How to photograph lightning - TUTORIAL

[@joetagg1961]

The process is pretty much the same as shooting star trails !! Thanks Ben !!!

[@benharveyphotography]

Exactly. Easy.....but everything is easy when you know how. But that’s what KZbin is for, learning something new.

[@Southern-Storm]

Great video, it won't be long now before storm season gets going proper

[@sophsaund304]

Great tutorial and stunning images, thanku!!

[@SoddingaboutSi]

Before they became readerly available, I boult a lightning trigger using a photo cell and comparator. It is supper sensitive and had some good results. I tend to use 2 second shutter, iso 100 to keep noise low and set exposure via aperture. Roll on more storms. Might pop down to Brighton as i'm only just up the road.

[@benharveyphotography]

That’s impressive that you could make such a device Simon. In terms of Brighton as a location, if the storms are coming across from France, this is a good location to visit as you can see the storm approaching with the uninterrupted views over the sea. Plus there are quite a few landmarks that work locally. If the storms head a but further east you can head towards the coastguard cottages or Beachy Head. Maybe in the summer, fingers crossed.

[@justingarner961]

Great tips making it sound very easy to achieve this kind of photography. Love your choice of music. I'm well into Kiasmos

[@benharveyphotography]

The hardest part is leaving the comfort of your home when there is a storm outside! It’s a great soundtrack. I can’t monetise the videos when I use cool music though.

[@95airgabriel]

Wonderful photographs! Thanks for sharing, Ben!

[@benharveyphotography]

Thanks for watching and leaving a comment Sam!

[@geonerd]

A good video! One suggestion: when shooting daylight with an ND filter, keep your exposures as short as possible to maintain good sky-to-lightning contrast. With a 6 stop ND, I wind up shooting at somewhere around 1/3 second, and get home with literally thousands of images. It's not an elegant solution, but it can work very well. Due to the wear and tear, this technique is not suggested if your camera lacks an electronic shutter mode!

[@benharveyphotography]

Are you combining that with some sort of trigger or are you shooting continuously? I guess if you were in a ‘proper storm’ then your chances increase. I can’t remember the last time we had a good lightning storm in the daytime here in the UK...

[@geonerd]

@@benharveyphotography Continuous mode, shooting as fast as the memory can keep up with. Good luck with the bolts!! :) 🌩🌩🌩

[@benharveyphotography]

I have been waiting three years for this reply! Haha

[@cameralabs]

Great video Ben, and coincidentally, the same technique works for capturing meteors!

[@benharveyphotography]

I should update the video title. How to photograph lightning and meteors! 😀

[@solarsynapse]

What ISO and aperture do you use?

[@benharveyphotography]

Hi. The settings are in the top left hand corner when the photos are displayed.

[@solarsynapse]

@@benharveyphotography Same for meteors?

[@benharveyphotography]

Shooting meteors isn’t something that I have done, sorry.

[@scotty4418]

Great vlog Ben and super collection of images there. Been watching the weather in london for the next few days in the hope of some lightening storms when Im there but looking unlikely. Got three coastal locations in this trip after London so you never know

[@benharveyphotography]

It’s heating up a bit at the moment. Even if it’s not this year, you know the basics of how to capture lightning now (if you didn’t already).

[@gunberriesgame7680]

Came from gordons channel gopro 9 review. Great review. Subcribed 👍🏻

[@benharveyphotography]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed. It was hard work hitting the release deadline!

[@jenohogan9254]

The tutorial I've always wanted. Thank you! :-D Sadly, Vancouver rarely gets lighting storms.

[@benharveyphotography]

Well you will be ready from when it goes happen. It’s easier than you think isn’t it!

[@fundraised]

Excellent video as usual Ben.

[@benharveyphotography]

Thanks Chris! The storm fizzled out a bit too early but luckily I have plenty of lightning shots from the previous years.

[@fundraised]

@@benharveyphotography It's a shame I don't live a bit nearer the coast. Lighting over water with a focal point like the west pier is just to die for. I might dash up to Jack & Jill next time there's a decent storm brewing & see what I can capture centred on one or both of the windmills & also looking out to the west as lightning rolls over the landscape. You sparked (intentional pun) a few ideas. Thanks Ben. ⚡️⚡️⚡️

[@benharveyphotography]

Where are you based then Chris, Hassocks or further north? If there are storm predictions then just gamble and head down to the beach! Come join us!

[@fundraised]

I'll message you.

[@pablorodriguez428]

Great video Ben. We could have done with more lightning strikes though 😁

[@benharveyphotography]

They are all happening in the background whilst I am yapping to the camera 😂 Thanks for sharing the experience and your lightning dragon photo!

[@pablorodriguez428]

@@benharveyphotography Always a pleasure! And yes, I did noticed you talking and missing the strikes happening in the background 😁

[@geonerd]

@@benharveyphotography I swear, the lightning knows when it's safe to come out. (When the camera is between frames, out of focus, or pointed the other way!)

[@benharveyphotography]

Exactly! You have done this before!

[@clarkbarrow6750]

Great video!

[@benharveyphotography]

Thank you Clark. Much appreciated!

[@claudius8002]

Tip no. 5, use Live Composite with an Olympus camera. Will keep the shutter open and add only new light 😄

[@benharveyphotography]

I would love that feature in my Canon or Sony. Why are Olympus the only camera company doing this! Perfect for long exposures to make sure it is not overexposing. Seems pretty magic also, like a Polaroid developing.

[@claudius8002]

Ben Harvey Photography, don’t know. They seem just to cram up higher video capabilities and more megapixels. On the other hand I’m very happy with my camera, size, options like the Live Composite, HiRes mode, focus stacking etc as well as output, although a lot of people are picking on the small size sensor, and “lower dynamic range”. Maybe find a cheap model and give it a try.

[@paulbell9957]

Some awesome images there mate - great stuff 👍👍

[@benharveyphotography]

Thanks Paul - when there are lightning storms I have to get out there unless it’s raining at the same time.

[@TheIMobile]

Sweet. I guess you've used a shorter exposure for the water and blended this with the skies?

[@benharveyphotography]

Hi, the exposures were all the same generally, unless the ambient light changed. Any difference in the water would have just been because of the waves.

[@theonewhoasked7247]

What tripod do you use ? Nice vid btw

[@benharveyphotography]

Thank you. For photography I use the Sirui ST-124 video linked below. For video I use a Benro with substantial spikes on the feet. kzbin.info/www/bejne/roO8gZiQgal2j9ksi=kOlPce2l0zh5RNEa

[@paulcomptonpdphotography]

You got some great shot. I was down that way last year all on video maybe check it out.

[@benharveyphotography]

Hi Paul, link to your videos/channel please :-)

[@paulcomptonpdphotography]

@@benharveyphotography Sure thing part one kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioHKhJSaqsuJopo part two kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZPNXqugodCja7s

[@morphshag]

best way I have found to shoot lightening.... stick the weather sealed camera on a tripod on the roof. turn on WIFI and sit inside in the dry drinking beer changing the settings on the camera from the app on your ipad haha..

[@XxSEETH3RxX]

Sounds boring. The fun is in the chasing.

[@nitram.9621]

I'm writting this after the fact but I was searching videos up on the subject while under a thunderstorm two days ago. I think i messed up by searching for instructions for taking photos of lightning while far away, while i was sitting right under it. Still was a great experience, but it was so bright that most of my photos were just overexposed because i was too stubborn about using bulb while under the storm when i should have increased the shutter speed. It was my first time actually trying to make photos for myself and i liked the otherworldly experience i felt while trying to take photos of lightning. Will definitely try to do more. I just have one question: sometimes i had groups of lightning strikes that were 3 to 4 seconds long, and even with aperture and iso to the lowest i could get (aperture 2.8 and iso 100), it is incredibly overexposed in these kinds of durations. Do i absolutely need a nd filter in these types of conditions if i don't want to increase shutter speed or are there other tricks? (typically i don't want to use softwares to edit things onto each other). Thanks in advance for any kind of answer.

[@benharveyphotography]

Hello. It sounds like you had an awesome storm to witness. Regarding your question about settings, the storms that we get here in the UK are quick strikes that seems to be over in less than a second. I haven’t encountered over exposures due to this. I leave the shutter open for say 20-30 seconds and even though the lightning strike itself might be over exposed (as it is a light source) nothing else in the image is. If multiple strikes happen within that 30 second window then great - all taken take of in camera.

[@nitram.9621]

@@benharveyphotography Ok, thanks for the tip!

[@nelsonclub7722]

If anyone is interested there is a 'Pluto Trigger" which works like a reverse photocell and saves all the 'hit and miss'

[@benharveyphotography]

I am interested to see how this works. Like I said I have used triggers for off camera flash before, but I was actually using the trigger with the infrared beam rather than triggering it via the flash. Have you used the Pluto Trigger?

[@nelsonclub7722]

@@benharveyphotography Ben I am as interested as you are sadly they don't make one for my camera!!!!!

[@peterlemke3468]

A man of many talents, cool stuff Ben. What app was Pablo using?

[@benharveyphotography]

He was using photo pills. It has quite a few features actually. I use multiple apps that he seems to do with one!

[@peterlemke3468]

@@benharveyphotography Ta. PhotoPills user here but need to master the app. There's a lot to it.

[@PauloHMF1992]

You should try focousing the clouds bro

[@benharveyphotography]

I am not sure I follow - do you mean focus on the clouds from a technical perspective? The clouds were moving and they weren’t my subject, so I would always choose to focus on something static; which in this in stance was the West Pier.

[@su-nh.t3253]

Hi, i have an argument about capturing lightning( in city area) , so i want to ask you one question, it may be stupid, becuz i'm tired(after the argument) and i'm amature. The question is can we capture lightning with Tv or Av mode ? Thank you ! Best wishes for you!

[@benharveyphotography]

Hi. That’s a pretty straight forward question. The answer is yes. For example, if the light levels were such that in order to correctly expose lightning and the ambient lighting were ISO 100 f8 1/20th second you could use aperture priority and set it to F8 iso 100 and let the camera pick the shutter speed (use the exposure compensation to suit). Alternatively use shutter priority , set the camera to ISO 100 and 1/20th second and let the camera pick the aperture. You only have to shoot in manual if you want to control over all three for consistent results (which you might want if you are to blend multiple lightning strikes into one image). I hope this helps the argument!

[@su-nh.t3253]

@@benharveyphotography hi thanks for replying me, i appreciate the information you gave me, it help me out ! And again best wishes for you!

[@mandycarr-moody1925]

What is interkalomenator?

[@benharveyphotography]

Hi Mandy, it is an intervolometer. In the olden days you had to buy an external trigger that you would set to take a photograph at specific intervals, for specific lengths of time. Nowadays they are built into cameras. But the point is that you don’t have to stand there and manually press the shutter all the time, it can be automated so that you don’t miss the shot.

[@keithogden1770]

So, how do you actually take a photo of lightning? A 20 second video would have sufficed instead of ........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[@benharveyphotography]

See video at 1min 45secs, I talk you through the settings of how to take photographs of lightning. If you want 20 second videos then you should watch Yt shorts or TikTok

[@mandycarr-moody1925]

Cancel i looked further

[@adventureswithfrodo2721]

You have no idea what HOT is. If it is the 80s you think it is hot. Hot is > 100.F

[@benharveyphotography]

The hottest I have ever been in was in Egypt in July many years, and I was getting an incredible tour of the valley of Kings and all I wanted was Shade to escape the 52 degree Celsius heat! It’s all relative, we are not equipped to deal with heat in the UK. Everything comes to a standstill, like when it snows.

[@Withcare111]

Should the image stabiliser button be on or off ? Also should noise reduction be on or off ?

[@benharveyphotography]

Whenever your camera is on a tripod I would switch the stabilisation on the lens off. I tend to leave the ibis (sensor based stabilisation) on but only because it is buried in the menus on some cameras. Worth checking to see if your particular camera makes a differences with ibis on or off when the camera is on a tripod. I always swift noise reduction off for all my cameras, as it will require (for example) another 30 second exposure if that was what your original exposure was and that could mean missing a lightning shot! So do all noise reduction in software afterwards. Shoot raw and keep your ISO low and you will be fine.

[@Withcare111]

@@benharveyphotography sound advice . That’s what I needed . Thanks . I’m new to this and in a country with not so much lightning ( Ireland ) Next summer I’ll be doing a trip to north Italy , Switzerland Croatia and Slovenia , the area of Europe with the most lightning. I’m using a camera eos 700d with the kit lens . Is there another canon lens you can recommend without going into silly money ? I read recently tokina lenses are a good alternative to canon and not as expensive . I’m looking at tokina 11mm-16mm with a f stop of 2.8 - I want to be able to use it for Astro / night sky photograph as well as lightning photography . Thoughts ?

[@benharveyphotography]

@76steve76 that sounds like an a awesome travel plan. I haven’t ever owned a Tokina to comment. I have a Nee Tamron lens for Sony and that performs well. When I had more DSLR lenses I stuck to either Canon or Sigma Art lenses. Third party lenses that are newer have definitely improved, but older models don’t seem to compete with Canon lenses. I would look on MPB as they will have a massive range of second hand lenses that come with a warranty and expert condition review. You may also want to invest in a trigger or shutter release if you are doing a lot of lightning shots. I would stay away from lightning triggers as they actually only work with certain types of lightning and they rely upon a pre-flash to trigger your camera. It is much easier to just dial your settings in and keep the camera firing the whole time. If you have more than one camera set up a wide shot and another composition or a Timelapse.