7 Mistakes to Avoid In Long Exposure Photography

Long exposure photography is excellent for capturing movement and action in photographs, turning a thundering waterfall into a silky stream. But as anyone who’s ever taken one will tell you, they’re not easy to get right. We’ll cover seven of the most common mistakes photographers make when taking long exposure shots and how to avoid them.

Mistake #1: Not stabilizing your camera enough

The most likely thing to ruin your long exposure photography? Vibration. When you’re taking a long exposure, your camera is letting in light for a lot longer than it usually would. This means it will also be picking up a lot more than it usually would. Small vibrations can result in a blurry, shaky photo. To avoid this, take these steps:

Lock down your tripod

With regular shooting, it’s not usually necessary to make sure your tripod legs are super secure every time. Although, this is important when shooting long exposure. You first want to ensure that your tripod is sturdy, good quality, and secured well at each adjustment point. Most cheap tripods are lightweight and can shake easily. If you are shooting in particularly windy conditions, you may need extra weight to stabilize the tripod. Most tripods have a hook at the bottom of the center column, where you can hang extra weight, for instance, your camera bag with all your gear. This will further stabilize the tripod.

Lock in M-Up mode for very long exposures

Note: This doesn’t apply when using a mirrorless camera.

In most DSLR cameras, the mirrors that sit between your viewfinder and the lens to help you see what you’re shooting are unlocked. This means they flip up when you activate the shutter. However, this can introduce vibration and shake into your long exposure photography. To avoid this, set your camera to M-Up mode (Mirror Up mode).  This will lock your mirror, but you’ll need to click the shutter release button twice — once to lift the mirror up and once to take the picture.

Use a remote shutter

The action of pressing down and releasing your shutter can introduce shaking into your photo, ruining your perfect shot from the start. To avoid this, invest in a remote shutter to allow you to activate the shutter without touching your camera.

Mistake #2: Leaving the viewfinder open

When taking a photo that lets light in for more than 30 seconds, light can find its way into your photo in unexpected ways. One of the most common long exposure mistakes is leaving the viewfinder open and letting in an additional light source as a result. Leaving open the viewfinder can result in light leaks and strange effects appearing to distort your photograph — ruining an otherwise perfect shot.

Luckily, this is easily solved. Your camera may come with a cover or button to close up the viewfinder, or you could cover it up with black tape.

Mistake # 3: Getting the settings wrong

Your camera settings are vital for achieving a perfect, glossy long exposure shot. They can be tricky to get right, even for experienced photographers, so it’s best to experience and make note of what works. Here are some key aspects to focus on:

Use manual mode

Photographing in manual allows you to control all of the different aspects of your camera without technology trying to compensate for you. This is particularly important for long exposure photography, as you want to manipulate each setting depending on the environment.

Get your f-stop right

Most lenses can go up to an aperture of f22. Higher f-stops let in less light than a lower f-stop, and so is generally best for long exposure as the length of exposure time means a lot of light is hitting the camera sensor. However, if you go too high, you may introduce diffraction. Diffraction is a phenomenon that causes light to blur as it hits the camera sensor, resulting in a less sharp image.

Use manual focus

When shooting a long exposure, especially when using neutral density filters, your camera will see a very dark scene when you press down the shutter and automatically start looking for focus points. This can result in images that are out of focus. To avoid this, switch to manual focus and set your focus point.

Turn off image stabilization

It might sound counter-intuitive, but if you want a sharp, stable image, turn off your camera’s image stabilization when shooting long exposures. Image stabilization is meant to be used when holding your camera and can introduce a lot of shake and vibration into your camera when set up on a tripod. If your camera is properly secured on a good tripod, you shouldn’t need image stabilization.

Mistake #4: Not using ND filters

ND Filters are a key part of any landscape photographer’s toolkit. A neutral density (or ND) filter essentially reduces light from all wavelengths hitting your camera sensor without warping the colors. This is very useful for long exposure photography where you have a lot of light hitting the camera sensor over an extended period. An ND filter can help reduce this, prevent over exposure, and get a clearer image. There are various strengths of ND filters, ranging from light to dark, and each is suited to different conditions. It’s best to do your research and find the right one for you.

Mistake #5: Choosing the wrong scene

Long exposure photography is adaptable and can be used in various settings, but it doesn’t work everywhere. Some scenes won’t work with long exposures, so you need to be able to identify when you can and can’t create a long exposure. Here are some things to look for:

There are too many things moving

Although you want to be able to capture some movement in a long exposure shot, too much movement will result in a blurry, incomprehensible image. It’s best to have one key feature moving — such as a waterfall or cars on a highway. The rest of the scene should be static. This results in a great contrast between blurred flowing movement and sharp surroundings.

Good lighting

Although you can adjust to the conditions, good lighting can still make or break your photo. Shooting in conditions where the light is changing rapidly can result in a blurry and confusing image, so make sure to test out different lighting conditions to see what works. A great aspect of long exposures is that you can often get amazing results during the blue hour, as well as the golden hour. During the blue hour, you often don’t even need ND-filter because of the low level of natural light.

Clear composition

With long exposure photography, you want the focus of the image to be the movement — be that the water, the clouds, the stars in the sky, etc. Having too much happening in your image or not having clear composition can result in a photo that’s a headache to look at.

Mistake #6: Forgetting the photography basics

It’s easy to get distracted by all the different elements that go into getting a long exposure photograph — setting up the tripod, getting the settings right, buying extra gear, finding the right scene. Yet, amongst all of this, you still need to remember the photography basics: light, subject, and composition. Don’t rely on the silky effects of long exposure to compensate for an underwhelming photograph.

Mistake #7: Only taking one photo

Even if you think you’ve got everything perfect, it’s still worthwhile to take several photos. Trying out different settings is the best way to learn and figure out what works for your camera. Don’t just take long exposures, either. Having backup photos taken in the same frame with a normal shutter speed can be super helpful if you find any unintended blurriness or movement in a spot of your photo. Having a sharp backup photo can help patch up mistakes.

Gear Recommendations

Looking for some new gear to level up your long exposure photography game? Here are some of our favorites:

• Manfrotto 290 Xtra 3-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod
• Canon BR-E1 Wireless Remote Control 2140C001
• NiSi 82mm ND-VARIO Pro Nano 5-9 Stops 1.5-2.7 Enhanced Variable ND Filter