Long Exposure Photography

Join Marie Joabar on the Tidal Basin and other key spots on the National Mall for a fun morning learning techniques for capturing long exposures. We'll smooth out water, blur the clouds, slow the water in fountains, practice panning, and capture some creative, abstract shots by moving the camera while exposing.

Long Exposure Photography is all about using a slow shutter speed. Since the shutter speed controls motion, we can slow it or “drag” it to blur anything that’s moving while keeping stationary subjects sharp. We can also use it for playful, creative and dramatic imagery.

We'll find plenty of opportunities and students will learn;

• How to blur moving subjects such as people walking or running, waterfalls and fountains
• How to smooth clouds 
• Panning techniques
• Camera movement for a creative and abstract look

Exposure settings for long exposure will be covered for each of the techniques

Other topics include filters to help avoid overexposure. 

• Circular Polarizers 
• Neutral Density Filters
• A Graduated or Split Neutral Density Filter

We begin at the Tidal Basin near the FDR Memorial and then head to the WWII Memorial fountains and if time, we'll end at the Lincoln Memorial. Wear comfortable shoes.

Recommended Gear:

• A DSLR or Mirrorless camera with the Manual exposure mode will work best for this type of photography.  If you're using Aperture mode we can experiment with the settings to see if that mode will work (based on your camera) If not, you will learn how to work in the manual mode for this type of shooting.
• Lenses in the range of 18mm-105mm will work well. 
• A strong, sturdy tripod with cable release or remote control trigger is a must.   
• A cIrcular polarizer and a neutral density filter. Specific Information about filters is explained in the confirmation letter.

Note: Students should have good understanding of exposure settings and know how to independently adjust the aperture, shutter and ISO on their cameras.