Since I started doing timelapse photography more and more, i’ve learnt a few of the tricks and things I have picked up.
For one, you need to have something interesting. For another, the gap between photos really matters. I usually use 5 seconds because it just seems right. However, want it quicker? Use a longer gap. Longer? Shorten the gap.
If you get the gap wrong, the way it looks in the end can be totally different.
As I explained in my previous post on timelapse photography, I used a plugin for Lightroom to edit the photos into 24 fps. This means I have to take enough photos, as one second of footage will include 24 of them. Self explanatory, yes, but it makes you think when you have to sit there for hours getting the shots.
I went out to Llandudno’s North Shore on Friday night, and took this of the sea going out, and light falling over the pier. You can see the light change in the sky, and the lights come on along the pier and the Grand hotel.
The problem I had with this, and a similar one I did the other day, was that I started possibly too early. It is over nearly 90 minutes, and the light changes more dramatically at the end of the video. The sea going out is dramatic, and it’s what I wanted to capture, but I also wanted to capture the sky going to dark. I think at the moment it’s going dark too late- I couldn’t stay there for much longer. Once I can get stay there for longer, it’ll be better, I hope.
To do that video, I put it on AV, underexposed the shot but keeping detail in most of the shadows, and let the exposure change with the light, to keep it fairly constant, and allow it to drag as the light went down. This is more noticeable at the end, when it was on 30″ exposures – one second is about 12-14 minutes of filming.
The same sort of thing happened with this one – same direction, but different lens and perspective. I hoped for a good sunset, but it wasn’t to be. It speeds up towards the end, then stops. I need to wait at the end for the timelapse to get a good amount of low light stuff, it seems.
Another one I did on Friday evening, which worked OK, but does seem a little boring, and short, is this:
It’s 10-20mm lens at 10mm, same as the previous one, and with 10 seconds between photographs I think.
I think I’m going to get some more down. I’m enjoying timelapse photography, and I have a few ideas of what I want to do next – it just takes time to get there, and good weather. I hope they’ll converge in the next week or so.
And finally – you want some thoughts in person on getting these done? I did an Audioboo. Enjoy.
