Long Exposure Photography Essentials: A Quick Start Guide

If you came across this post by googling, you’ve probably heard about “long exposure photography” before but don’t know where to start. Then, stay with me for the next 3 minutes or so, as I’m sharing a few essentials to get you started with long exposure photography (plus a bonus free PDF eBook giveaway to dive into detail at the end of the post 😉).

Marina Bay (Singapore) at 35mm, f/11, 194 seconds, ISO 100. Shot 4 minutes before the end of dusk.

Itsukushima Shrine (Miyajima, Japan) at 35mm, f/5.6, 257 seconds, ISO 100. Shot 6 minutes before the end of dusk.

Gear and Tools

All you need for now is a camera with manual and semi-automatic modes such as Aperture Priority (labeled as A or Av) and a sturdy tripod. It’s also good to have a cable or remote shutter release, as it helps reduce camera shake by allowing you to take photos without touching the camera.

Location

Long exposure photos are best shot at the waterfront. Doing so smooths out the water and adds a dreamy feel that is very distinctive to long exposure photography, as seen in my photos above.

Time

“Blue hour” (the time between sunset and dusk) is the best time to shoot long exposure photography, especially 10 to 5 minutes before the end of dusk. To find out your local sunset/dusk time, go to gaisma.com and search for your city.

Sunset to night in timeline. Long exposure photography is best shot towards the end of dusk when the sky is dyed in deep blue hues.

Camera Settings

Arrive at your shooting spot prior to sunset, set your camera on a tripod, then start shooting by following the settings below.

• Mode: Aperture Priority (A or Av)
• Aperture (f-stop): f/8 to f/13 to obtain a slower/longer shutter speed.
• ISO: 100 to reduce digital noise (disable “Auto ISO”)
• Autofocus: Use single-point AF (autofocus) and focus on an object about one-third into the scene.

Towards the end of blue hour, the bluish hue in the sky gets deeper and deeper with every minute passing by. Normally, the last 10 minutes of dusk are considered the best time to shoot long exposure photography, as the much-darkened sky lets you extend your shutter speed (i.e., exposure time) to at least a few to several seconds.

Unlock the Secret of Silky Smooth Water in Long Exposure Photos

How did your photo turn out? You might have noticed that the water in your photo isn’t as smoothed out as in my photo shown above. That’s because a few to several seconds of exposure isn’t long enough to completely smooth out the water.

Then how? The secret lies in a neutral density (ND) filter, which helps reduce the light entering the lens, allowing the shutter speed to be extended much longer.

ND filters come in different strengths (e.g., 3 stop, 6 stop, or 10 stop, etc.). The bigger the number, the darker the filter and the stronger the effect (less light is let through).

Let’s say that you get a shutter speed of 2 seconds at f/8 (without attaching an ND filter) at 10 minutes before the end of dusk, which is a typical scenario under the blue hour sky.

By attaching a 6-stop ND filter, the shutter speed of 2 seconds gets extended to 2 minutes and 8 seconds (128 seconds), as each “stop” of an ND filter approximately doubles the exposure time (2 secs ➡️ 4 secs [1 stop] ➡️ 8 secs [2 stop] ➡️ 15 secs [3 stop] ➡️ 30 secs [4 stop] ➡️ 64 secs [5 stop] ➡️ 128 secs [6 stop]), which is long enough to create a silky smooth water effect.

Long Exposure Calculator App

You must be wondering how to remember all these numbers! This is where a long exposure calculator app (e.g., for iOS and Android ) comes in handy, as these phone apps automatically calculate the required shutter speed for you.

A long exposure calculator app looks like this, letting you set the strength of the ND filter you’re using, then does the calculation to display the required shutter speed (2 minutes and 8 seconds) for a given shutter speed (2 seconds).

Download a Free E-book

If you’d like to know more, such as the exact steps to shoot long exposure photos using an ND filter, feel free to download my 10-page free eBook (PDF) by clicking the banner below.

P.S. If you liked the eBook, please take a moment to rate/review it and help improve the visibility of my eBook. Thank you in advance. 😀

At the end of the day, shooting compelling long exposure photos at blue hour comes down to two things: “when to start the exposure” and “for how long.” Improving this judgment call comes with experience, so I hope you’ll stay active and keep shooting to hone your skills. 😀

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About the Author: LASTLIGHTS.NET is a passion project of Joey J, a Singapore-based Japanese photographer primarily shooting cityscape photography with long exposure at blue hour. Visit his Photo Gallery (40 most favourite photos taken) or download his free eBook, Getting Started with Long Exposure Photography .