With fireworks, you have a good idea of where and when the flash will take place. With lightning, the flash is more hit and miss. Here are some tips for shooting good lightning photos.
Have some patience. Because of the unpredictability of lightning strikes, this type of photography requires plenty of patience. It may take several shots, or even several storms, to capture the look you want. Also, take some time when the weather is clear to scout out a few locations that will give you a clear view of the sky and horizon when the storms begin.
Use a tripod or other flat surface to steady the camera. You'll have to use longer shutter speeds at night, so a steady camera is important.
Use manual control settings to open the shutter for a long time. The chances of you pressing the shutter button at just the right time to capture the quick lightning strike are small. If you're having trouble with your timing, set your camera's shutter speed to 15 or 30 seconds, which you can do manually with many cameras. Then open the shutter and hope for a lightning strike in the frame.
Use remote controls. Using a remote bulb to trigger the shutter can help. You then won't risk a slightly blurred photo from camera shake by pressing the shutter button with the long shutter opening. You can use wired or wireless shutter remotes, depending on your brand of camera. Before purchasing a remote, make sure it will work with your brand and model of camera.
Don't forget other objects. Obviously, most of the frame for your photos when shooting lightning will be of the sky. However, you can add some interesting aspects to your photos with some other objects in the image. For example, shooting lightning over a body of water can create an interesting effect of the lightning reflecting off the darkened water surface. Or, if you have a tall tree or interesting man-made structure in the foreground that will become visible from the light generated by the lightning, that can create an interesting effect, too.
Avoid other lights. With a long shutter opening and by shooting at night, any other lights -- street lights, headlights, etc. -- in the area where you're shooting will be especially noticeable in your final photo. Try to select an area free of other lights. If that won't work, try to frame the photo so the extra lights are at the edges and won't detract from the lightning.
Use some post-production tricks. Surely, you've seen the lightning photos that contain multiple strikes in one frame, ones that don't look like they could possibly have occurred naturally. They almost certainly haven't. Instead, because you're probably shooting the lightning photos in a constant location with a tripod, you'll have multiple images with the same basic background, with varying lightning strikes in each image. You can try combining the multiple images into one image in post-production, creating a look with multiple strikes in one frame.
Watch out for the storms. Finally, it's extremely important to make sure you stay safe when near any thunderstorms. Keep a weather radio with you, so you can track the movement of the storm. Losing your equipment to rain or high wind would be an unfortunate ending to your lightning photography experience ... as would an injurious lightning strike. If you can hear thunder, the lightning is getting close enough that you could be struck by the next lightning bolt. Click the link below to read though lightning safety tips from the National Weather Service, and follow those lightning safety tips when trying to shoot lightning photos.
