I’ve always wanted to try time lapse photography and on a recent trip to Lake Tahoe, I figured I had the perfect chance. With my trusty tripod and a programmable remote cord, I tried some test shots. If you’re ever curious on how to take time lapse photos, it’s fairly simple if you have the right gear. The essential items you will need will be your camera (of course), a remote timer cord, and a good tripod.
Step 1: With the camera on the tripod, ensure that the lens is flat with the horizon. Use a bubble level if you have one. Most tripods these days have a bubble level built-in so I would highly recommend you use it. I picked up a spirit bubble from Calumet Photo a while ago but since my tripod had two spirit levels built-in, I opted to use this method. You can pick up an inexpensive spirit level for a few bucks.
Step 2: Frame the shot making sure the horizon is level and true. If you’re photographing landscapes, a 30 second delay is okay. If there is much activity, I would recommend taking a shot with a 10 second interval. Meter the shot and make sure the lens is set to Manual. For this shot, I had the following settings: 1/50 @f16 and at full manual focus to prevent the AF to kick in when the light conditions change.
Step 3: Be patient. Depending on how many shots you’ve programmed your remote, that’s how long you’ll have to wait. Be careful when photographing outdoors. I used a weather proof camera and lens in this shoot. It’s easy to get to eager to try this only to find out that moisture got inside your camera and lenses.
Step 4: Once you’re finished taking the preset amount of frames, open a program like iMovie to help create the video montage. Set the video according to your liking and upload for everyone to see.
I hope this inspires you to try this really fun way to capture and edit our images. Let me know how it goes. Good luck! Click here to view the video.
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