White photos on long exposure

jbrunet6 · May 16, 2016

Hi guys! I'm a 17 year old from a city nearby Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain! So, sorry for my 'bad' English. And this is my first post!

I had a Nikon D3300 for my BDay (Actually my Bday was the 15th and I got the camera on the 7th, and I like taking long exposure photos but when I try to take them to the cloudy sky the result is a white photo.

Shutter Speed: 15
Aperture: F 7
ISO: 100

The aperture doesn't matter cause always results white and the Shutter Speed the lower less white stuff.

If I try to take photos to my things like the table and this things it is less white so How Can I get great Long Exposure photos?

Thanks!

Also, its a external equipment needed to take Time Lapse? Cause it's a pity...

Thanks a lot!

Designer · May 16, 2016

First of all, your intention as a beginner should be to take photos with correct exposure. This means a good photo.

To take long exposures in the daytime you will need to purchase a filter usually called "neutral density" or "ND" filter to place on the front of your standard lens. This type of filter blocks some light, allowing a good exposure with a long exposure time. Do not purchase the cheapest one, but rather the best one you can afford. They are available in varying densities, from 1 stop to 10 stops, I think. You will probably want one in the middle range of maybe 3 stops. This will block enough light that your 1/15 second shutter speed will probably be o.k., but you will want to measure the light using your camera's light meter to find out the correct exposure.

Blind Bruce · May 16, 2016

Designer, I am confused by your reply (and the OPs question). Why not just use aperture priority and stop way down instead of a ND filter?

jbrunet6 · May 16, 2016

The question is simple. What settings should I use to take a great long exposure photo of the cloudy sky?

john.margetts · May 16, 2016

Blind Bruce said:
Designer, I am confused by your reply (and the OPs question). Why not just use aperture priority and stop way down instead of a ND filter?

Because that will result in a very short exposure. If I set my camera to ISO 100 and F/32, I need 1/25 seconds to get a decent exposure of mostly sky at 6pm in the UK - that is hardly the long exposure that the OP has asked about.

astroNikon · May 16, 2016

I assume since OP was taking a Long Exposure that OP was trying to get a blurry cloud photo.
Thus an ND would definitely help if he wants a 30 second exposure.

but then OP mentions Time Lapse, which is different from a Long Exposure.
You can mix the two. ==> Long Exposure Time-lapse Photography // Pushing The Medium | Preston Kanak - Filmmaker, Educator & Adventurer.

EDIT: oops, didn't see your latest reply.

john.margetts · May 16, 2016

Jbrunet6, you need not to use manual exposure. You need some sort of meter to get the exposure right and the meter in the camera is the best one. For what you are doing that means using shutter priority (S setting on a Nikon?), setting the slow shutter speed you want and allowing the camera to set the aperture.

Your pictures are white because you have over-exposed them by a long way - you need to rely on the camera's light meter.

jbrunet6 · May 16, 2016

I have just done that John and the result is a white photo with some buildings shapes, but a horrible photo.

john.margetts · May 16, 2016

Try the same picture on P setting. If that does not work, you have a camera problem.

astroNikon · May 16, 2016

jbrunet6 said:
I have just done that John and the result is a white photo with some buildings shapes, but a horrible photo.

Keep increasing your shutter speed until it exposes correctly (if you are in Manual mode - ie, your ISO and Aperture doesn't change).

waday · May 16, 2016

jbrunet6 said:
The question is simple. What settings should I use to take a great long exposure photo of the cloudy sky?

If you want to take long exposures to show blurry clouds, buy a neutral density (ND) filter. The "stronger", the longer the exposure you'll be able to take. The ND filter will allow you to keep your shutter open and not overexpose your image.

For example, I was able to take a 4-minute exposure of a power plant plume using a "10-stop" ND filter during sunset.

See: Plume of a local power plant - C&C

Designer · May 16, 2016

Blind Bruce said:
Designer, I am confused by your reply (and the OPs question). Why not just use aperture priority and stop way down instead of a ND filter?

I'm not sure stopping way down would be enough, and besides; as I understand the OP's question, he is wanting to make a significantly longer exposure.

This sentence from his post: "The aperture doesn't matter cause always results white.." indicates to me that he has already tried stopping way down, although he didn't say so.

dennybeall · May 16, 2016

The OP needs to explain why he wants "long exposure" photos. Folks assuming why are answering questions that the OP may not be asking.
Taking outdoor photos in the middle of the day could need as much as f11 and 250th or 500th of a second shutter if the OP wanted to capture the scene.

KC1 · May 16, 2016

Top 5 ND filters
Rankings from amateurphotographer.co.uk
Prices from Amazon USA
All provide 9 or 10 stops of darkening (Hoya is the only 9 stop filter listed here)

Lee Filters Big Stopper $150.00 4 out of 5 ****
B+W ND110 $66.61 4 out of 5 ****
Hoya NDX400 $64.99 4 out of 5 ****
Formatt Hi-Tech Pro Stop 10 $129.00 4 out of 5 ****
Tiffen ND 3.0 $24.00 5 out of 5 *****

480sparky · May 16, 2016

KC1 said:
Top 5 ND filters
Rankings from amateurphotographer.co.uk
Prices from Amazon USA
All provide 9 or 10 stops of darkening (Hoya is the only 9 stop filter listed here)

Lee Filters Big Stopper $150.00 4 out of 5 ****
B+W ND110 $66.61 4 out of 5 ****
Hoya NDX400 $64.99 4 out of 5 ****
Formatt Hi-Tech Pro Stop 10 $129.00 4 out of 5 ****
Tiffen ND 3.0 $24.00 5 out of 5 *****