Build your confidence when shooting cave photography!
If you are reading this, then chances are you’ve had the same experience as me!
You’ve been in a cave, whether it was a guided tour or you while doing some solo exploring, and just can’t get the pictures to turn out. They are either too dark, the flash drowns out the natural colors, or most of the pictures are just plain blurry.
If you are in a commercial cave then the lighting will typically be better but there still remains plenty of opportunities. Let’s start with the basics!
What equipment do I need for cave photography?
A tripod - the tripod is a must! With cave photography you will need to have longer shutter speeds to reduce the noise of the picture and still collect enough light to properly expose it.
Remote shutter - this is essential to make a crystal clear photo. If you don’t have a remote, you can use the timer setting on your camera if it is equipped with that feature.
Wide field of view lenses - caves are notorious for having a wide range of lengths and widths which makes it a challenge to capture the perfect shot. I carry two main lenses in my set up obviously you will need to see what works best for you. My lenses are a 10-22mm lens and an 18-55mm lens.
Obviously a good camera - you don’t need a super high end camera to take amazing photos but, you definitely need one that has a manual setting. When it comes to cave photography you will need to be able to control 3 settings ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.
A means to carry your equipment - I have a wide selection of bags and each one has their purpose. The one I carry the most is a 37 litter backpack. This size holds all my equipment, drinks and snacks (I do take my kids with me when I work), and whatever else I need. I also have smaller and larger bags depending on my estimated time out shooting and complexity of the shoots.
What settings do you need when shooting cave photography?
When it comes to low light shooting ISO, shutter speed, and aperture all play a roll in capturing the perfect exposure. Let’s dig in to what each one does
ISO - this setting digitally enhances the light of the photography. ISO settings can range from 50 - 50,000. This may sound great on paper being able to crank up a setting and capture low light images but, one major consideration to keep in mind is that the higher the ISO the higher the noise in the picture. The higher the noise the lower the quality.
Shutter speed - this setting is exactly what it says. The speed at which the shutter stays open. The longer the shutter stays open the more light is allowed to enter the sensor increasing the brightness in low light photos. This also amplifies movement making it virtually impossible to do long exposure photographs handheld. The quicker the shutter speed the better you can capture moving objects. This also reduces the light the sensor is able to pick up making photos darker.
Aperture - aperture is designated by an f-number. The lower the f number the more out of focus the back ground will be in a picture making what is in focus pop out. The higher the f number the more the entire scene is in focus.
I chose to keep my ISO around 400-640, my aperture around an f8 - f11, and shutter speed between 3 - 8 seconds. This combination of settings produced these results.
Immerse yourself in the Virtual Tour Here!
