Taking photos in low light conditions or at night can be troublesome without the right technique. Without a flash or additional light source, you're looking at underexposed, blurry photos with little detail. That's where long exposure photography steps in. By selecting a slower shutter speed, you expose your sensor for longer — allowing you to capture more light, even in near-darkness. With a basic understanding of the exposure triangle, you can capture well-exposed pictures and get genuinely creative with your photography.
While higher shutter speeds freeze a moment in time — essential for sports photography — slower shutter speeds reveal how things move and change as time passes. Here's everything you need to know about shooting long exposure photography.
Why do photographers use long exposure photography?
Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second — 1/1000 or 1/50 — with a higher denominator indicating a faster shutter speed. While an average shutter speed sits around 1/60s, long exposure photography involves exposing your sensor for seconds, or sometimes even hours, at a time.
This opens the door to camera shake and motion blur — but while reducing blur is usually a goal in photography, it can also be produced intentionally. This is central to genres like waterfall photography, light trail photography, and star trail photography, where motion blur is the creative effect you're after.
How to take long exposure shots
Capturing a great long exposure photograph is not as simple as setting a slow shutter speed and firing. Any adjustment to shutter speed requires corresponding changes to your other exposure settings to avoid overexposing the image — something that can still happen even in complete darkness. Long exposure photography requires patience and a willingness to experiment.
Start by setting your ISO as low as possible to reduce the sensor's sensitivity to light. Then select a small aperture (high f-number) to limit the amount of light entering the lens while increasing depth of field. Balancing these settings during daylight long exposures can be tricky without additional equipment — which is where ND filters come in (more on those below).
Which shutter speed is best for long exposure photography?
Blurring Water: A good starting point for blurring water and similar subjects is between 1/10s and 1 second. Use a slower speed if you want more pronounced blur.
Light Trails: To capture light trails, your shutter needs to stay open long enough for your light source to move across the frame. This varies depending on the subject, but 10 to 30 seconds is a good starting point.
Star Trails: Stars appear to move very slowly from Earth, so you'll need much longer exposures to capture their trails — often 30 minutes or more. Experiment with different durations to find what works for your location and conditions.
What's the best long exposure photography equipment?
While long exposure photography emphasises movement through blur, it's essential to keep the camera itself completely still. Mounting your camera to a tripod is the most straightforward way to achieve this.
If you've adjusted your aperture and ISO and still can't achieve a slow enough shutter speed, ND filters are your best friend. Available in varying strengths, these filters limit the amount of light entering your lens — allowing you to use slower shutter speeds and wider apertures without overexposing your image. They're an essential tool for daytime long exposure work.
Bulb Mode & remote photography
Bulb Mode is an exposure setting found on most modern DSLRs and mirrorless cameras that allows shutter speeds beyond 30 seconds. The best way to use Bulb Mode is to fire your camera remotely — some cameras support this via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and a smartphone app, while others require a dedicated remote control or cable release.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What shutter speed is considered long exposure?
Generally, any shutter speed slower than 1/30s can be considered a long exposure, though the term is most commonly used for exposures of 1 second or longer. At these speeds, a tripod becomes essential to avoid camera shake.
Do I need a tripod for long exposure photography?
Yes — a tripod is essential for long exposure photography. Even the slightest camera movement during a long exposure will result in a blurry image. A sturdy tripod combined with a remote shutter release (or your camera's self-timer) will give you the sharpest possible results.
What is an ND filter and do I need one?
An ND (Neutral Density) filter is a piece of glass or resin that attaches to your lens and reduces the amount of light entering the camera. This allows you to use slower shutter speeds in bright conditions without overexposing your image. ND filters are available in different strengths (e.g. 3-stop, 6-stop, 10-stop) — the stronger the filter, the slower the shutter speed you can use. They're particularly useful for daytime waterfall and seascape photography.
Can I shoot long exposure photography during the day?
Yes, but you'll need an ND filter to do so effectively. Without one, even at your camera's lowest ISO and smallest aperture, there's typically too much light to achieve shutter speeds longer than a fraction of a second in daylight. A 6-stop or 10-stop ND filter gives you the flexibility to shoot long exposures in bright conditions.
What are the best subjects for long exposure photography?
Some of the most popular long exposure subjects include waterfalls and rivers (for silky water effects), city streets at night (for light trails from cars), the night sky (for star trails), seascapes (for smooth, misty water), and fireworks. Each subject requires slightly different settings, so experimentation is key.