Light Trails.
As in the previous blog, I talked about using long exposure to remove objects from your scene. Now let’s talk about how we can use light trails to draw your eye to the subject and add a unique style to your photo.
Light trails in photos are created by using a longer shutter speed, 2.5 seconds or longer. When the shutter is open for a certain period of time, the sensor will collect the lights of a moving object creating a blur of light on your image. This can be used creatively to change the mood of your image and help draw the viewers eye through the image.
13 second exposure. Five image stack.
Things to help when wanting to capture light trails:
Keep your ISO low. Not only will it help with image quality, it will reduce the incoming light allowing you the longer shutter speeds.
Use a tripod. Just like in a the last blog, having a tripod is key to having a sharp image.
Turn off Image Stabilization. This can cause slight blurring to occur when doing long exposures.
Closing down the aperture reduces the available light and therefore, using longer shutter speeds to compensate. Using ND filters also help do the trick.
Choosing the right time of day. Blue hour is a great time to shoot light trails as you still can capture the details throughout the image.
Practice and patience. Don’t be afraid to try different shutter speeds. Get creative with it and see what you can develop.
In the two photos below, you can see the difference between one with light trails to the one without. The light trails add a unique element to the photo that makes you instantly know it isn’t just a snapshot, and helps draw your eye through the image.
The shutter speeds were 1/80s and 2.5 seconds. You can see how the vehicles and the people in the first photo are frozen in time with the quicker shutter speed. On photo #2, you get a sense of motion with the light trails and it helps adding a certain uniqueness that a long exposure photography can offer.
So if you get a chance, try adding a little bit of motion with light trails to give your next photo that creative pop you are looking for. For more great info on this topic, visit: https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography/discover/light-trail-photography.html
Cheers!
Nathan