Long-exposure photography can produce astonishing results. A slow shutter speed is needed to modify the aspect of the elements in motion by adding motion blur. It is normally done with a camera on a tripod but can also be made with a drone, in this case, a DJI Mini 3 or Mini 3 Pro
Other related articles you may find useful:
- Settings for photography of the DJI Mini 3 and 3 Pro
- How to expose video and photos with the Mini 3 and 3 Pro
- DJI Mini 3 vs Mini 3 Pro photo quality
- Mini 3 and 3 Pro camera quality: how to get the best photos
- Mini 3 and 3 Pro low light and night photography
- Mini 3 and 3 Pro 48MP photo mode
- Mini 3 and 3 Pro Automatic Exposure Bracketing photo mode
- 9 tips for amazing photos with the Mini 3 and 3 Pro
If you prefer to watch this as a video, you will find my YouTube version at the end of this one
Why long-exposure photography?
The classic example is to get a soft, silky look in waterfalls or waves, but it can also be used for softening the cloud movement in a landscape, or to give an idea of motion in moving vehicles or people walking
With a camera mounted on a sturdy tripod and extreme shutter speed, it is even possible to have cars or walking people disappear from a scene, which can be useful on certain occasions
It is also possible to experiment with long-exposure photos in other situations to get creative and unexpected results, as we will see later on
Settings
Three parameters interact for exposure: the aperture, the ISO value, and the shutter speed. For long-exposure photos, it is mandatory to use manual exposure, as we must control these parameters, especially shutter speed
In the current DJI line, the Mavic 3 is the only model with a variable aperture. In the Mini 3 and 3 Pro the aperture is fixed, so we only have ISO and shutter speed to play with
The lower ISO value, 100, is the one that yields the best quality. With higher values the luminosity increases, but there is a progressive loss of image quality
In recent DJI models, the tolerance to higher ISO has improved considerably and it is possible to use an ISO value of 400 (or even 800) without a significant loss of quality
For long-exposure photography, the crucial parameter is the shutter speed
With a camera on a tripod, speeds of several seconds are often used
In most cases, the idea is to blur as much as possible the moving part of the scene, while maintaining sharpness in the still parts
With drones, a bit of extra care is needed, as a drone hovering has a small amount of drifting, therefore we cannot use extremely long shutter speed values, as we might introduce some blur in parts of the scene that are not in motion
The sweet spot for long-exposure photos with a drone is between half a second and a second, although occasionally 2 seconds can work well
ND Filters Are Needed
With a longer shutter speed, the sensor collects plenty of light. The luminosity is too high to expose correctly in full daylight and even around sunset or sunrise
This is why ND filters are needed for long-exposure photography
The filters needed are the same ones used for shooting hyperlapses, which are much stronger than the ones used for video, as for footage long shutter speed values cannot be used
The Mini 3 and 3 Pro have a wide aperture of f1.7, which gathers a lot of light, therefore even stronger ND filters are needed
More detail on Why and how to use ND filters with the Mini 3 and 3 Pro in my article
I strongly suggest avoiding the central hours of a sunny day, as the shadows are way too dark and the results are always disappointing both for video and photos, much better to use the first couple of hours after sunrise, the two hours around sunset, or when clouds cover the sun for much softer shadows
Static Drone
In drone photography, we think about shots taken from a high point of view with the aircraft flying
But a drone can be used like a ground-based camera, without activating the propellers
Just find a level surface to place the drone: the floor, a table, a low wall, or a bus. We can even get organized to use it with a tripod and the good news is that we save battery time
When the aircraft is placed on a solid surface we can use very long shutter speed values and take advantage of countless opportunities for great long-exposure photos, especially in urban environments
Hyperlapses
The exposure settings for long exposure photography are practically the same as for time-lapses and hyperlapses, as in both cases we want to create motion blur, in other words, we want to blur the moving elements
A way to get stunning long-exposure photography is to take a time-lapse or a hyper-lapse, then scroll through the short movie frame by frame and select one or more images
Then we go back to the specific photo file and edit it
Further down, I will show plenty of examples of long-exposure photos made using this technique to get the most exciting images out of a sequence
I have published a specific article about Moton blur, the most important factor in time lapses and in long exposure photography
More details about Hyperlapses with the Mini 3 Pro are in my specific article
Vertical Long-Exposure Photos
The Mini 3 and Mini 3 Pro can rotate the camera to take vertical video and photos. After a recent update, the Pro model can even take vertical hyperlapses
This opens up new possibilities for creative long-exposure photos and it is also useful for users active on social media platforms like Instagram, Tik Tok, or YouTube shorts
Special Effects
With the Mini 3 or other drones, it is possible to get some unusual long-exposure shots to create unexpected effects
With a strong ND filter on, experiment with shutter speeds between one and two seconds by flying towards a target forward, backward, or even sideways for different effects
The blurring effect is much more pronounced when flying at a lower altitude, closer to the ground
Another variation is to turn the camera down for a top-down shot and take photos while descending and ascending. It can be great fun!
Examples
And now a few examples of long exposure shots, some made with a drone, others with a ground-based camera