How to Capture Light Trails in Photography

27 January 2025

What are light trails in photography?

Light trail photography is an exciting form of night photography that captures the movement of light sources as streaks or lines. This dynamic technique can be performed virtually anywhere – you don't need to wait for a picturesque location. While a dedicated camera with manual controls offers the most creative freedom, you can still experiment with light trail photography using your iPhone's night mode or long exposure apps.


Light trail photography techniques and tips

What are some common light trail subjects? If you are looking for ideas to experiment with light trail subjects, you can use any object that emits light! Generally, people use vehicles such as cars and motorbikes, and the most adventurous combine their love of astrophotography with light trail photography; stars make excellent light trail subjects. A similar technique to light trail photography is called light painting, which involves creating patterns of light using handheld lighting devices such as flashlights, glow sticks and of course, the ever-ready smartphone. Of course, if you are more 

Plan your shoot for nighttime: We'll start by stating the obvious. For your lights to shine the brightest and be easy to capture, you want your environment to be dark. As well as shooting after hours, look for locations that have less ambient light for heat success.

Choose your location carefully: Are you looking for light trails that occur organically or are you painting with light? Either way, you need to consider your location carefully.

If you are looking for light trails out in the real world, we advise looking for areas with consistent traffic flow. From here, you can alter your position to suit your framing.

How to Capture Light Trails in PhotographyHow to Capture Light Trails in Photography

If you want to create your own light trails, you just need to find a dark area where you can experiment and paint with light. You want to find an area with as little ambient light as possible, so your light paintings are clear and unobstructed.

Cityscapes often make for great light trail photography backdrops. If you go down this avenue, it’s important to set up your tripod in an area that is out of the way of foot traffic; this is so you are not too disruptive, and so you don’t have to keep moving your tripod and setting it up again. Look for spacious street corners, bridges, highways and similar locations.

How to Capture Light Trails in PhotographyHow to Capture Light Trails in Photography

Think about all aspects of composition while you shoot: While with a standard image, you can carefully consider your composition and fire once you are happy, with long exposures like light trails, you have to be prepared that things will move around and aspects of your composition will change while your shutter is open. We suggest studying your subject briefly to try and identify where your light trails are heading, which is easier if you are creating the light omissions yourself, and factor this movement into the composition.

Use your surroundings to help frame your images: Your light trails will make up key components of your composition, but also look for other details within your images to help with framing. Items such as buildings, roads, or groups of trees make great leading lines and framing elements that help create stronger, well-balanced photographs.

Light trail photography settings

Often the biggest stumbling block between identifying and pursuing a new type of photography is knowing how to set up your camera to pursue your goal. Here are some pointers to get you over the hurdle and on the path to brilliant light trail photographs.

Use manual mode if you can manage it: Manual mode on your camera allows you to adjust the key components of your camera, so you have the ultimate control over your images. 

How to Capture Light Trails in PhotographyHow to Capture Light Trails in Photography

Start with a Low ISO: A lower ISO minimises image noise, and more importantly for our purpose, makes your camera less sensitive to light, so slower shutter speeds are possible.

Use a small aperture: For a greater depth of field, use a small aperture of f8 to f16.

Use a long shutter speed: Shutter speed is the most important setting for light trail photographers. As with other types of motion photography, you want to keep your shutter speed open long enough to capture the movement of the light trails. You need your shutter open for as long as it takes for your light trails to create the desired pattern. Experiment with using the longer shutter speeds offered by your camera, such as 10 seconds or 30 seconds, or even better, opt for bulb mode. With this setting, your shutter stays open manually until you close it.

The best light trail photography equipment:

How to Capture Light Trails in PhotographyHow to Capture Light Trails in Photography

With modern advancements, you can try your hand at most types of photography without the need for specialised camera gear. That's right, you can even attempt light trail photography using your iPhone or other popular smartphone. In many cases, your phone will have a long exposure option built-in, but if not, a specialised camera app will do the quick.

If you want the most success, a dedicated camera, such as a mirrorless camera is the best camera for light trail photography. As well as providing better image quality in low light conditions, thanks to their larger image sensors, mirrorless cameras are easier to control with manual settings. Mirrorless cameras are also compatible with a huge array of accessories, including camera lenses for altering your focal length to suit your needs.

Use a sturdy tripod: While you want your light source to be moving during capture to create trails, other aspects within your image need to be still at all times, otherwise your photograph will be full of blur. Keep your camera perfectly still and level using a sturdy and reliable tripod.

Shutter release: A remote cable is essential for light trail photography because it allows you to trigger the shutter without touching the camera, minimising vibrations that can occur during all types of long exposure photography, crucial for capturing sharp and smooth light trails. With modern cameras featuring WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, you can often bypass this camera accessory and use your smartphone to remotely fire your camera shutter.

How to Capture Light Trails in PhotographyHow to Capture Light Trails in Photography

By following these tips and experimenting with different settings, you can capture stunning and creative light trail photographs. If you need help sorting our gear for your next photographic adventure, check out our online store or head to your local Ted's store.


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