Michael Pino: Photography & Design

How To: Lightning Photography

In this post, I am going to discuss the two different methods that I use to capture lightning in a photograph.

In each method I tend to use the bulb setting on my Canon 40D. I do this so I have more control over the total image.

Before I get into my methods, I would like to make some points on setting up the shot. Obviously you are going to need to wait until there is a thunderstorm in your area. It doesn’t have to be raining, but you will need lightning. Without lightning you are just going to have some nice thunderstorm clouds to photograph, which can be beautiful, but the lightning bolt adds a bit of excitement to the scene you are trying to create.

The next key point is to make sure that you are in a safe area. By safe area I mean in a place where you are least likely to be injured by lightning, so standing out in an empty field may not be the best idea. Standing near tree roots is bad too. During a storm a tree’s roots can acts like wires in the ground and there is the possibility to being struck if you are standing on or near the roots. If at all possible it might be better for you to be inside of a house or car. While not 100% safe, it is better than standing outside. If you are outdoors, be sure to choose an area where you can  attempt to setup your scene. In the past I have chosen the top of a parking garage, inside of a car parked at a lakefront, or inside of a car parked near a field.

If you choose to capture the photograph outside be sure to protect yourself and your gear from the elements. Bring an umbrella, trash bag, or a specialized waterproof casing for your camera and lens. You do not want your gear to get wet. You risk damaging or destroying your camera. Just to be on the safe side, I’d like to provide a link to some lightning safety tips from the National Lightning Safety Institute. I am also not responsible for any damage that my occur to your property, photography gear, or any bodily harm that might occur.

Also consider the time of day when setting up your shot. It is a lot easier to take a lightning photo during the evening than it is during the day. The methods that I list are for capturing the shot at night. If you have any suggestions for doing this during the day, please leave a comment and let me know.

While talking about gear, you are going to need a few items. First you’ll need a camera. Any camera that will allow you to take long exposure photographs will work. SLR or DSLR cameras tend to work better than your average point and shoot camera. If you are using a DSLR, make sure to have a nice wide lens. My reasoning behind it is to think of the scene your want to create as a landscape. A wide lens allows you to capture more of the sky, which in turn gives you a better chance of capturing a lightning bolt.

The next item that you will need is a tripod or a sturdy surface to rest your camera on. Since both of my methods used long exposures, having the tripod will go a long way to reducing camera shake. This is what it looks like when you do not use a tripod:

A bolt of lightning streaks above Lake Toho in Kissimmee, FL.

The final piece of gear that I recommend is a remote shutter release like this one, just be sure to buy the correct one for your camera. A remote shutter release allows you to take the photo without having to touch the camera, thus reducing shake even more. You don’t need a fancy one with the timer built into it—also known as an intervalometer—just be sure that you can use the remote to trigger the shutter.

Method 1: Triggering the Shutter as you see the bolt

Step 1: Set the camera to either Shutter Priority mode( Tv on a Canon and S on a Nikon) or to the manual exposure setting. Manual exposure is best since you will have more control over the camera settings. If you set your camera to shutter priority mode make sure that the exposure length is anywhere from 1 to 8 seconds, depending on the time of day. If you attempts this during mid day, you might need it to be faster to compensate for the extra light. Since I do my lightning photography at night I will also set my lens to be as wide open as it can be, f/2.8-5.6 tend to work pretty well.

Step 2: Setup your location. Be sure to have the lens pointing at the location that the lightning is coming from. This might seem like an obvious step, but it is possible to forget about it.

Step 3: Check to make sure that your scene is in focus. For a landscape select a spot that you want to be in focus and adjust as necessary. This is why I like to use a wide lens for lightning photography since things in the distance will tend to be in focus. But always check, there is nothing worse than thinking all of your shots are great, but the end up being duds because of your focus settings. Also set your camera and lens to manual focus, you wouldn’t want the camera to change it when you finally dial in the focus.

Step 4: Trigger the shutter the moment that you see a lightning bolt. For short strike you will not always get the image, but with the longer ones, you will get the bolt. Be sure that your exposure isn’t more than 3-5 seconds long or else the sky will start to loose some of its detail. Since each bolt will have a different intensity, it can be difficult to adjust the exposure to get a perfect sky and ground.

Here is an example of a photo taken using Method 1:

A lightning bolt appears above the car that I was sitting in.

Method 2: Bursts of 4-8 seconds

All of the steps for this method are identical except for step 4. Instead of waiting for the bolt to strike, you can set you camera for a 4-8 second long exposure and keep taking the photo until you capture a strike. I tend to find this easier to do, but you will fill up a memory card or go through a lot of film with this method. You can have the camera take multiple photos in a row by locking in the shutter release on the remote.

If you are using bulb mode, be sure to count off the seconds to keep track of the exposure length. You can go longer, but be sure to let go of the shutter release the moment that the lightning strike is complete. Keep holding on to it and you’ll loose detail in the sky and you allow another bolt to be exposed on your image, which will end up being overexposed. Remember, a lightning bolt is a very bright flash, too much light will overexpose your image.

Here are a few examples of photographs captured using method 2:

A bolt of lightning lights up the clouds in the distance

Lightning lights up the night skies in Tallahassee, FL.

I find that I have more luck using method 2, but method 1 can work if you are patient and quick enough. These are the methods that I use and they are not perfect, but for myself, they work. Give them a try experiment on your own to determine what works for you. Also, be sure to share the knowledge of your experiments.