• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

DIGITAL PHOTO MENTOR

Photography tips, tutorials and guides for Beginner and Intermediate Photographers.

  • Start Here
  • Photography Basics
    • Beginner Photography Tutorials
    • Free Photography Basics for Beginners Course
  • Photography Articles
    • Beginner Photography Tutorials
    • Photography Challenges
    • Photography Tips
      • Portrait Photography
        • Flash Photography
      • Night Photography
      • Street Photography
      • Photo Editing
      • Landscape Photography
      • Macro Photography
      • Photoshop Tutorials
      • Photography Equipment
  • Courses
    • Luminar Neo: The Complete Course
    • Lightroom Classic for Photographers
    • HDR Photography the Right Way!
    • Photoshop for Photographers
    • Portrait Photography Fundamentals
  • Private Tutoring
  • Store
    • Photography Courses
    • DPM Photography Community
    • Sky Replacements
    • Bokeh Overlays
    • Texture Overlay
    • Lightroom Presets
    • Bundles
  • DPM Community
  • Login
  • Photography Basics
    • Beginner Photography Tutorials
    • Free Photography Basics for Beginners Course
  • Photography Tips
    • Portrait Photography
      • Free Portrait Photography Key Concepts Course
      • Flash Photography
    • Night Photography
    • Street Photography
    • Travel Photography
    • Landscape Photography
    • Macro Photography
    • Photography Equipment
  • Photo Editing
    • Luminar Tutorials
    • Lightroom Tutorials
    • Photoshop Tutorials
  • Photography Challenges
    • Photography Challenges E-Book
  • Gallery
  • Resources
    • Free Basics for Beginners Course
    • Free Portrait Photography for Beginners Course
    • Lightroom Presets
    • Webinars
    • YouTube Channel
  • Freebies

Long Exposure Photography

Long exposure photography is a technique that uses a slow shutter speed to create captivating effects such as:

Long exposure photography example showing car trails at night in New York City

  • Car Trails
  • Star Trails
  • Moving Clouds
  • Waterfalls & Smoothing Water

You can even use a long shutter speed to make people disappear, such as when photographing popular tourist locations.

There are several techniques to achieve these effects, and we have a selection of articles to guide you through everything you need to know about long exposure photography.

Home / Long Exposure Photography

Light Painting Experiments to Improve Your Photography

June 4, 2020 by Matt Chesebrough

In this article, through a couple of different experiments you’ll learn the basics of light painting and explain some of the science going on behind the scenes in this unique long exposure photography technique.

Long Exposure Techniques for Creating Interesting Effects

April 17, 2019 by Daniel Korzeniewski

Locking your shutter open for an extended period of time can result in some really cool shots. Long exposure techniques can be used for things like car light trails, smoothing out water in waterfalls, rivers, etc, and can make clouds look like they’re moving and streaking across the sky. When needed, you can even make people disappear from your shot. Here’s how to pull of each of these long shutter speed techniques.

How to Create LONG exposures with a Neutral Density Filter

October 21, 2015 by Jim Hamel

Shot of the Golden Gate Bridge from Baker Beach using a Neutral Density filter

If you’ve ever wanted to master the art of long exposure photography, taking photos measured in full seconds or multiples of seconds, you’ll need to know more about the Neutral Density Filter. Guest author Jim Hamel goes through selecting a ND filter and then the 5 steps to mastering it. Used properly, camera filters and the 10-stop ND filter will allow you to achieve effects that are not possible to add in post-processing. It will add a real “wow” factor to your photos especially when there is water, clouds, or moving lights involved

How to Create a Long Exposure Look Using Photoshop

September 7, 2015 by Darlene Hildebrandt

In this article by guest author Serge Ramelli learn how to create a fake long exposure look to your waterfall or other images using Photoshop. He walks you through step by step with screenshots or you can also watch the video. Some great tips you can apply to other things too.

Long Exposure Photography – New Monthly Challenge

June 3, 2015 by Darlene Hildebrandt

Challenge yourself this month to do some long exposure photography – 10 seconds or longer. There are tips for success and example images included in the article – read on for more on how to participate and enter to win a prize.

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Digital Photo Mentor Community

online photography community

Learn, share, and feel supported!

Join our friendly photo community for kind feedback, monthly challenges, and live help from Darlene — safe, private, and troll-free.

Search

Top Beginner Articles

  • Is Luminar Neo the Best Beginner Photo Editing Software?
  • Avoid these 9 beginner photography mistakes
  • 7 Tips for Beginner Photographers
  • Top 15 Photography Accessories under $25
  • How to choose the best digital camera for you
  • 5 Photography Ideas for When There's Nothing Interesting to Shoot
  • 5 mistakes beginner photographers make while using a wide angle lens and how to avoid them
  • 9 Tripod Mistakes Ruining Your Images and Putting Your Camera at Risk
  • How to Use a Flash - Tips for Total Beginners

Top Intermediate Articles

  • 10 Camera Settings and Equipment Tips for Portrait Photography
  • Best Photo Editing Software Reviewed
  • How to Use a Gray Card for Custom White Balance and Metering
  • Night Photography Settings – Guide to Getting the Best Exposure
  • To HDR or Not - When and If You Should Use HDR
  • Night Photography Settings - Guide to Getting the Best Exposure
  • Setting up a Good Digital Photography Workflow - Dos and Don'ts
  • Lightroom Alternative: Is Luminar the answer?

Recent Photography Articles

  • What is Quality of Light in Photography and How to Use it to Take Better Photos
  • How to Fix Masking Halos in Luminar Neo with Feather and Shift Edge
  • Taking Candid Photos at Home – 6 Tips for Capturing Memories
  • Top 9 Settings to Reset on your Camera After Every Use
  • Can Mindfulness Make Your Photos Better?

Useful Links

  • Beginner Photography
  • Intermediate Photography
  • Photography Challenges
  • Photography Tips
  • Photo Editing
  • Resources
  • Course Login
  • Workshops
  • Webinars
  • Contact

Copyright © 2026 Digital Photo Mentor · Privacy Policy · Cookie Policy · Disclaimer · Terms of Service · Privacy Settings

Review My Order

0

Subtotal

Taxes calculated at checkout

Checkout
0

Notifications