
Step5: For the fast lighting, wait until a bolt enters your frame and activate remote/cable release as quickly as possible. Check picture and adjust. For long lightning and multiple bolts, press remote/cable release and wait until the bolt(s) enter frame, then close shutter. Check exposure and adjust.
Early morning/late afternoon:
During this time the sun will be low to the horizon. This is an okay time to shoot; you will just need to be more patient. Here are the steps.
Repeat Steps 1-4 (You can also set to “M” manual mode if needed). Then stop down max aperture to 2-21/2 stops. Open shutter. Wait for the lightning to enter frame, then close shutter. Check exposure and adjust.
Daytime:
What can I say other than good luck! Midday is one of the worst times to shoot lightning. For one thing you can’t get the long exposures that you will need because of the daylight. You can try stopping down your lens, but this can result in diffraction, and I wouldn’t suggest any ND filters either. Instead you can try this.
Repeat steps 1 and 4. Set your camera to “M” or “A” mode and wait for the lightning to enter the frame. Open and close the shutter. Check exposure and adjust. I’ve also heard of using continuous shooting (burst) mode and seeing if any lightning is captured in any of the set. I tried this and I got 1 out of 44 frames. I spent most of my time deleting and draining my batteries. So it is possible, but not productive.
*Lightning strikes last on average 1/15th of a second, so if you shutter speed is faster than 1/15th you’re probably not going to capture the lightning*
That’s all you need to do. It is simple and the technology behind digital makes it even better. If you don’t capture lightning in a picture you can just delete it. Oh, and one more thing to remember. DON’T BE STUPID! Don’t go out in the middle of a thunderstorm to shoot some lightning. If you do at least be under some shelter. A good rule of thumb is the “6 Mile Rule”. You wait until you see lightning strike, then you count the seconds until you hear the thunder. Divide the number of seconds it takes by five and the remaining number is the distance (in miles) away the storm is. If it is less than six miles you probably need to be under some shelter.
