Creative Long Exposure Trick.
With each press of the shutter release, the shutter mechanism is open for an allotted time exposing the image sensor to the scene. The duration of the shutter speed is dependant on the scene you are wanting to photograph. Yes, there are other variables to keep in mind when taking a photo, like your aperture and ISO to get the proper exposure, but for the purpose of this blog, we’ll only be focused on what effects long exposures can do in a crowded environment.
Hamburg Rathaus taken at 1/160s. No ND Filters were used on this image.
Say you come across a beautiful building you want to photograph, but sometimes there are many people in your foreground that distract the viewer from the building. You could try and ask everyone to stay out of your picture but you’ll probably get a few strange looks. Arriving during the less busy times of the day when the crowds haven’t formed is an option. There is also one method called photo stacking where you take multiple pictures from one location and stack the images in a photo editing software such as Affinity Photo or Adobe Photoshop, it will then use AI to remove the moving components of your image.
Another method to remove elements from your scene is to use a technique called long exposure photography. It is a common method when wanting to create light trails, for astrophotography, or for making water look silky smooth.
Some things you’ll need for long exposure are:
A sturdy tripod to keep your camera steady as movement will affect the image.
A camera with manual controls to change the aperture, ISO and shutter speed.
Turn off image stabilization. Having it on while doing long exposures can cause unwanted blurriness to your image.
ND Filters to help reduce the incoming light and obtain longer shutter times.
Remote trigger or cable release to help reduce camera shake. I personally use the self timer built into the camera.
Okay, onto the good stuff. I will show you the changes shutter speed can make.
Photo was taken at 1/15s. You can start to see a little motion blur in the people walking. ND8 was used to reduce light and decrease shutter speed.
3.2 second exposure. As you can see, a drastic difference in how the people are captured by the image sensor. A ND1000 filter was used.
330 second exposure. This was taken with a ND1000 and a ND64 filter creating a total difference of 16 stops of light.
With a little bit patience and the correct settings, you can take a normally business corridor look desolate and otherwise empty.
If you are interested in this style of photography, “Silent World” is an excellent project created by Paris based photographers Lucie de Barbuat & Simon Brodbeck. I suggest you take some time to view their work through the link - https://www.brodbeckdebarbuat.com/#/silent-world/.
Hope it helps to get you out there, you might be interested in what you find. Thank you for reading!
Cheers!