Light trails are one of my favorite things to photograph, They are so simple yet so unique. Light trails from cars on a road can create winding curving and glowing strings of light through your scene. You will get primarily red (from cars going away from you) and white (cars coming towards you).
Before we go into the settings and how to frame the shot, we first must go over a little safety.
- Always stay a safe distance from the road.
- NEVER use your flash. Not even for focusing. It could momentarily blind other motorists.
- NEVER use your flash. (Did I mention that this was very important?)
- If you park on the side of a road or an overpass, park in a safe area that will be out of the way and will not congest traffic or cause any possible accidents.
- Bring an example of what you are trying to do! Why? Most likely the local law enforcement will check to see what you are doing. They have checked on me a couple of times and always think that it is really cool!
- Don’t be stupid.
Alright. Now that we have discussed some basic safety tips, here is how to set up the exposure!
- 30 second to Bulb exposure
- f/11
- ISO 100
- Auto White Balance