Step by step camera, lens & filter setup

Here’s how to get set up for capturing long exposures of day-time scenes

01 wide view

I’m using a Canon EF 16-35mm, so the sky and water surrounding the castle fit into my frame. The wideangle focal length (24mm here on my full-frame Canon EOS 6D Mk II) along with a narrow aperture of f/16, gives me enough depth of field to ensure the whole castle scene is sharp.

02 shake-free shots

Because I’ll be using a very slow shutter speed, I’m using a tripod for shake-free shots on my Canon DSLR, plus a remote control to fire the exposure. Note that you will need a remote control if your exposures are over 30 secs, as that’s the longest shutter speed available in Manual/tv mode.

03 king of the castle

I’ll be focussing on the castle in my frame as this is what you want to appear sharpest. You can select an AF point that sits over the castle in the viewfinder to focus, but I find as I’m using a tripod, Live View is much easier – I can then zoom in on the screen and manually focus my lens until the castle is pin sharp.

04 motion-blur magic

I’m using a 10-stop ND filter for a really long exposure during the day, which will add movement to clouds in skies and any water in your scene. In Manual mode, with an aperture of f/16 and ISO to 100 – even in sunny day-time conditions, with a 10-stop ND filter, I can achieve a slower shutter speed of 20 secs.