Time Lapse Photography
This is not the greatest guide on how to do a time lapse photography sequence, but it's how I have done it in the past and it worked for me. This is also available as a pdf file in the downloads section (Not yet available).
So what do I need?
Time and paitience are key to this, if you only have twenty minutes to go and shoot then do something else as you will not be pleased at all with your results and you will not have a sequence of more than a couple of seconds. I recommend the following kit to allow you to get the best start.
- DSLR Camera - Canon, Nikon etc. with at least one lens.
- Tripod - This is ESSENTIAL to getting a good result as you need stability from one image to the next.
- Intervalometer - or at very least a remote control.
- FULLY charged battery - no point in going out only to have your camera die after a few minutes.
- 16GB + Memory card - If shooting in RAW then the bigger memory the better if shooting in jpg then still go for the highest you gace.
- Location - It's no good going to a field with one cow and a clear sky. If it hasn't got a lot going on then - RETHINK!
- A sitting place - Sounds daft but if you are on location for a couple of hours you will need to sit and rest, a blanket, stool or park bench is ideal.
- Something to do - Book, mp3 player or computer game.
- Warm Clothes - Yep you can get cold being in one place for a few hours. Unless of course you are in Southern California on a beach ...
How do I calculate how many shots, how long to shoot for and so on?
So you have a calculator and a degree in maths and physics? Nope, me neither! so all I am going to do here is post a link to a lovely little website that will calculate it all for you. Votex Media. Rule of thumb though, if you if your photo will take one second, you need a space of at least one photo every TWO seconds. or the intervalometer/camera will try to take one photo while the other one is already being taken.
On to the photography.
- LANDSCAPE. LANDSCAPE. LANDSCAPE. Yep so important I said it thrice.
My first attempt at TL I put the camera in portrait format and had to crop the image and it looked woeful. A lesson learned. - Set up your camera on your tripod ENSURE it is solid and will not move. Shift your dial into "P" (on a Canon) mode and take a photo. Why? Other guides do not say this but I will. Look at that photo if there is little to nothing going on then rethink your view. This is your benchmark photo for shutter speed, apature, ISO White balance and all the other things that go to make your photo a good or bad one.
- Dial "M" for Murder. Using the settings you got in the "P" mode photo, enter these in to your camera and press the shutter to get it focused. Turn your lens Autofocus to OFF!!! Otherwise your camera will keep trying to hunt for a sharp image and it all goes pear shaped!
- Dial in to your intervalomenter your settings i.e. one photo every two or three seconds.
- Press go.
It's now a significantly number of hours later, you have reached home, warmed up and realised that you have 2500 photos on your memory card. Connect up the card to computer and let them transfer. Go eat - you deserve it, maybe even a beer or cider.
Still to come how to make the video bit of it!