One of my favorite subjects to photograph is lightning.  Sometimes a rather nasty storm will pass over my house like this one so I'll set up the tripod and camera near the front door of my house. The technique to capture lightning is quite easy, especially late at night.  What you do is set your camera to manual focus and set the focus to infinity.  Then you set it so the aperture will stay open for 1 to 30 seconds depending on how dark it is outside. This photograph was taken with a 2 second shutter speed.  From there, all you do is keep taking pictures until the storm passes or your card runs out of room.  If you're in an active storm, usually you'll capture several lightning bolts in a few minutes.

Make sure you follow all of the lightning safety rules to avoid getting hit.  Don't wear or sit on something that's metal. Don't stand under the tallest object. Don't be the tallest object. Stay low to the ground. Don't stand in water, etc.  Wear clothing that will keep you dry, and invest in something that will keep your camera dry as well. Research lightning safety before attempting to photograph it so that you don't end up hurt.

Assuming that you remain safe, shooting lighting is very rewarding.  The amount of lightning photographs available are quite small in comparision to other types of photography, and it's a great addition to anybody's portfolio.

For more information about this lightning photograph, please view my gallery on The Lens Flare.

Tags: lightning, nature photography, photography