Proud Photography Blog

Have you ever considered photographing lighting?  As quick as a flash, the dramatic light appears in the sky, and believe it or not you can capture this on film.  Against a dark night sky, the effect is dramatic.  Here are some tips.

1.    Be Prepared

Lightning doesn’t come around every day so when the opportunity arrives you have to be ready to move to it!  Check weather reports and be ready with protective gear for you camera and for yourself.  Be safe and do not place yourself near anywhere that you could be struck.   Remember that lightning can also come with rain, hail and wind so be prepared.

Also be prepared to move around – lighting can move quickly sometimes so you need to be flexible if necessary.

2.    Equipment

When shooting lightning a tripod is essential as you will most likely need slow shutter speeds to capture the trails and a powerful flash gun can work wonders too. You need to waterproof your equipment such as housing or plastic covers.  A shutter remote or cable release is also handy.  You must take a cloth for cleaning your lens and camera (water drops will end up on there) and protect all lenses with a clear filter.

3.    Compose wisely

Spend some time observing where the lightning is coming from and how wide it seems to spread.  Use the rule of thirds; that everything should work in balance.  If possible bring in other elements to the photograph, like the top of a house or a tree.  It can’t be predicted for sure how lightning will strike, but use a wide angle lens and try to frame the image based on how it seems to be appearing for the best results.

4.    Time Yourself

Timing is everything - snap too early and your shot may not be open long enough to show the whole lighting trail, shoot too late and the effect might already be fading.

Always use a tripod to support the camera so there is no blurring and to use a wide angle lens to that we can capture the clouds.  If you have a shutter lock mechanism, even better.  Take the photograph when you think the lighting is going to start, then keep it open until the very end of it.  This should be enough time to capture the entire lightning flash.

5.    Shutter Lag & Focus

Don’t forget there is the issue of shutter lag so you will need to pre-empt the shot a little.  Open the shutter just before the lightning strikes so you don’t miss the moment.  Also, as a general guide, an aperture of f/8 is usually enough for a sharp effect although it’s always hard to be sure since the camera has nothing to focus on to begin with.  Setting your camera to infinity focus can also help with this.