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There’s no precise definition of black and white long exposure photography, but I think of it as landscape or architectural photography that uses shutter speeds of longer than 30 seconds. Often those exposures are in the range of 120 to 300 seconds, or two to five minutes.
I like this definition because on most cameras you have to use your camera’s Bulb mode to get those sort of shutter speeds. This gets you out of your camera’s other exposure modes and into the mindset of a long exposure photographer.
Here’s one of my favorite black and white long exposure landscapes, made with a shutter speed of 125 seconds.
Photos made with shutter speeds of a minute or longer also have a completely different look or feel than those taken with slower shutter speeds.
I made this photo with a shutter speed of 2.5 seconds. The waves are blurred, but the sea isn’t smooth and the motion of the waves has created lots of texture. This isn’t what many photographers would call a long exposure photo. It’s simply an example of using a slow shutter speed to create blur.
This photo of the same scene is definitely a long exposure photo. I used a shutter speed of 125 seconds.
I made the second photo five minutes after the first, but using the long shutter speed has made a big difference to the composition. The sea and the clouds are blurred. So are the boats in the harbor. Using a long exposure let the lights from the lighthouse on the jetty and the distant buildings come through. It captures the mood of the evening beautifully.
But don’t waste too much time thinking about definitions. A better question is which shutter speed is most appropriate for the photo? Sometimes a shutter speed of one second gives the amount of blur and motion that you need. If you want texture and a sense of motion in the scene then it’s the shutter speed to go for. It gives you a more dynamic composition.
Learn more: How to Use Texture to Make Better Black and White Landscape Photos
But if you’re going for mood then work with shutter speeds of two minutes or more.
The good thing is that if you are taking photos in the evening you can use both techniques. You can start with a shutter speed of around one second, then let the shutter speeds get longer as the sun goes down and the light fades. That’s exactly what I did with the first example above. You can pick your favorites afterwards.
By the way, you can learn more about using Bulb mode in the article below. I recommend you read it after this one.
Learn more: How to Make Beautiful Seascapes with Bulb Mode
What about color?
If you’d like to experiment with long exposure photography then don’t feel that you have to work in black and white. All of the photos in this article also work beautifully in color. It’s a matter of personal choice, nothing more.
Color gives you a different feel, a different mood. Let me show you what I mean with a color version of the photo above (see below). The intense blue, a result of shooting at dusk, combined with the faint streaks of red in the sky from the setting sun and the glimmer of distant lights gives the photo a different mood than the black and white version.
What subjects can you take long exposure photos of?
Most long exposure photos are landscapes or architecture, and the blurred elements are water or clouds. Occasionally photographers include people in the photo, either out of lack of choice because they are shooting in a busy location, or to deliberately introduce a human element into the image.
Long exposure landscape photos usually include both water and cloud, as it’s the way these elements blur during long exposure that gives them their unique look.
Do you need a digital camera for long exposure photography?
It helps a great deal. Using film gives you two problems. The first is reciprocity failure. This simply means that film doesn’t respond to low light in the way that you think it should.
Your calculations may show that you need an exposure of say, two minutes. With a digital camera that would be fine. But with film you would in reality need a shutter speed of closer to four minutes or eight minutes. Without an LCD screen or a histogram, you only know for sure whether the exposure was good when you develop the film.
Digital cameras also have more tools to help you calculate the correct exposure settings (such as the histogram, and the ability to set a high ISO to take test shots).
For these reasons, long exposure photography is a relatively new genre that has only become popular in the age of digital photography.
What equipment do you need for long exposure photography?
A digital camera, a wide-angle lens, a good quality tripod and a cable release are all you need to get started. You may also like to buy neutral density filters to help you obtain longer exposures. But if you shoot in the evening when the light is low filters aren’t necessary.
For example, I didn’t use any filters with this photo, made with a shutter speed of 85 seconds after the sun had set.
What filters do you need for long exposure photography?
In landscape photography it’s conventional to use a low ISO (for the best image quality) and an aperture of f8 or f11 (for the best combination of sharpness and depth of field). That means the shutter speed is dependent on the level of ambient light. You need longer shutter speeds when you have less light to work with.
You can take control of your shutter speed with neutral density filters. Buying a set of neutral density filters with different strengths gives you a choice of filters to use. I use a set of three neutral density filters with strengths of three, six and ten stops.
Neutral density filters allow you take long exposure photos in brighter conditions than would otherwise be possible. I needed a neutral density filter to make the photo below, using a shutter speed of 180 seconds.
You can also buy graduated neutral density filters that let you darken the sky to even up the exposure. Again, it’s best to buy sets (normally one, two and three stops) to give you the flexibility to deal with different lighting situations.
Exposure blending techniques (where you take one photo for the foreground and another for the sky and blend them together) are not so practical in long exposure photography due to the long shutter speeds used.
Polarizing filters are also useful for removing glare.
What apps help you with long exposure photography?
If you were to buy just one app it would be PhotoPills (iOS and Android). It has all the tools you need, including an exposure calculator and hyperfocal distance tables. It’s a powerful app that also tells you where and when the sun will rise and set, and (for astrophotographers) the location and timing of the Milky Way.
What is the difference between long exposure photography and astrophotography?
In a practical sense there isn’t much difference because they both use fairly long shutter speeds (most astrophotographers use shutter speeds of around 15 to 20 seconds to record the stars). But they’re different genres, each with their own conventions, techniques and well-known photographers.
Why are most long exposure photos black and white?
Long exposure photography lends itself to a minimalist style of composition, and this is often best expressed in black and white. Here’s another of my favorite long exposure photos, and one that definitely has a minimalist composition.
Bodies of work
Another nice thing about black and white long exposure photography is that it helps you build up a body of work. I’ve added a set of seascapes made in northern Spain to my portfolio website called Rocks (click the link to check it out).
Learn more: How to Build a Body of Work
The mindset of long exposure photography
One of the interesting things about long exposure photography is the thoughts that run through your head when you’re waiting for the two to five minutes an exposure takes to complete. It’s a long time to be still with only your mind’s chatter for company if you’re not used to it. You may be tempted to go to your phone for distraction, but I suggest you don’t. Instead, use the time to look around and really take in the scene. Walk around and look for different compositions. Breathe in the air and enjoy the moment. This is what landscape photography is all about – being in nature and enjoying the feel of the elements on your skin.
The Black & White Landscape
Learn more about long exposure photography in my ebook The Black & White Landscape. Discover how to use expressive techniques like ICM and long exposure photography, and how to master your gear using tripods and filters to make beautiful black and white landscape photos.
