Photographing lightning: a beginner’s guide for camera users

An open view of the sky helps, but do not choose an exposed hilltop, tower or other unprotected position. A lone tree, open shelter or tent will not protect you from lightning either. Plan your shot so you do not have to set up outside or wait for another flash when the storm is close.

As soon as you hear thunder, stop shooting outdoors and go into a substantial building or a fully enclosed vehicle with a metal roof. Stay there for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder. Keep the car windows closed. Fewer flashes, easing rain or a weather app do not mean it is safe. Actively intercepting storms is not a good first step when you are learning the camera technique. National Weather Service lightning safety guidance.

Point the camera towards the part of the sky where you can see lightning. A slightly wider frame gives you more room if the next flash appears elsewhere. A suitable foreground is nice, but you cannot always find one on location. There is no need to move to a less safe position for a more elaborate composition.

Focus manually on something far away. In the dark, infinity is a starting point, not a guarantee of a sharp image. If you can see a distant light or a clear edge of a building, use the viewfinder or screen magnification to check focus there. With an ND1000 filter, this is usually easier before you fit the filter. Check the focus again afterwards and do not let the camera hunt for focus with every shot. Guidance on manual focus for lightning photographs.

Pressing the shutter button can briefly shake the camera on its tripod. Use a remote release if you have one. Otherwise, a short self-timer delay helps. The Sony a6600 has a two-second timer for this. It gives the camera a moment to settle after you press the button. A shot taken without a remote is not automatically blurred. Sony a6600: self-timer.

A lightning trigger differs from an ordinary remote release: it detects a rapid change in brightness and sends a shutter signal to the camera. This can be especially useful in daylight. Focus and exposure still have to be right beforehand. The trigger, cable and camera must be compatible, and even then it will not catch every flash.

Zoom in on a shot on the camera screen. Check whether fixed outlines are sharp, whether the lightning retains detail and whether raindrops cover the front element. Change just one setting at a time if you can. That way you can see what the change did. You may need new test shots as the ambient light changes.

In long exposures, I often like wind turbines less than I do with the naked eye. Their blades keep moving and become blurred or appear as smeared shapes. The red warning lights can stand out in the picture. That is not a camera fault. If this effect does not suit the image, try a different frame if you can do so from your chosen location.

1. Check the weather and where you can take shelter. Do not photograph outdoors when you can hear thunder.
2. Set up the camera securely, choose your frame and focus manually.
3. At night, start with a low ISO, around f/8 and a suitable exposure time. Adjust after a test shot.
4. Use a remote release or a short self-timer delay.
5. Zoom in on successful shots and check sharpness, lightning and background separately.

You can find more of my storm drives and weather reports in the Stormchasing.

The photos come from my archive and were retouched with AI assistance; some details may therefore differ from the originals. They illustrate this guide and are not intended for technical analysis of lightning paths. The camera settings given here are starting values, not EXIF data from these photos. The two diagrams explain the principles schematically.

Updated: 27 October 2026.