How to catch a good storm pic

[Heisenberg]

Hi all, im not sure where to post this question but here goes.

 

Ive got a bridge cam and im on the hunt to capture some shots in the storm tonight. Is there a trick to getting a good shot? I don't have a tripod, but not sure what kind of settings I need to use to capture something good, any advise?

 

thanks

[Bobby]

Hi all, im not sure where to post this question but here goes.

 

Ive got a bridge cam and im on the hunt to capture some shots in the storm tonight. Is there a trick to getting a good shot? I don't have a tripod, but not sure what kind of settings I need to use to capture something good, any advise?

 

thanks

 

You need a tripod really or at least something to stabilise the camera for best results. I use a low ISO such as 100-200, an aperture of about F4 and a shutter speed of 10-30s. For focusing you can focus on a distant object and lock it or you can use manual focus and focus to infinity.

[Lauren]

So basically, I should make the shutter speed as slow as possible, yes?

[4wd]

Yes, slow shutter speed but be aware any lights etc are likely to mess that up and you my have to compromise.Cityscapes with lightning look good but you might need an ND filter to get longer exposure.If it really kicks off you might get too many flashes in frame and need to reduce it to 10 or even 5 rather than 15-30 seconds.Don't forget for maximum impact it's essentially still a landscape shot so try and compose something pleasing and avoid ugly wires etc.If you could get an interesting silhouette like church or dead tree it would be good, you could even consider light painting part of your foreground with a torch (LED ones work well). This is good to tinker with during all the failed exposures without any lightning,You can manage without a tripod if you can set it securely on something.Using the self timer would reduce any tendency to blur.The hard part is getting the focus right, ideally use manual and focus on something near infinity.Note infinity is rarely up against the stop on any camera, you usually need edge back a bit.If you can get auto focus on a distant thing then switch to manual to lock it there that might be best,

Edited July 18, 2014 by 4wd