This is an article by the guest author Julien Leveau who opens this section by telling us about a topic that he is passionate about and at the same time commands respect for: lightning photography. With his advice today, photographing them will seem much more affordable. And if you want to delve into the nature photography, this is our most complete guide, with tips, tricks and lots of inspiration.
Getting pictures of lightning during a thunderstorm can be most satisfying for a photographer, producing the most powerful images they have ever created. However, this practice is a dangerous exercise, both for you and for your equipment, if it is executed poorly. In this guide I give you the keys to reduce risks and take the most extraordinary photos.
The context
Obviously, the first condition that must be met to take photos of lightning is to attend a thunderstorm. In my case, living in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, it happens a lot during the summer and its tremendous rainy season. The feeling of adrenaline that fills my body when I attend the display of power of nature is inexplicable. Feeling how the wind begins to blow, to refresh the atmosphere while it is loaded with the necessary humidity for the torrent of rain and electricity is a unique experience.
Then the show begins: rain or no rain, the sudden light display followed by rumbling thunder can fascinate or terrify. To me, it excites me. Admiring fast lightning is part of the privileged life of the storm photographer and the child in all of us.
Storms usually have patterns, study if they tend to form around the same time in your area and if they move in the same direction. This It will help you plan and increase safety.
Necessary material
To take the lightning photo you’ve always dreamed of, you need several items:
- The motivation to wake up at any time (storms at night -> WOW!)
- Feel like rain (or failing that, a good umbrella, the bigger the better)
- Mosquito repellent, if like me, you are in tropical areas
- A waterproof camera can help (also cover it with a waterproof case), but you do need to have manual controls. if you have one mirrorless you’re in luck because they are faster in the clickthat is, the response time once you press the fire button is less.
- Your favorite lenses (those with the highest focal length allow you to get away from the storm and reduce the risk of being struck by lightning, the wide angle ones allow you to capture more of the scene).
- A lens hood will help protect your lens from raindrops.
- A tripod (the lightning photo is made with long exposures).
- If you want to photograph daylight rays, I recommend the use of ND filters to be able to use long exposures.
- Extra batteries.
- A towel or cloth to dry.
- Your lucky charm 😉
Security
Although the safest thing to do in a thunderstorm is to be indoors and away from open windows, without pipes, cables or electronic devices nearby, you would hardly be able to get pictures of lightning like this. Better to find a middle ground, you will not have zero risk, but with these tricks you will greatly reduce the chances of being struck by lightning.
- If there is no more than thirty seconds between lightning and thunder, you are too close to the storm. Salt by legs and find another site.
- If you hear the sound it is because you are not outside the possible radius of lightning strike.
What if you suddenly find yourself in the middle of a storm and you can’t take shelter?
- stay away from the water
- Do not stay on high ground or in exposed areas
- Outside metallic and electronic objects. No, in the middle of the storm is not the time to take photos or use the mobile
- Stay away from tall trees
- Avoid being near the tripod
- Do not approach less than 5 meters from other people
- never lie down
- Keep your feet together and crouch down covering your ears. You have to do this yes or yes to lightning speed 😉 if you notice that your hair stands on end like when there is static electricity.
Aperture and exposure settings
Depending on the location and the light conditions at the time, the settings may change. For me, I always shoot at night and these are the settings that work for me. You will have to assess if they are also valid for you ;).
- Exposure time: from 2 to 4 seconds for photos from the street (these are the most delicate light conditions), from 4 seconds to 10 seconds from a balcony or a roof terrace and more than 10 seconds in the middle of nature.
- Aperture: between f/2.8-4.5 for distant lightning, between f/4.5-8 for small lightning, f/8-13 for strong lightning, and up to f/14 for huge storms.
- Turn off autofocus to gain speed. You can use it but once you have the focus deactivate it.
- Also disable any pre-shot detection features, such as facial recognition.
- ISO: I recommend you always leave it close to 100 ISO to achieve great sharpness in your shots.
when to shoot
There are several techniques to shoot at the exact moment, all with their advantages and disadvantages:
- The first technique is what we will call the manual shot, which consists of waiting for lightning and shooting as soon as it happens. We can do it both with our finger (although it generates vibrations) and with a remote trigger (more recommended).
- The second option is through the technique of time lapse, the camera shoots every certain amount of time a photograph with the settings we want, praying so that during this period of time a lightning strike occurs.
- The third and last option (and also my favorite) requires a lightning sensor (Lightning Trigger). It is not a very cheap device, but it detects the ultra red light that occurs just before the beam and shoots. If you’re not from quick finger this option is excellent, just like if you intend to photograph daylight rays.
How to compose rays
When it comes to composing your lightning photography, there are elements that, if well controlled, allow you to create a composition that you like and then there are the lightning… These, unfortunately, you cannot control. It will always depend in part on luck so that it falls in the place we want. For this reason, I recommend you to be patient and shoot as many times as necessary until you achieve the desired shot.
Also keep in mind which area is more active in lightning to focus on it and frame the scene better. A larger framing area will increase the chances of catching lightning.
Do not limit yourself to photographing lightning, include part of the ground to contextualize (land, sea, city…) and also some element in the foreground to give depth. Also try vertical framing.
Edition
Since lightning photography is quite impressive on its own, it hardly needs post-editing. The only thing I add personally is a bit of contrast and saturation to further enhance the dramatic look without going overboard. You can also adjust the white balance if you have shot in RAW or switch to black and white.
If you’re thinking of getting serious about editing and don’t know where to start, here’s Mario Lightzoom’s course, in which the Lightroom tool is explained from scratch and without technicalities, with clear and simple language.
lightning gallery
If you have been wanting more images, I leave you with a small gallery:
This is an article by Julien Leveau, professional wedding and architecture photographer. You can follow his work at Julien Leveau and at Arcenciel Studio.
If you also want to participate as a guest author, click here.
Did you like the article? Thank Julien for his advice by sharing the article on your favorite social network so that others can enjoy his fantastic work and the advice he offers. Thank you and see you soon.