Shooting Long Exposures

Sometimes when shooting in low light, you will want to use a long exposure, such as when photographing fireworks, star trails (Figure 7.11), or car headlights moving down a street. For this kind of photography, a sturdy tripod is a must. It is also a good idea to use a cable release (see Chapter 3) or the self-timer to help prevent the camera shake that occurs when you press the shutter button.

Figure 7.11. To capture these star trails, I set my camera on a tripod, used a remote shutter release, and kept my shutter open for more than 10 minutes.

When your camera is stabilized on a tripod, you shouldn’t normally need to use a high ISO. Your goal should be to use a low ISO (typically from 100 to 400) to reduce noise. As we discussed in Chapter 6, a long exposure on its own can add a bit of noise to your image, so minimizing the additional noise from a high ISO is recommended.

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Utilizing the Self-Timer

Your 6D has a handy little feature that allows you to delay the shutter release for 2 or 10 seconds. This allows you to remove hand or camera shake from the equation. Whenever you use your finger to press the shutter button, you are increasing the chance that there will be a little bit of camera shake in your image. With a 2- or 10-second delay, you allow your camera time to settle before an image is captured. This is especially important if you don’t have a cable release with you.

To turn on the self-timer, press the DRIVE button on top of your camera (A) and rotate the Main dial until the self-timer icon appears in the top or rear LCD panel (B).

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