Time Lapse Photography

Times lapse photography is maybe the very thing that got me hooked on photography after getting lucky taking pictures of fireworks on the 4th of July. Had i known then how lucky i was to get the right shutter speed and apature I might have written the settings down, but what I have learned is every shoot will be differnet. So how do you get consistant results? Read on and I will share what i have learned.

The first thing you will need is something steady to shoot from, like a tripod, but you can use just about anything from a bean bag to prop your camera up, but tripods make it much easier to aim at your target quickly.

Once your camera is ready to shoot you need to make sure that the settings will expose a good image. This is where you almost need to use a SLR either 35 mm or DSLR, since you will be adjusting the fstop and shutter speed to get the image correct. When using a DSLR you will be able to see your results right away and make the changes you need, on a 35 mm SLR you will need to shoot brackets of images to make sure you nail it!

Before you start changing settings you need to think about light sources, that will change meter reading on your camera, such as:

By metering a light source that is hotter than your intended target, your image could be underexposed, while the light source is properly exposed. My first rule of thumb is to bracket a few shots during set up to see where best to set the camera (digi of course). To start use the metering provided on your camera, but be sure what is being metered, but setting the metering to one spot maybe centered then meter the darkest part of your image.

Once your set to shoot, proper zoom, time and speed settings, you can use a cable release or the auto timer function to click without moving your camera. If you have a flash or flashlight handy you can use these as a light source for special effects. A flash will help illuminate within it's range and the flashlight can be used as a paintbrush of sorts at distances only limted byt the size of your flashlight ;-).

You can check out some of my shots with tips by reading this Time Lapse photography and low aperture demo.

Click away and as always drop us a line @ Contact with comments.