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Mobile Photography: Light Trails Tutorial

Using the Show Shutter Cam app to improve your long-exposure photography

By Brad Puet Brad Puet Writer Washington State University. Brad Puet has written for the Huffington Post and other outlets about music and photography. His commercial photography has appeared in the Washington Post, VICE, and Slate. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on July 12, 2021 Reviewed by Jessica Kormos Reviewed by Jessica Kormos Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email

In This Article

Expand Jump to a Section Step-by-Step: Take Your Shot How Does the App Do That? Practice and Play About Light Trail Photos This article describes how to use Slow Shutter Cam to shoot light-trail photos on your smartphone.

Taking Your Shots

Here's how to use Slow Shutter Cam to capture your first light-trails image: Turn the mobile phone's camera flash off. Launch Slow Shutter Cam and give it access to your camera, if prompted. Tap Settings in the Slow Shutter Cam app. It resembles a gear. Tap Light Trail in the Capture Mode section. Move the Shutter Speed slider to the right until it says bulb. This setting lets you control when the shutter opens and closes manually. Select a setting for Light Sensitivity and ISO. Until you become more familiar with the app and light trails, select a midrange setting for each. Place the phone on a tripod or stable surface, and frame the image. Tap the Shutter button to start capturing. Tap the Shutter button again to stop capturing. Tap Save.

How Does the App Do That Anyway

Slow Shutter Cam takes a series of long-exposure photos in rapid succession and stitches them together into a single image showing the continuous trail of light. This is why keeping your camera steady and still is important. Ideally, the shots link or overlap at the same point within the frame so that the result looks like a single shot.

Practice and Play

Because you must activate and deactivate the shutter manually, you need to develop a feel for how long to wait between these two actions. When you photograph cars, for example, leave the shutter open as long as it takes a car in the distance to pass your phone to capture a full trail. When using the long-exposure setting to shoot something like a flickering fire, use a shorter exposure time. Part of the fun of long-exposure photography is experimenting to find the settings that yield the most impressive images of various subjects.

About Light Trail Photography

At the most general level, light-trail photos capture movement in a still image. The light of the moving object is the focus and creates a trail across the frame. Such photos can be exceptionally beautiful and interesting. Download Slow Shutter Cam for iOS Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire Shoot Long Exposure Pictures on an iPhone Using Slow Shutter Cam How to Use Google Pixel Night Sight How to Photograph Running Water With a DSLR How to Use the Motorola Camera App What Is Burst Mode and How to Use It How to Take a Selfie on iPhone How to Have Success With Crowd Photography How to Sideload the Google Camera App Onto Your Phone The 10 Best Photo Apps for iPhone Snow Photography Tips: Improve Winter Photography How to Set a Timer on an iPhone Camera DSLR Autofocus vs. Manual Focus Mastering Shutter Priority Mode on Your DSLR How to Use the iPhone Camera How to Take Better Sunset Photos With an iPhone The 10 Best Camera Apps for iPhone in 2022 Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies