How to Photograph Lightning

[nikkirunningbear1]

i just got canon rebel t3, can i use this to catch a lighting??? ok, plus what setting do i set it on?

[PhotoClassPro]

@nikkirunningbear1 Yes and all instructions are included in the video.

[TheBraveheart550]

awesome podcast can I just add there are infra red remotes available that enable you to operate the camera on a one click open one click closes basis

[a6km]

I do have a slightly different technique then this: basically what i do is that I set my ISO to 200 as a Nikon D90 user, my aperture to F9 - F11 to be around the sweet spot and determine my shutter speed as a night landscape or city night photography depends where i am and how do i want my fore/background be looking, and Im happy with the results cause the lightning has enough power to be seen the same as fireworks

[trout086]

cheers mate this was a great help

[Mickeydrews]

I have a Canon 60d ISO 100 shutter 3.5 fstop 8" I've taken some awesome shots

[SwampFoxPhotography]

i have the nikon l120, it cant do anything you just named huh?

[PhotoClassPro]

@SwampFoxPhotography I have no idea. It is a point and shoot, so maybe not, but it depends on the features. You may not have bulb mode, but if you have shutter priority you could still make it work.

[nuclearamb]

@SwampFoxPhotography I have L120 as well...try the fireworks mode. It works. You need a lot of trial and error. One of the shot may come out nice.

[FIFATerminator]

i dont have shutter release can i put it on 30sec. exposure? it will work??

[jwdesign336]

great I hear a storm time to try this out!

[PhotoClassPro]

@16ISMYNUMBER ?huh?

[ItsMeTheBadGuy]

bah there are hardly any thunderstorms where I live in Holland :( and they suck compared to those in U.S.

[Toemta]

LOL at you explaining to us how facebook works! xD

[AMuncherOfPizza]

If your having trouble finding bulb like i was, somtimes its not on the top spin thing. I have the t3i and i have to go under manuel, then set the shutter speed to bulb

[ilovepolice1]

does the Canon PowerShot SX130 IS have a bulb setting?

[2Eyes1Focus]

Good tips, it's a storm now I'm about to go see what I can come up with...

[wrobe00011]

What if my camera dosent have bulb mode. can i use manual? and i dont have the shutter release thing.. whaha!! i own a nikon d3100..

[PhotoClassPro]

@wrobe00011 Your camera does have a bulb mode. And the shutter release - non Nikon brand - can be found on eBay for less than $10

[wrobe00011]

@PhotoClassPro No my camera dosent have bulb mode whaha!!!

[PhotoClassPro]

@wrobe00011 Yes it does. Really. In the owners Manual it will tell you how to get there. You simply have to be in full manual mode and slow the shutter speed down one click past 30 seconds. The click past 30 seconds is bulb mode and will show you this in the display window.

[joeiacotaco]

@PhotoClassPro i have a t3i and i dont think it has bulb mode

[PhotoClassPro]

@joeiacotaco Yes it does. Really. In the owners Manual it will tell you how to get there. You simply have to be in full manual mode and slow the shutter speed down one click past 30 seconds. The click past 30 seconds is bulb mode and will show you this in the display window.

[joeiacotaco]

@PhotoClassPro ok thanks

[HedgehogOutdoors]

@joeiacotaco I have a T3, it has it. You go into manual mode and go into the shutter speed and go all the way to the left. Just got mine today.

[mikeandike76]

@joeiacotaco ihave the canon rebel t3i too! trust me it does have a Bulb mode!

[ymistillavirgin]

@joeiacotaco sounds like you dont need a camera

[joeiacotaco]

@ymistillavirgin sound like your a faggot and i just got my camera a few weeks ago so you can go suck on a dick you troll

[ymistillavirgin]

@joeiacotaco i learned my camera in two days.

and will you whip it out for me? :)

MY CAMERA DOESNT HAVE BULB MODE WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

thats me mocking you over the internet

[joeiacotaco]

@ymistillavirgin hey guess what dick weed i posted that comment b4 i got my camera and i learned it in half a day

thats me telling you to sit your ass down

[ymistillavirgin]

@joeiacotaco "i own a nikon d3100.."

wrobe00011 6 months ago

explain yourself you penthouse rat

something is wrong here.

you lack originality. youre copying my phrasing

[tithay]

@ymistillavirgin what kind of camera do you have? Bcos if you have Canon DSLR camera, and go to Manual setting, and turn the setting all the way down in shutter release until it can no longer go any lower,.. then you will see a B instead seeing 1/1000 yada yada yada... you are now in Bulb mode.

[ashkibala1]

@wrobe00011 your camera DOES have bulb. even my 8 years old Nikon has it.

[wrobe00011]

@ashkibala1 found it.. like many months ago. its on manual LOL :D thanks anyway

[wrobe00011]

@wrobe00011 ah Thanks!!! super!!! u save my life! :) i wanna take greats shots like you!

[ColonelC101]

Check out my pics btw you have very good and informative tuts keep up the good work man

[JustYourAverageNick]

could you just set a long exposure and then if lightning flashes during that exposure, the camera will capture it? would this work?

[PhotoClassPro]

@JustYourAverageNick Sure. But there is still a lot of ambient light. You might not be able to have an exposure that long depending.

[ventje500]

hmm, being on a railroad track on an open field in the middle of a thunder storm, i wouldnt dare :P

[jjcheddar]

This was recorded on July 7th, but uploaded on July 2nd? :O

Or do my ears deceive me?

[PhotoClassPro]

@jjcheddar If you really want an explanation to that, can you point me to where in the video it says that? There is a good chance it was a misspeak.

[jjcheddar]

@PhotoClassPro It's right at 0:05 - 0:06, but it's alright, I was just curious. :)

[PhotoClassPro]

@jjcheddar I think that was the actual air date and not the record date. I record a few days before it actually airs on the podcast.

[themanlion1]

so you have to catch the storm before it actually gets to you?

sounds difficult

is it a lost cause to try to catch something while the storm is upon you?

i dont think downpour rain is too too good for a camera

[PhotoClassPro]

@themanlion1 Only if you like getting wet and brave enough to chance a lightening strike in the middle of the field....

[1SickKitty]

Your Funny!!! Very Helpful Video, Thankyou so much!!!

[thejtphotograph]

Good tips!

[GlobalWarmingRox]

cant you just record a movie at really high frames per second and pick out the frames with a strike?

[ViktorBluhme]

@GlobalWarmingRox You can't record in that kind of resolution I think :)

[xchlppprsx]

so i went out shooting lightning the other day...and this thunderstorm was killer, never seen this much lightning. so i had my tripod and shit all set up, so i put it on 25 second exposure and stepped away pretty far...and its a fucking good thing i did because my tripod got hit by a bolt of lightning so there goes my camera, tripod, and shitty 18-55 lens -_-

[PhotoClassPro]

@xchlppprsx WOW! Well for the record, I stated that you should shoot the storm as it advances. Not stand out in it....

[xchlppprsx]

@PhotoClassPro haha i went and watched this after...i also bought another one today so yes next time i will try to do that haha, i was pissed too i had finally dialed in the right exposure, focus, aperture, etc. and i was watching the sky in front of where it was aimed and like 10+ bolts of lightning went off...but obviously 1 got a little close

[Transane]

@xchlppprsx did you take a picture of it with your backup body? ;)

[xchlppprsx]

@Transane if by backup body you mean only body, then yes-_- its been replaced though, still pissed it happened haha

[J88Wolf]

@xchlppprsx Lucky bastard.

[NFphotography14]

@xchlppprsx That happened to me today. Same lens. :( BUT, I got another one. so it's fine. :/

[DjLezz]

When you say "set your camera to "bulb", you should also specify that some cameras don't have a "bulb" option on the dial. They have to set their camera to "Manual Mode", and then slow the shutter speed down until they see "Bulb" on the display. (Applies to digital SLRs)

[PhotoClassPro]

@DjLezz You are very correct. I did not include that info. Sorry.

[TheTruthHurtsYou]

Great tip about manual focus. Kept trying with auto with no results

[mundapakistani]

what should be the shutter speed?

[PhotoClassPro]

@mundapakistani If you watch the video this is explained exactly at time index 6:45. We don't use a prescribed shutter speed.

[panzarw]

but if you want to see that 53' Buick destroyed by lightning than certainly YES!

[Xeo989]

Super !!!!! Love it

[bowman580]

you are the first person to join my two favorite things bow hunting and photography

[PhotoClassPro]

@bowman580 LOL. But it makes sense doesn't it?

[davidlime]

8,888th View !! Lol. . & Thank you, This Helped !!

[jaesungauzakim]

I captured 3 lightings in Florida with just regular camera today. Lighting is awesome xD

[aadiflesher]

i can go deer hunting now!

[aadiflesher]

@aadiflesher with a bow

[Thuglife1000]

Thank you so much.

What advice would you have to protect the camera from rain water?

[PhotoClassPro]

@Thuglife1000 They actually make rain covers for your camera. We actually talked about that on one of the early podcasts and you can look it up on itunes for free. Just look for phototips on the itunes store.

[FilmCrab]

For $5 you can get a Field Strength meter for Ham or CB radio. It has a tiny (6") antenna on it.

The level builds up before the strike and then discharges. It's pretty reliable.

[N6600]

i'm just afraid that the lightning might "shoot me first" instead of me shooting it first. you know what i mean..

[gancuta]

:))

[Z06Nut]

One good way to listen to how much lighting activity is really going on is to tune a portable or car radio to a frequency that is not used by a radio station. You should hear static. In that static, you'll hear pops and crackles. Each one of them is a strike. The more pops you hear the more lighting there is.

It's a technique I use at my job detecting bad spots in high voltage cables.

[dywlkr07]

Thanks for the great tutorial! Amazingly, I was driving towards a coast watching the biggest lightning storm I have ever seen (I'd estimate a large lightning strike every 10-30 seconds for about an hour that lit up the entire horizon!) when i had the epiphany to use BULB! Too bad we don't have too many lightning storms here in Melbourne, Australia....or that I couldn't stop to try my theory out. But, the tutorial confirms my theory... Now to wait for the next lightning storm *sigh

[twkVids]

great tutorial :)

but im confused,

why would switching the iso up reduce noise?

from what ive learned, the higher the iso, the more noise there is in the picture :/

[PhotoClassPro]

The statement says the following, :You will want to keep your ISO from 100 to 400. This will keep your noise levels low." I am afraid you did not hear that correctly. Unless you can point me to a specific time in the video?

[twkVids]

ahh ok :P

i miss heard it as "move it from 100 to 400"

sorry my mistake

[hazmatt81]

Great tutorial! Now I just need for my wife to allow me to get a DSLR...lol

[epwtsui]

I just tried your method. Settings have to be exact (at least for beginners like me). It really works! I captured 3 bolts out of 24 shots: 2 small ones, 1 big one. Not pretty yet but 1st time in my life which is good enough. But it was raining above me and very windy too. Have to get back indoor. Thanks for the tips.

[ladduro]

What if my camera does not have Bulb mode ?

[PhotoClassPro]

Then you must manually dial in shutter speeds in manual mode. Try about 30 seconds and adjust.

[simonspiers]

Some camera's , such as the Canon models don't have the bulb setting on the top dial, but in the manual mode.

Great pictures, love the railway lins reflecting the lightning.

Here in the UK lightning is sporadic at best , so I use a trigger device I made to allow me to point the camera towards the storm and automaticly take the picture.

I have also had some luck with daylight photography.

[MrSamperkins]

Canon do have blub

[debbnew]

Love the tutorial. Very easy to follow. Hope tonight's storm has a good lightning show!

[blackstigma6]

I'll get the necessary accessories needed for this. thanks!

[fotomarky]

Good tutorial! thank you