The RIGHT Place, at the RIGHT Time of the Night!
Sounds like a great title for a song by the EAGLES, doesn’t it? But, we’re talking about how to photograph Lightning at its most spectacular of moments! Shooting Lightning is completed outside, in the elements, which are primarily working against you, if you are in the right place, at the right time.
Where you decide to set-up your camera & tripod, during a lightning storm is pretty important. You can shoot lightning from your own house, if you have a great view – or you can go outside, in the elements, on streets, sidewalks, fields; wherever lightning typically strikes, with a clear view from a place of safety, is where you will want to position your camera equipment. Most photographers scout shoot locations days before a lightning storm. Practice makes perfect, so as you become more experienced in photographing lightning; you will find great locations which offer spectacular views of the storm in action.
A Lightning storm creates specific challenges for amateur photographers. The safety of your personal body & equipment are paramount to photographing the lightning storm without endangering yourself and others. Let us provide you with some safety tips and proper HOW-TO steps for shooting lightning storms.
Safety Tips for Finding the Perfect Location
As an amateur photographer, shooting lightning effectively means finding a location that is safe, but provides an optimal view of the background scenery which you want to capture in your image.
The PERFECT location should have an optimal view of the skyline. However, if you are inside a storm (closer than 15 miles), you may want to sit inside your car, with the windows closed to capture the shots you are shooting. This is the safest place if you are trapped inside the storm. Standing in an open field or near power poles and even trees, can result in being an unwilling participant of the lightning storm. Do NOT attempt to stay outside in the elements if lightning strikes are close. A dead photographer tells no tales!
Be wary of too much rain fall, as it washes out the clarity of the lightning and produces low contrast photos. You may want to watch for lightning that we call “sheet lightning” or lightning trapped inside the clouds, which produces pinks and yellows in the color spectrum. This typically happens as a storm advances into an area. Super cell storms and Squalls produce spectacular lightning effects, if you are capturing the images as the storm advances.
The Tools Required to Shoot Lightning Effectively
Capturing lightning in still photography is next to impossible without the right equipment. We need to trap the lightning into exposing itself for the camera and with the right equipment, lightning is sure to leap right into our little trap!
| WHAT Equipment to Bring | WHY Do We Need this Equipment? |
| Tripod | To NOT allow the camera movement during the shutter/trigger operation |
| Camera w/manual settings | To manually adjust the camera’s exposure, speed & lighting settings for a perfect image |
| Lens ranging from 28 to 135mm | Fixed focal lens are usually preferred over zoom lenses. |
| Remote Control/Trigger | Using a Remote Control to press the Shutter allows us to reduce blurring of images |
| Soft Lens Cloth/Plastic Bags | Shooting lightning in the elements, requires the need for keeping equipment dry & free of debris |
A Tripod is the singular most important tool a photographer owns and uses for shooting in almost any type of setting. The Tripod locks the camera into a stable position that compensates for most elemental vibration and movement mishaps. Many photographers also bring Plastic Bags, which are great during rain or misty situations, where camera equipment needs to be kept dry before and during operation. The Soft Lens Cloth is also important for keeping rain drops and mist from the lens, to an absolute minimum.
A Remote Control/Trigger is critical for shooting lightning, because you are seeking to capture the clearest image possible of the lightning strike. To document the silver hues, and the violet, purple veins of the lightning; you need to reduce camera movement and vibration to an absolute minimum. The clarity and colors in the image are more vibrant as the camera is completely still during the operation of pressing the shutter button.
The Technique Best Suited for Capturing Lightning!
Capturing the sweet spot of a lightning storm only requires viewing the storm from a safe distance, with a wide, open view of the skyline and having your tripod set-up, facing the location. Of course, you will first want to watch a lightning strike through your viewfinder to ensure your camera set-up is optimally facing the lightning activity.
Once your equipment is ready, you will need to manually adjust your camera settings to best capture the ambient light, the exposure time during the shutter operation and any cloud movement or other obstructions in your scenery. We suggest the following settings for amateur photographers as they begin to learn which settings will capture the best image for the landscape:
| CONDITIONS | FOCUS | ISO | APERTURE |
| Close Lightning Strikes (closer than 10 km) | Set to infinity | 100 | f/16 to f/22 |
| Close Blinding Lightning Strikes (less than 1km) | Set to infinity | 100 | f/11 |
| Distant Lightning Strikes (5 to 10 km) | Set to infinity | 100 | f/4 to f/5.6 |
| Remote Lightning Strikes (10 to 20 km) | Set to infinity | 200 | f/4 to f/5.6 |
| Remote Lightning Strikes (more than 20 km) | Set to infinity | 200 | f/2.8 |
When you are preparing to capture your subject in the field, you should remember that there are two subjects in your image. ONE, the actual lightning strike and TWO, the foreground and the background of the skyline and the ground beneath; each part to the four-dimensional image needs to be accentuated properly, so the overall photo tells a story. For example, a night sky with vertical lightning that strikes down in front or behind an old barn, shot from across an open field in the late evening hours will tell a different story than late afternoon lightning strikes across an open field without an accompanying subject reflected in the foreground.
The greatest thing about using a DSLR Camera is that what you envision is exactly what you get on photo paper! You don’t lose a lot of the subject area, as you do with point-and-shoot or compact cameras.
TIP #1 – Shooting While an Active Rainfall Occurs in your Location
If there is an active rainfall at the shoot location or a lot of haze around the location, you will not get the most optimal contrast between the lightning strike and the background/foreground. The best thing to do is either wait for the rain to let up or attempt to close the aperture slightly.
TIP #2 – Manually Adjusting the Focus
Most DSLR Cameras have an infinity setting (it is the number 8 symbol on its side) and you would simply focus the camera to the infinity setting. Of course, it may not automatically give you the best picture. That depends on how far your camera set-up is from the closest natural distant light source. It may mean that you simply look through the viewfinder at your nearest distant light source and bring that image into focus. Again thinking of the late afternoon, or early evening shot across an open field of lightning strikes behind on old barn or other subject; you would focus in on the subject and the focus would be set to capture the barn in its suited lighting. It will take trial and error to determine where your infinity is on the focus settings.
TIP #3 – There is No General Rule of Thumb for Exposure Time
There is NO single correct exposure setting for lightning photos. The most common of exposure times range from about 10 seconds to a full minute. The best action is to set your Camera to the “B Setting” (Bulb), enabling the camera to obtain a longer exposure time by the press-and-release of the shutter. (When you press down – the shutter opens and when your release – the shutter closes). You will notice when an image is overexposed, because the lightning strike has a large blur around the image itself. To avoid this, you need to adjust the exposure to less time.
TIP #4 – Setting the Aperture for the Best Light
Remember the aperture controls the amount of light that reaches your film or in DSLR Cameras, the “Digital Sensor”. You can change the amount of light allowed in by adjusting the “f-stop”. A lower setting allows in more light and a higher setting allows in less light for the image. The typical f-stop setting should be somewhere between 2.8 and 5.6. A Lower f-stop is used for closer lightning strikes, as the brightness of each strike is then reflected in the closer image (less than 40 km.) The higher f-stops are used for more distant lightning strikes. Be sure to keep notes on the settings which produce the best photographs in your collection and those notes will build you into a more experienced photographer’s role!
TIP #5 – Using the Remote Control Properly
Now you are ready to open the shutter and lock the Cable Release to wait for that perfect moment when lightning will appear and you become its author! The waiting period of holding a remote control is a lot easier weathered, than standing at your tripod with your finger on the shutter, waiting for eternity to happen? The next thing to do is wait; when the lightning finally strikes, you simply release the cable lock and the image appears exactly as you intend in your digital display.
TIP #6 – The Perfect Composition to tell the Story
Remember, the sky’s the limit is photographing lightning. So, your composition should primarily contain a large or tall skyline. The reason for this is you want to capture all the veins and channels of the lightning strike, as it streaks from the heavens down to the earth. The heavens should appear at the top edge of your viewfinder and the ground should appear below one-third of the digital display in the viewfinder. Be sure to frame your shot where the most lightning is occurring in the distant sky.
TIP #7 – Taking Lightning Photo with Foreground Subjects
As dusk appears, you have the natural ambient colors of red and orange still arcing across the skyline from the setting of the sun. Add to that a foreground subject silhouetted in black, with the wild flash of bright, white lightning with multiple channels, branching to the ground; all work together to create a spectacular photograph.
TIP #8 – Creating Ribbon Lightning with a DSLR Camera
Practice moving the camera (while it is securely attached to the tripod) slightly from left to right, while you are releasing the cable lock. This will create an effect known as “Ribbon Lightning”. It takes a practiced and steady hand to produce the effect, so just remember without practice, you can’t be perfect!
TIP #9 – Capturing Day-Time Lightning Photos
Capturing day-time lightning strikes across a clear blue sky requires the quickest of reflexes and micro-second timing. You will not be able to make use of the B Setting, as the natural sunlight would over-expose the entire shot. You should keep your finger on the trigger and as soon as the lightning appears, trip the trigger. Don’t worry, if your timing is off, it takes approximately 0.2 seconds for lightning to appear and disappear. You have to almost become a psychic to shoot really incredible daytime lightning shots.
TIP #10 – REMEMBER to Re-Steady the Tripod each time you Re-focus
Don’t Forget to re-steady your tripod each time your manually adjust the camera settings. Slight moving the camera and its tripod will give you pictures which are slightly off!
REMEMBER: Practice makes perfect – Remember the reason for photography is to capture a comprehensive view of a scene, with a crystal-clear, sharp central focal point that tells a story to its observer.
With the quality, popularity and relative simplicity of DSLR cameras today and the ease of processing software available, even beginners can create magnificent views of any given scene. Using DSLR camera equipment enables the photography buff to take crystal clear photos, capturing the vivid whites in the lightning channels, with the silver and violet effects it produces, every time!
By Diana Diehl, Original Work Article Writer
