How to Photograph LIGHTNING | Easy Tips Every Beginner Should Know!

In this video I talk about how to photograph lightning, and get some amazing results with some very easy-to-use steps. I talk about 3 different times of day to photograph lightning, and how to capture strikes and timelapses in this beginner tutorial. I also give some be basic gear recommendations, as well as my very simple process for capturing those elusive strikes! #lightningphotography #photographytips
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[@Adam-qs5ir]

I rushed out to grab a highly active storm last night. First time shooting lightning. Learned some stuff on this video. #1 turn off auto focus

[@xJownage]

Storm Chaser here...I find it MIND BOGGLING that you can get lightning that clear at 800 ISO. When i'm running f/2.8 I usually end up needing 100, maybe 200 if the storm is far away, or else every strike within 10 miles blows out completely. Also, maybe it's a plains thing just because of the dynamics, but find myself not liking shots with over 10 seconds, mostly because the clouds end up blurred due to their movement in the exposure. That's not really as much of a concern in monsoons as the intra-cloud lightning isn't constant like it is during plains supercells.

[@n8likesmath]

2 things, either he is using a higher f stop which means less light which means no blown out bolts. Or two, he is using an ND filter to extend his shutter time which also blocks light and prevents bolts being blow out. Idk if this helps or not

[@xJownage]

@@n8likesmath I mean he mentioned being fully open or near that which is why I brought up the iso. Filters make sense I guess

[@n8likesmath]

@@xJownage I saw he was shooting f2.8 for one of his photos for 10 seconds. It looks like the dead of night there's no ambient light and the boys were far. That could explain it, also should point out that I would never shoot bolts at f2.8 you're just asking for any nice bolt to get blown out completely

[@xJownage]

@@n8likesmath you can absolutely shoot f/2.8 for lightning but you need to be around 100 iso. To be fair, as a lightning photographer, you really are always playing a delicate game of missing far bolts because you're not letting in enough light vs blowing out close ones with too much. It's always a game since lightning distance has a lot of variance.

[@n8likesmath]

@@xJownage yeah but the far bolts are not as rewarding as the close ones. I'm saying the best bolts, thick with insane branching and up close and massive, the shots you would hate to miss, would be blown out at f2.8 100iso. And those are the ones I wouldn't risk missing. The far away ones though, I couldn't care less, I've seen plenty of tiny stray bolts that aren't nearly as cool

[@freddyacosta2358]

My best lightning photo was taken with a 3.2MP Olympus digitally camera and timing it. Actually two photos. One was a thin lightning, the other one was massive and not more than a mile away. This was back in 2001. Camera had a 64MB Smartmedia card 🤣. I had to formar the card couple of times. But got lucky in the end.

[@RyanLunaPhotography]

Such an electrifying presentation!!!

[@freddyacosta2358]

I just use the timer to avoid vibration when the lightning is not frequent. And take 5-10 exposures. Aperture will depend if it’s too dark or not.

[@nightstringers]

Great info my friend .One thing. DON'T get caught in a wash during a storm aka harms way lol

[@phynx2006]

This video is automatic, it's systematic, it's hydromatic why it's Greased Lightning ⚡ Great tips Mike👍😎

[@amidwesternadventure5148]

Such a helpful video! It deserves more likes and attention. 👍🏻

[@carlmcneill1139]

I haven't tried using my intravelometer in my z6 II for lightning but I have for milky way photos when I stack them. I think with Nikon you need to set the interval at 2 seconds over your shutter speed. This gives the camera time to write to the card before taking the next picture. Or at least that's how it was explained to me. I have a Pluto trigger and my success has been mixed. I have gotten some great shots but also missed many great ones because it didn't fire. Someone in my local photography club told me it's because of the type of lightning we have around here. Most of the time the lightning just flashes the one time and you need it to flash multiple times for the trigger to work right. Or something like that. He mention staccato lightning. I can't remember if he said that's what kind we have or if that's the kind we need. Here in Alabama we have this lightning in the summer we call heat lightning. That's when you don't have much rain and the lightning is mostly cloud to cloud and it's constantly firing. That's the best time to get out.

[@RichardBO9]

Great video, Mike! Let's hope we get some monsoons soon.

[@the4rsofrc83]

Thanks for this! I appreciate the help!

[@geonerd]

Lovely Sonoita images, Mike!! 🌩 I go Full-Rambo on the bright sky bolts! ND 6, electronic shutter, continuous mode, and let 'er rip at ~0.4 seconds per exposure. (As fast as the memory allows.) As twilight sets in I remove the ND and keep blazing away with continuous.

[@KyleSchneiderTM]

Great tips! Really hoping to take advantage of monsoon season this year. Just hoping it’s not a down year for storms.

[@SteveP_2426]

interesting vid Mike and as we do not get a 'monsoon season' here in the UK I just get blown away by the photos I see of those storm cells you have over there!

[@plainsdrifterminnesota5884]

Will have to try a wide open aperture for next storm. So far this monsoon my settings are usually ISO 400, [f7.1, f8, f9] with shutter 5 to 8 seconds. And a tripod, w/ function: Mirror Lock-up.

[@roberthennessey5702]

Awesome info Mike…definitely will try some of these..tough shooting up here in the northeast. Best here is over the water.

[@jamesfarabaugh6669]

Just in time! I tell myself every year I'm going to chase, but it's hard to be as spontaneous as the storms. This year I mean it! How about advice on the chasing aspect? What to look for to predict the right place to be at the right time? Apps you use? Which side of a storm to be on?

[@26BloodKiller]

Long exposure works great

[@blivieriphoto]

Great video Mike. Always good to have a refresher. Personally, I miss lightning strikes while chimping. Lol

[@tyeeggleston6159]

Great video Mike. I usually shoot my lightning at 9.5f/ iso 100=200 with introvelometer at like 7-10 seconds with a 2 second timer. But i usually shoot my photos out of my garage. I would love to have a big open area to photography lightning at distance.

[@topknobdog]

Great video. Well done.

[@marcosipriaso]

Hey Mike, thanks for the tips on lightning photography. I've always wanted to try it out so this helps a ton! Hope all is well and thanks for sharing.

[@johnmac3410]

Great tips Mike. I've been really struggling to get good Lightning still shots. I would like to start trying time lapse, but chasing storms means quick set ups and then having to flee the supercell. I'll try again in the Spring.

[@kenanderson1825]

Great information! Thanks.

[@paultrunfull3324]

Some great info there.

[@pranjalsharma479]

What i did to click lightning at night was , go to f/11 and select custom shutter speed (on/off shutter). And i could easily capture lightning. But its totally different during day

[@mightsnow3654]

I just bought a Nikon Z9 which means I don't have to leave the shutter open or use a lightning detector. I can't wait to use it for lightning.

[@JeffStudley]

Great info. I always wondered what the technique was to capture lightning bolts. Definitely will try this after I upgrade my camera as my current one doesn't have an intervalometer.

[@AlexBerger]

Super helpful!

[@tjsinva]

Good to know. 🖼⚡🌩👍🥂

[@AZMTBFix]

Fingers crossed for some good storms this year. It's been years since I've had any really good lightning near me (NE Phoenix.) About the best I've had lately was stacking about a dozen distant strikes happening along South Mountain/Estrealla Mountain, shot from atop Squaw Peak. Kinda cheating, but a single bolt half an inch on a 32in screen just doesn't do much on its own =)

[@ayechapin1]

Great vid

[@moozarksphotos458]

Great video, my only question is do you shoot all these images in JPEG or RAW?

[@nrlondon7959]

Mike, perfect timing. I understand that Tucson is one of the best places to capture lightning. I am watching the weather reports for Tucson. I am looking for multiple days which have a high chance of rain. Right now, it looks like next week. Unfortunately, it is a two-day drive from home down and back. Do you have any recommendations for when the best time to come would be? Tell Chris, "Hello".

[@geonerd]

Monsoon activity in SE Az. peaks in early-mid August. www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/dataviewer/?mode=climo&category=ltg&product=ltgday

[@peterdclark]

Great tips! I'd watched with awe your Monsoon videos and would love to attempt this myself. Being a local too are you open to tag-alongs next tie you head out? Would love the safety in numbers aspect of attempting this for the first time with someone who knows what they're doing and perhaps soak up a few local areas and tips too. Let me know and we can connect offline! Cheers ~ Peter

[@alexandrmarosz6805]

Tnx

[@bamsemh1]

Hope you are able to read this before it starts here 🤞 I have 200mm f5 with 15 stop nd filter. It's 1 pm now and the storm should start while it's bright light. Will it be too dark with 15 stop filter? I'm thinking something like 4 second shots.

[@jeanlouisjlpphotodronevide4499]

Great video thank you Mike 👍. Been trying to photograph lightning but so far no luck . For the memory card what writing speed do you recommend when using the intervalometer ? I seem To not be able to get a 1 sec interval Or maybe my settings are just not right . Thank you

[@ironman9143]

How to predict where the lightning will happen?

[@BuddyG]

so if my shutter speed is 15 seconds than i should put my interval to like 16 seconds?

[@PereaPhotography]

Yep that would work!

[@sofasobarna1740]

🕳️ ⚡

[@javajack-1]

Don’t know if you noticed, but your title is missing the “N” in lightning.

[@PereaPhotography]

Holy crap I’m surprised nobody has said anything until now haha. Thanks for letting me know!

[@javajack-1]

@@PereaPhotography Haha! No problem. I didn’t want to say anything, might just think I was being picky, but I know I’d want to know.

[@dylancoolman6]

:D

[@dylancoolman6]

;D

[@dylancoolman6]

I wanted to be a KZbinr too but I've been harassed so many times and I've been trying to make the best videos I could but I didn't really go anywhere but I wish I had 1K on my king Dylan G

[@Withcare111]

Should the stabiliser be on or off ? Should the noise reduction be on or off ?

[@geonerd]

Both off. Stabilizer on a tripod can cause chaos, and the NR may try to take a dark frame between each shot causing you to miss half the bolts.