Time-lapse photography is a technique used to capture a scene or event over a period of time and compress it into a short video.

This type of photography can capture a wide variety of subjects, from the growth of a plant to the construction of a building. With a good vantage point and the right camera equipment, you can capture motion at varying degrees to put a unique twist on your photography.

Time-lapse photography is an excellent way to document the progression of a project or event. To shoot time-lapse photography, all it takes is a bit of tinkering with camera settings and understanding your subject.

Also, each scene requires considerations, from calculating how many shots and the appropriate interval settings to understanding the entire sequence and having an editing workflow to piece together your final result.

This post will cover all you need to know about how to take exceptional time-lapse photographs and videos.

What Is Time-Lapse Photography?

Time-lapse photography gives the effect of speeding up time. It can capture things that happen slowly, like the changing of seasons, or it can be used to show movement, like traffic or clouds.

For example, an image of a flower opening might be captured once every ten seconds over a period of thirty minutes. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing.

Another form of time-lapse is known as “hyperlapse”, when a scene is captured at normal speed, then sped up.

The Benefits of Time-Lapse

Our human-centric life has us experiencing reality on a time scale that we’ve grown accustomed to. Our perception of reality has a set scale in which we measure time.

Months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds all mean something to each of us, but other life forms on planet earth march to the beat of a different drum, and have slower rhythms that are unobservable to the naked eye in our busy lives.

Time-lapse photography is a technique that can be used to create unique effects, such as showing the movement of stars in the night sky or the growth of a plant over time. It manipulates time and brings up to speed slow scenes into a version for our viewing pleasure.

Time-lapse can be used to put a sped-up twist on seemingly slow and boring tasks, such as waiting for traffic to clear, the construction of buildings, or watching paint dry. By using camera technology, we can observe things on a different time scale.

The Best Subjects For Time-Lapse

Many subjects work great for time-lapse photography, but some are better than others. One of the best things to photograph is a cityscape, as the hustle and bustle of everyday life can make for an exciting video. One can almost feel the pulsing of life flowing through the streets at night, or the transition from day-to-night.

Another great subject is nature, specifically sunsets or clouds. This is because they move relatively slowly, giving you plenty of time to capture them in all their glory.

Landscape: nature, travel, destinations.

Landscape time-lapse photography is particularly popular because it allows photographers to show the passage of time in a way that would not be possible with traditional photography.

For example, a photographer could use time-lapse photography to capture the changing seasons in a single video. Time-lapse photography can also capture the movement of clouds or other objects that move slowly over time.