Today is the final class in my six-week PhotoUno Photography II course in New York City. The focus is on using Bulb Mode and understanding the difference between shooting in RAW and JPEG.
My instructor today is Romina, as I’m making up the class after missing it for work.
After reviewing the previous week’s homework—creating a photo story using thoughtfully sequenced images—we begin.
Understanding Bulb Mode
If you try to slow your shutter speed past 30 seconds, your camera may switch to Bulb Mode. This setting lets the photographer keep the shutter open for as long as they like, allowing more light into the camera. It’s ideal for capturing stars, lightning, fireworks, night scenes, and light painting.
To understand Bulb Mode, it’s helpful to revisit shutter speed basics. If you need a refresher, check out Mastering Your Camera’s Manual Mode before continuing.
Bulb Mode works especially well at night, when the absence of sunlight means you’ll need more exposure time. Stars may be bright, but they’re far away and don’t fully light up a scene. Start with a 30-second shutter and adjust from there—if your photo is too bright, shorten the exposure; if it’s too dark, lengthen it.
Tip: Longer shutter speeds increase the risk of camera shake. Use a tripod to keep your image sharp.
Tip 2: For very long exposures, you won’t want to hold the shutter down manually. Invest in a cable release for convenience and stability.
To demonstrate Bulb Mode, Romina has us set our ISO to 100 to reduce noise and our shutter speed to 30 seconds. Then we adjust our aperture. After taking a test shot, we switch to Bulb Mode and try a 60-second exposure.
Because we doubled the shutter speed, we adjust the aperture one full stop (three clicks) to reduce the light. This math was confusing at first, but the rule is: double the shutter speed, reduce one stop of light. Amazingly, both the 30- and 60-second shots have similar brightness when properly adjusted.
So, what format should you use for these kinds of shots? If you’re used to JPEG, consider switching to RAW. RAW files retain all data captured by your camera’s sensor, giving you more flexibility to correct issues later in Lightroom or Photoshop.
RAW images are also higher in quality, which is especially useful if you want to print your photos. And yes—you can always convert them to JPEG later.
Keep in mind, though, RAW isn’t a universal format. You’ll need programs like Lightroom or Photoshop to open and edit the files. Because they store more information, RAW files also take up more space on memory cards and hard drives. A cloud storage platform like SmugMug can help with this.
Once you’ve finished editing, it’s time to showcase your work. Romina suggests options like Instagram, Pinterest, WordPress, Tumblr, or SmugMug if you need more storage or want to sell your images.
Do you shoot long-exposure photography?
This post is part of an Epicure & Culture original series, Behind The Lens.
