How to photograph lightning

In autumn, heavy rain showers and thunderstorms pass by regularly. The rumbling, the rain and the flashes of light make for a beautiful natural phenomenon. That's why it's photographed so often, but how exactly do you do it? In this blog, we tell you more.

Let's start with a short warning about lightning. However fantastic it looks, it is very dangerous. Lightning reaches a temperature of around 27,000 degrees Celsius. That's six times hotter than the surface of the sun. On top of that, each lightning bolt can carry up to one billion volts of electricity. So be careful.

High-speed photography

When you photograph lightning, you use high-speed photography. This is no easy task. You don't know when and where lightning will strike, and once it does, you barely have time to press the shutter. That's where the MIOPS Smart camera trigger comes in: this trigger can do the work for you and fire at exactly the right moment. That way, you won't miss a single moment! Below, we discuss how to use MIOPS to take photos of lightning, and then we explain how to create extra special lightning photos.

Photographing lightning

When photographing lightning, location is very important. It should be a place with plenty of open sky combined with interesting foreground elements, such as a skyline, mountains or trees with beautiful shapes. If you only photograph the sky with lightning, it can look boring. We recommend picking out two or three locations in advance, so you're ready when a thunderstorm comes.

When the time comes, you need a camera that can be operated remotely with a trigger. It's also wise to use a wide-angle lens, because it has a large field of view. That way, you don't have to aim your camera specifically at the lightning; after all, you don't know exactly where you'll see a bolt. When you then decide on your composition, it's best to put your camera on a tripod. Then you can set up your camera to suit your composition. Make sure you have interesting elements in your frame. Now focus on the foreground and take a photo. We'll use this one later.

Where there's lightning, there's often rain too. When you go out to photograph lightning, it's wise to protect your camera against the rain. A raincoat for yourself is no unnecessary luxury either.

Now attach the MIOPS trigger to your camera. Set the mode to 'lightning' and the sensitivity to about 95%. Then you can set up the camera manually. We recommend setting the ISO to 200, the aperture between F/8 and F/11 and the shutter speed to 1/125. Don't forget to set the focus to infinity. Once everything is set, start the MIOPS trigger and wait until you see lightning. As soon as that happens, your camera should take a photo. If it doesn't, increase the sensitivity of the trigger.

When your camera takes the first photos, check them and change the camera settings if necessary. If the photo is too dark, increase the ISO or open up the aperture further. If the photo is overexposed, lower the ISO or close down the aperture. Once you're completely happy with the exposure, leave the camera in place until it has taken 10 to 12 shots. If you want to take more shots from a different angle or with a different foreground element, repeat the same process: take a photo, check that it's correctly exposed, and then you can take more photos.

Merging your photos for an extra special effect

Storm over? Then you can transfer the photos to your computer at home and edit them. For example, you can merge the photos to make them extra special. We use Adobe Photoshop for this.

The first step is to open your base image (the first shot with foreground elements). Then open the five or six best photos with lightning bolts. Select these photos, then copy and paste them one by one into your base shot. You now have a file with a base layer and five or six other layers. Close all the other files, as you no longer need them. Now look at your Layers panel on the right, where you'll find all the layers. If they're not there, click 'Window' in the top menu. By clicking 'Layers', you can display it.

Now it's time to hide all layers except the base layer. Select the layer just above the base layer and make it visible. Change the blending mode to 'Lighten' and reduce the opacity to between 50 and 70%. When you do this, only the lightning is visible and everything else is automatically hidden. Repeat this process with all layers and voilà, you have an image with lots of lightning bolts. When you're happy with your photo, merge all the layers and export your image.

Single shot

Multiple shots merged

The MIOPS Smart Trigger

The MIOPS Smart Trigger is suitable for cameras and flashes. The trigger contains various sensors, so your camera can fire in response to different impulses such as light and sound. Because the sensors of the MIOPS Smart Trigger are highly sensitive to light, it can respond to impulses within a fraction of a second. Ideal for high-speed photography! The trigger is also suitable for shooting timelapses. This is very easy: in the settings, you specify the desired interval and how many images you want to take. The Smart Trigger does the rest! In HDR mode, you only need to enter the base settings and the desired exposure steps above and below. After that, the trigger takes over.

The settings of the MIOPS Smart Trigger can be operated in different ways: via the trigger itself, or you can choose to adjust the settings via the accompanying app (available for Android and iOS). The trigger can easily be updated with new features. The Smart Trigger runs on a (rechargeable) Li-ion battery. So make sure you never miss another high-speed moment with the MIOPS Smart Trigger!

Connection cables

You can use the MIOPS Smart Trigger with almost any camera, as there are different types of connection cables for different brands, such as Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic and Olympus.