Long exposure

As described earlier, long exposure photography would usually require the use of a tripod to avoid any unwanted vibration or image blur in the scene.

In landscape photography a long exposure can be used to blur the movement of the sky, blur motion in a waterfall or seascape etc.

In the urban- and city scape scene we furthermore use long exposures to photograph the city in the twilight- and late evening hours and to and capture the atmosphere created by the oncoming city lights.

Using a long exposure also helps in creating a “smooth” ambient atmosphere as we attempt to blur out ripples in the water of the canals or harbour front, create light trails from moving cars, capture ghost trails from pedestrians and of course expose the lights from windows, store fronts and street lights.

Typically we would want to use an exposure time of anything from 3-4 seconds to sometimes several minutes. There is no single recipe for this as each scene will need an assessment of the exposure, but a typical late evening exposure could look like this: 15 seconds, f:8, 100 ISO. Using a sturdy tripod is essential as vibrations from passing cars, pedestrians or even the wind can have an influence on the final result.

On any of our City Lights tours your personal photography guide will make sure to explain everything in detail and assist you with the correct exposure settings to each individual scene you come across.