Marissa Elman | Fashion & Photography

Marissa Elman is a lifelong lover of fashion and photography.

Common Long Exposure Photography Mistakes To Avoid

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Over the last few years, long exposures have become a popular form of photography, and with the right tools along with a proper understanding of the techniques, you can create incredibly surreal and dreamlike portrait and landscape images. These images take time and preparation to capture, and the last thing you want is for something to go wrong that you could have easily avoided. So, with that said, here are some of the most common long exposure photography mistakes and how you can avoid them.

 

Not Properly Locking Down Tripod Legs

One of the simplest things that often gets overlooked is your tripod or mounting system. When shooting on tripods, typically, we do not think about how stable the legs are or whether we have locked everything tightly down. When it comes to long exposure photography shooting images for several seconds to minutes long, someone simply walking by can be enough to shift the tripod and ruin your image. Make sure you are using a sturdy tripod and ensure that every point of adjustment is locked down as tight as possible to avoid image shake. Some tripods might even come with hooks are a mounting system on their center column which would allow you to attach a sandbag and add some weight and stability to your system.

 

Leaving The Viewfinder Open

When dealing with photographs that take 30+ seconds, your viewfinder can be one of the easiest things to forget. Leaving the viewfinder open can lead to light leaks and often leave strange colored blobs in your shot. Make sure to cover your viewfinder to avoid the light leaking in from there. Some cameras will have a switch built in to close it up, but if not, place some black gaff tape or any other handy materials over the camera back.

 

Not Using Mirror Lock

When you are using a DSLR and looking through a viewfinder, what you are doing is looking into a mirror which is looking into another mirror over your camera’s sensor. So, when you take a picture, the mirror flips up, and shutter activates to take the shot, after which the mirror flips back down. This might not seem like a big deal, but when it comes to shooting long exposures, this can create some shake to the image. So, if you want to avoid this issue, set your camera, assuming it has this feature, to “M-Up” and then get ready for the two-step process for the shot.

Now, once you line up the shot, you can click the shutter release button which will lift the mirror and then you will need to click the button again to activate the shutter to take the shot. Another option is to enable “Live-View” mode if your camera supports it which will shoot your images with the mirror already lifted. For those with a mirrorless camera such as the Sony A7/A9 series of Fuji can ignore this mistake avoidance step.

Things To Consider When Buying A Tripod For Your DSLR Camera

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tripod for DSLR camera - marissa elman

A digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera is a popular tool among modern photographers. DSLR’s can be utilized for either fun or professional photo shoots depending on the advanced capabilities it may have. One of the more popular tools utilized with this camera is a tripod. That is why the following list of things to consider before buying a tripod for your DSLR camera has been created. The considerations are as follows:

 

  • Why Is It Needed?
  • What Price Is Too High?
  • What Is The Most Important Factor?

 

Why Is It Needed?

 

While this may seem obvious, it is worth the time to truly investigate why this tripod is being purchased. If it is just to take a few photos once or twice a year, rental equipment may serve the purpose better. If instead, it is viewed as an investment in a photography career, it can serve dozens of purposes and be a useful tool day in and day out. For example, low light situations are ideal for tripod use and this investment opens up a whole new group of photographic possibilities such as this and many others.

 

What Price Is Too High?

 

For amateur photographers, an average or even lower priced tripod may be more than enough. For professional photographers however, the extra expense may be well worth it. The additional features that are afforded with more expensive tripods will pay for themselves in the long run because of the added capabilities that it provides. Price shopping is essential to making the proper purchase.

 

What Is The Most Important Factor?

 

There are a number of factors to consider when purchasing a tripod. Some photographers require the tripod to be lightweight as to easily transport it across rough terrain. This can be highly beneficial to photographers that frequently shoot in nature. If the tripod is too heavy, it may make the trek into the wilderness nearly impossible. Height is also a contributing factor. If the tripod fails to be able to shoot from a range of heights, it may serve less useful than was originally thought.

 

Tripods can be highly beneficial to professional photographers. That is why it is so imperative to consider all of the above questions and so many more before finally deciding to pull the trigger and purchase one.