Light TrLight Trail Photography
.jpg)
Light trail photography involves capturing long exposure photos of moving lights, usually cars moving along a road at night. As the cars move across the frame, the bright headlights (and rear lights) create a long streak. Because the cars themselves are not well lit, and move across the frame, they do not appear in the final image, just the trails left by their lights.
hot
How to photograph light trails
.Ph
Simple steps to creating a fantastic light trail image
Find a location
-
First off, you need to find somewhere to take your shot. Look for a road with a steady flow of continuous traffic and then find a good vantage point to shoot from. As you will be using a slow shutter speed, you will need to set your camera up on a tripod to avoid camera shake.
First off, you need to find somewhere to take your shot. Look for a road with a steady flow of continuous traffic and then find a good vantage point to shoot from. As you will be using a slow shutter speed, you will need to set your camera up on a tripod to avoid camera shake.
Set your speed
-
Switch to Shutter Priority mode and then select a slow shutter speed. The length of time your shutter needs to be open for will depend on the available light and the speed of the traffic, but about 10 seconds is a good starting point. If your camera does not have manual modes, then using a Night scene mode should help you achieve a similar effect.
- Switch to Shutter Priority mode and then select a slow shutter speed. The length of time your shutter needs to be open for will depend on the available light and the speed of the traffic, but about 10 seconds is a good starting point. If your camera does not have manual modes, then using a Night scene mode should help you achieve a similar effect.
Lower the ISO
-
As you are using a slow shutter speed, enough light should reach your sensor to prevent your shot from being underexposed. This means that you can use a low ISO low as your sensor will not need to be more sensitive to the light. This will also prevent your shot from becoming noisy.
- As you are using a slow shutter speed, enough light should reach your sensor to prevent your shot from being underexposed. This means that you can use a low ISO low as your sensor will not need to be more sensitive to the light. This will also prevent your shot from becoming noisy.
Change your white balance
-
To prevent an unwanted colour cast from appearing on your image, set your white balance to suit your chosen light source. Car headlights produce tungsten/incandescent light to use this setting so get the colours right. Alternatively, you could switch to a different white balance setting to produce creative effects.
- To prevent an unwanted colour cast from appearing on your image, set your white balance to suit your chosen light source. Car headlights produce tungsten/incandescent light to use this setting so get the colours right. Alternatively, you could switch to a different white balance setting to produce creative effects.
Take the shot
-
When it gets dark, you are ready to take your shot. You may not get it perfect first time, so take a test shot and then preview it on your camera’s LCD screen to judge whether you need to change your settings. If your shot is too bright then use a faster shutter speed or narrower aperture (higher f-number), and if it is too dark then use a slower shutter speed or wider aperture (lower f-number).
otogrhaphy
- When it gets dark, you are ready to take your shot. You may not get it perfect first time, so take a test shot and then preview it on your camera’s LCD screen to judge whether you need to change your settings. If your shot is too bright then use a faster shutter speed or narrower aperture (higher f-number), and if it is too dark then use a slower shutter speed or wider aperture (lower f-number).
