If you’re thinking of taking a picture of lightning, it’s advisable to set up your device’s camera manually. Here’s how to do it
It is said that the main skill a true photographer must have is to capture the moment. Moment that is sometimes really hard to capture. Let’s think about how complicated it is to take a picture of lightning. Especially, then, if we try to do it with a simple smartphone.
Tranquil, in the end it is not so impossible. It is enough, in fact, to put into practice some tricks. Let’s start with a fundamental point. Trying to capture lightning is not only not child’s play (from a photographic point of view), but it is very dangerous. If you have decided to try, be careful. Make sure you’re at a safe distance from the storm and, most importantly, take cover. Having taken the right precautions, let’s go back to the technical aspect, trying to understand what to do to take a good picture of lightning with a smartphone. The first quality required, of course, is to be good at recognizing the right opportunity and be ready to press the shutter before it’s too late.
Manually configuring the camera
Having said that, let’s move on to the most important step: configuring the smartphone’s camera. The following tips can be applied to any device, regardless of its manufacturer or operating system. If you are going to capture a “lightning bolt”, it is a good idea to change the default settings well in advance.
Flash and sensitivity
Let’s start with the flash. You don’t need it to take a picture of lightning. Next, let’s move on to sensitivity, a characteristic also known as speed and which determines, in simple terms, how bright the lightning will be in the shot. The advice in this case is to choose the value ISO200.
Shutter Time and Focus
The shutter time, i.e. the time span in which the sensor remains exposed to light, should be configured to 8 seconds. It is also essential to keep the smartphone stable, avoiding sudden movements. As for the focus, it must be manual.
White Balance and Timer
To take a picture of lightning, there is no single value regarding the white balance. It depends on everyone’s preferences. You should also pay attention to the timer, which is the time that elapses from the moment you press the button on the camera and the shot is taken. It should be set to 3 seconds. This will avoid blurring due to movement.
Image format
At this point, before you set out in search of the “perfect storm”, it’s important to choose the format in which to save your photos. The best is RAW, which keeps the image quality better and is more suitable for editing.
Watch out for sounds
Last but not least: disable sounds and vibrations. Why? Imagine if just when you press the shutter, after hours of waiting, a message arrives. The photo would be ruined forever.