Lightning Photography tips

[Chris Hayes]

I love doing lightning photography, though I dont get to do it as much as I would like to. I'm going to post four lightning pictures that I've taken.
This is the first one.

This is one of my favorite lightning pictures that I have taken. This was taken in before 2003 with a Minolta Maxxum 800si with 100 speed film.

This picture was taken with probably the same specifics as the one above.

Here's the third one.

This was taken in Illinois this year. I was using my Canon EOS-10D digital SLR with a wide angle lens, at an aperature of 5.6. The camera is set to be using "100 speed film."

Here's the forth one.

It was taken with the same specifics as the one above. It's a good picture, but doenst have the spectacular look to it.

Here's my question. When I was still using film for my photography, the lightning pictures I would get would come out kind of colorful, and more full of light and spectacular looking than the ones I'm taking with my digital camera. I was curious if any of you had any tips as to how you get your lightnging pictures to be so spectacular looking.

 

[Terrence Cook]

Perhaps you need to do longer exposures with digital so that the picture has other subjects and scenery lit up in the picture. If you are using wide angle lens then you need to be within a couple of miles of the strikes. If you do not feel like risking it then you need to use a telephoto or somekind of zoom lens.

In the desert southwest it is drier making the storm bases much higher and lightning more spectacular and visible, my point being that lightning photography can be challenging in the midwest.

As for colors and whatnot i suppose that all has to do with lenses/filters and quality of glass.

Here is a 4 sec. exposure of mine on digital:

Click to Enlarge

And a newer one at 16 sec.:

Click to Enlarge

hope this helped
-Terrence

 

[David Schuttler]

I'm still playing and learning but if I'm around a bunch of lights I use a higher "F" setting like these of Downtown Tulsa
This one is at 8 sec. & F13 at 16mm


And this one was 10sec. & F14 at 20mm


This one though was 1/6 sec & F5 at 35mm


Usually if I'm out in total darkness I'll use somewhere around an F5 to F8 and then raise it accordingly with longer seconds. Of course there is post things you can do by adjusting contrast and gamma or brightness.
Just remember it's digital , just shoot away and experiment...

 

[Eric Flescher]

great shots

Thanks for the info. Nice shots . Wide angle and the longer exposure when I need to try that. Also nice depth of field with the f8. Congrats!!!

 

[Chris Hayes]

Thanks for the tips everyone