Long Exposure Photography Explained

Long exposure photography is a great way to lift your landscape images to another level. The effect of leaving the shutter open for a longer time than you would for most other types of photography means the camera can record movement in a totally unique way. This effect is especially noticeable in subject areas like skies which have a few clouds or areas of running water.

Understanding how to use the camera’s built in light meter is an important factor in being able to calculate exposure times accurately when adjusting the variables of ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed. However, when extending the shutter speeds in Long Exposure Photography, there’s a fourth variable that needs to be taken into account; Neutral Density Filters. ND Filters are basically panes of darkened glass that sit in front of the camera’s lens and reduce the amount of light that enters, thereby necessitating the use of longer (or slower) shutter speeds in order to get accurate exposures. Without the use of ND Filters, the long exposure times necessary to achieve the desired effect in this type of Photography would mean images would be way over exposed. Hopefully this short video will help explain how to use these filters in order to get the desired effect.

I run Long Exposure Workshops for small groups or as 1-2-1 sessions in London throughout the year.

Explanation of Long Exposure

Light Meter Explained

The single most useful feature of any camera has to be its built-in Light Meter.

Without a light meter, achieving accurate exposures in Manual Mode is almost impossible for anyone unfamiliar with photographic techniques. A lot of amateur photographers prefer to use one of the semi automatic modes, especially Aperture Priority, as they feel it makes life easier for them, but this hands over part of the decision making process to the camera. When it comes to control over lighting, the Light Meter is the key feature that will help you adjust exposure to interpret your vision so understanding it is one of the most important steps you can take to improve your overall creative control.

Please leave a comment below to share your opinions and suggest any other topics you’d like me to do an explainer video on.

Explanation of Light Meter