5 TIPS FOR SHOOTING TIMELAPSE VIDEOS

For me, Timelapses truly reveal a new angle of the world. TLs can reveal a new beauty to God's already amazing creation!

Here is one of my motion timelapse reels.

The gear you will need:
   - Camera
   - Tripod
   - Intervalometer
   - Memory card (obviously!!)

TIP 1: Decide how long you want the final TL to be (clip length). Decide the duration of the actual time you want to capture (record duration). Divide that time into how many frames will be required for your final product (frame rate). (Ex. For a 10 second TL at 30fps, you need to shoot 300 pictures. If your record duration was 30 minutes, your interval between shots would be 6 seconds).  There are good TL calculator apps available in the App Store (Kessler and timelapsical) as well on Google Play (TimeLapse! Calculator). 

TIP 2: Steady. Be sure you have a good steady tripod and that the camera won't move or shift (even from the wind). If you have a lightweight tripod, try hanging your backpack on the tripod (make sure it doesn't blow in the wind).

TIP 3: Motion blur. Shooting with a slower shutter speed will help blend each shot together and give a smoother final product.

TIP 4: If you are shooting fast moving subjects, like cars or people, try using an interval between 2-4 seconds. If you are shooting clouds, depending on how fast they are moving and how fast you want them to move in the TL, use a 5-10 sec interval. It also depends on how tight you are on the clouds. A tight shot should have a shorter interval.

TIP 5: Motion TL. The trick with a motion TL is all about consistency. You want to move the camera the same distance between each picture for the entire duration.

I prefer shooting my sequences in RAW. This give me much greater latitude in post to edit my pictures and create a more please dynamic range in my TLs.

I would love to answer any questions you have or see TLs that you've shot...even if it is your first one!!