"Light Trail Shots"

When I was fooling around with my camera, I tried to capture the light trails created from the lights in my room. It was great training to know how to use the camera manually and to experiment with shooting in low light at longer exposures. You do not need a particular type of camera but just a camera that allows for the controlling of the exposure shutter speed. There are no perfect aperture and shutter speed settings to capture a light trail because the result will be different every time. However, I’ve found that usually shooting at shutter speeds between 5 seconds to 10 seconds and 1600-2400 ISO work most of the times. If it does not work, try a few test shots to see how the exposure works. You will figure it out easily. Also, do not worry about the blurriness and the lack of focus because you are not taking a picture of a specific object so it does not matter whether the exposure is long or short. The next thing you have to consider is the timing. There is no right or wrong way to time your shot. Hitting the shutter and releasing it can create a lovely unbroken line – but sometimes shooting with shorter exposure times while the camera is in the frame can be effective also. Once again it’s about experimenting with different timings and seeing what effects it produces. It is not difficult to take it unless you know the timing of the light and the setting. Once you know how to take the light trail pictures, try creative perspectives, angles, and locations. You may feel that I am being vague with my words, but in the end, personal experience will be the best teacher.

The next few pictures are my highschool house party pictures.