All about Tips and Tutorial for Long Exposure Photography
Dzargon Photo. By definition, Long Exposure means a photographing process when the image recording time is longer than 2 seconds or slower than slow speed photography. It due to the photographing condition in low light such as night. Based on history of photography, this was the first genre of photography before modern thin film was discovered. Nowadays, in the modern age of Photography, Camera censor can perform a record time faster than 1/4000 second but because of some special and artistic effect of long exposure photography, this genre never been forgotten and still alive.
Acknowledge of Long Exposure Fundamental Theory
Talking about Long Exposure photography means talking about triangle exposure or inner lighting process on your camera due to image recording. Exposure are determined by three aspect which are known as triangle exposure. Those are Shutter Speed, Aperture size, and ISO. Those three element work to control the amount of light. In short, those are the determiner of your photo brightness.
The main idea of long exposure is setting the shutter speed in long duration, may be more the 15 second. As we know, increasing time shutter duration consequences are changing the other exposure aspect such aperture and ISO number. In short, Reducing aperture size and ISO number in to the lower position.
Famous Time Speed for long exposure genre should more than 30 seconds and sometime a crazy photographer uses almost 2 or 3 hour exposure time just for taking start trail but an extraordinary picture will be yours. Opening the censor window for a long time is not only increases the amount of light pass to censor but also records every single movement on front of camera. It means you will produce a “motion” in your photo.
Recording a photo for long time means also increase shaking factor on your photo or perform a tripod is a must in photographer because normal hand just avoid a shake picture for speed of 1/30 second or faster. Tripod using also must be resists form shake and vibrating by sound, wind and in several cats it hast to be prevent from small water flow and current.
Practicing a Long Exposure Photography.
In term of long exposure photography, you must be equipped by two equipment. Those are tripod and camera. It is nearly impossible to practice long exposure photography without those two thing but it does not meaning those two thing enough. Others additional equipment such as shutter release, viewfinder protector, ND Filter and GND Filter also required. In short, here a short explanation for all equipment:
- Camera - As we know, this is for photographing and without camera you are not a photographer but a picture downloader, so please do not ask more about this stuff.
- Tripod – Camera holder and freeze your camera in the moment of rendering and recording your photo. Heavy weight camera is recommended, especially for record a photo in waterscape. Heavy camera prevent vibration better than the light one.
- Shutter Release – It is used as extended shutter button to prevent camera shaking by hand motion after push a shutter button on your camera. It also helps to hold the shutter button in long time shutter speed duration because common camera just have the longest shutter speed duration in 30 seconds.
- Viewfinder protector – Long exposure photographing duration time are enough to collect every light come to camera whatever they come. Viewfinder is large enough to pass light eventhough not direct light to censor, the light produce a light ambient, so you need to close it. It my experience I event covered the camera by a black cloth to prevent any possibility of light comes to the camera.
- ND Filter – Neutral density Filter, it is used to reduce the amount of natural light. It is applied in front of lens.
- GND Filter – Ground neutral Density Filter, It is widely used by landscaper to reduce a half part of your frame from over exposure due to natural different exposure between sky and foreground.
There is no rule in long exposure photography exclude a normal landscaper rule such as frame, POI, rule of three and Exposure. The Idea is how to get a normal exposure camera in long time shutter speed duration. Modern camera such as Mirrorless camera and DSLR are able to determine a normal exposure faster than 30 second shutter speed duration, but for longer time, manual calculation are needed. You need to understand measurement and unit in exposure or STOP unit.
Short Course of Exposure measurement and unit.
Take a photographing sample condition. In normal Picture your camera auto mode set your camera on ISO 400, Shutter Speed 1/60 second and F/8,0 of aperture. When you need to change Shutter Speed slower 1 Stop into 1/30, your picture will over exposure 1 STOP. Changing 1 STOP other measurement other needed. It may be ISO or Aperture. 1 STOP reducing by ISO must turn to half its size, so it is in ISO 200 or for aperture F/5.6. ISO Changing effect to your noisy photo and aperture changing reduces your Depth of Field. As Your Information here 1 STOP Number of all three Exposure.
ISO
|
100
|
200
|
400
|
800
|
1600
|
3200
|
6400
|
12800
|
N/A
|
Aperture
|
1,0
|
1,4
|
2,0
|
2,8
|
4,0
|
5,6
|
8,0
|
11,0
|
16,0
|
22,0
|
32,0
|
N/A
|
Shutter Speed
|
1/4
|
1/2
|
1’’
|
2’’
|
4’’
|
8’’
|
15’’
|
30’’
|
1’
|
2’
|
4’
|
Long Exposure with ND-Filter.
In the day time when the sun lighting everything, long exposure is almost impossible to conduct because the slower speed at ISO 100 and F/22.0 of aperture is in 1/400 or 1/200 due to this reason, you need a ND Filter to perform long exposure photo. ND reducing the amount of light depend on their darkness level.
ND darkness level is represented by a Number of STOP start by 1-STOP to 13 STOP. The brightest ND Filter is ND-2 that means reducing 1-STOP Exposure. Its size are signed by 2 multiple number. Their Size are just in ND-4, ND-8, ND-16, and ND-32 which are reducing 2-STOP, 3-STOP, 4-STOP and 5-STOP of exposure. The others ND-Size are ND-400 for 8-9 STOP Exposure reducing and ND-1000 for 11-12 STOP Exposure reducing.
Tips: You may combine two or more ND Filter such us ND-16 + ND-4. These combination is resulted 4-STOP Exposure reducing or Equal with ND-32. This value comes from their STOP Exposure Reducing Power summation.