| I use two lenses: a 50mm lens that came with the
camera, and a 35 - 200mm zoom. The 50mm lens is the one I prefer for lightning as it has
an aperture setting down to F1.8 while my zoom lens only goes to F4. The more light that
gets in, the better the picture, so use low F settings. Zooming in on lightning produces
very disappointing results (so don't attempt to photograph a storm that is on the horizon
!) I always use Kodak Gold 100 speed print film, as it gives good results whether I am
taking day or night time photographs of the weather, family, scenes or whatever. I'm not a
professional photographer. For both night and late afternoon/early evening lightning
you will need a camera that can be put on a tripod and have a cable shutter release (or
very steady hands !). Also, for night lightning the camera must be able to have manual
control of exposure times.
Night Time Lightning Photography
Set your camera on a tripod Connect a cable shutter release for taking the shots
(otherwise the camera may wobble on the tripod when you press the shutter) Set focus to
infinity Set the shutter speed to 'B' (the shutter will stay open for as long as you hold
it open) Set the aperture (F-stop) to between F1.8
and F4. Experiment a little with different settings but I recommend nothing higher than F8
unless you are using a fast film, or you want as many bolts of lightning to occur in the
one photo (something I personally dislike - it is too unnatural when you see the results)
Frame the picture where the most lightning is occurring, or where the most spectacular
clouds are Observe the lightning for a short while before taking a picture. You will
notice that some cloud to ground (CG) lightning strikes very fast (in a fraction of a
second it has flashed and gone). Other CG bolts strobe or pulse for anything up to 2
seconds. Sheet lightning generally lasts more than a fraction of a second. If the storm is
close to you and/or you can see it growing or moving, then exposure times should be at
most 10 seconds, preferably less than 5 seconds, or else the cloud will blur (especially
if more than one lightning bolt occurs during the exposure). If the storm is a fair way
away, or you cannot see it developing or moving, then exposures can be anything you like!
I recommend between 20 seconds and 2 minutes. You can have longer exposure for higher F
stops. For the 'fast' lightning:
- Press the cable to open the shutter
- Wait for the lightning (or multiple lightning) to occur within the frame of your shot.
- Release the shutter For the longer lasting lightning:
- You can do the same as above, or
- Wait for the lightning to occur
- Press the cable to open the shutter as soon as you see the flash
- Release the shutter after a number of seconds (up to you)
ateftern or Early Evening Lightning Photography
- Set your camera on a tripod
- Connect a cable shutter release for taking the shots (otherwise the camera may wobble on
the tripod when you press the shutter)
- Set focus to infinity
- Set the shutter speed to 'B' if you want to control the length of the exposure,
otherwise I recommend setting the speed to an automatic setting (if you have one)
- Set the aperture (F-stop) higher (F11 - F22) than for night shots - it will give you
more exposure time, and more chance of capturing the lightning
- Frame the picture where the most lightning is occurring, or where the most spectacular
clouds are
- Either wait for the lightning to occur then press the cable to open the shutter, or
press the cable and hope that lighting occurs reasonably quickly
- If you have set the speed to automatic then that's it, otherwise, release the shutter
after your estimated exposure time
Day Time Lightning Photography
There isn't much to tell you here, you have to react quickly and be pointing the camera
in the right direction. You can use any camera for day time lightning. Observe the
lightning before you attempt any shots - if all the bolts are very fast and do not strobe,
then you will not be able to react fast enough.
- Set the aperture and the speed to what your camera's light meter recommends or
automatic, as you would with any other day time photograph
- Set focus to infinity
- Aim
- Wait for the lightning!! If you react quickly enough when you see the bolt, you may
capture it on film
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