How to Take Long Exposure Landscape Photos

One of the most popular techniques in landscape photography is the long exposure, which allows you to really add your creative take on a scene. However, it takes more than just using a longer shutter speed to create a compelling final result. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to create a long exposure photograph. 

Coming to you from Michael Shainblum, this excellent video tutorial will show you how to create a long exposure landscape image. To start, you will need an ND filter, which reduces the amount of light entering the lens, allowing you to use a longer shutter speed, thus blurring things like water and clouds. As you will see in the video, this then means you have to reconsider your composition a bit. The longer exposure will often reveal hidden flows that are not visible to the naked eye, and such flows can act as lines that lead the viewer's eye into or out of the image, making them a powerful compositional tool. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Shainblum. 

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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2 Comments

I love the cloud shots with tree tops but I found that dot in the middle too distracting. That’s all I would look at.

Really great tutorial, picked up some good tips. Thanks!