How to Shoot and Edit a Powerful Long Exposure Seascape Photo

Few images are more iconic in landscape photography than the long exposure of water. It is about a lot more than simply throwing an ND filter on the front of your lens and going to town, however. This great video follows a photographer as he shoots and edits a long exposure of a seascape and offers a lot of helpful insights into and tips on his creative decisions and process. 

Coming to you from Gary Gough, this helpful video takes you behind the scenes as he shoots and edits a long exposure seascape image. ND filters are an essential tool in just about any landscape photographer's bag, and it is a ton of fun when you first start exploring long exposure work. Remember that there is not a single specific shutter speed for any one scene, however. Depending on what you want to create, you can do anything from reducing the surface turbulence of the water to show off the various currents to turning it into nothing but a smooth, glassy scene, which is why many landscape photographers bring along multiple ND filters of different strengths. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Gough. 

And if you really want to dive into landscape photography, check out "Photographing The World 1: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing with Elia Locardi." 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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1 Comment

Very nice images and a good tutorial. Article is misleading as the video is really about HDR, not about long exposure.

(Is it just my eyes this morning, or were the trestles not all that sharp?)