Time-lapse Photography: Full Tutorial on Each Step of the Process

Photography Tips  •  Time-lapse Photography

With so many timelapse videos floating around the internet recently, you may be looking to create your own timelapse. Well look no further than Nathaniel Dodson‘s latest project Philly Is Ugly. Not only did Dodson spend months creating a beautiful timelpase of the city of Philadelphia, but he also took the time to create several tutorials showing the things he learned throughout the project:

The first thing Dodson discusses is the inspiration and planning that went into creating his timelapse. The idea, he says, just popped into his head. But he had never done a timelapse before so he started doing research on the subject by watching other timelapses and videos on technique. As you can see, Dodson’s video turned out pretty well for someone without any prior experience filming a timelapse:

Next, Dodson discusses framing his shots, choosing the correct settings for his camera, and using the intervalometer. If the technical aspects of capturing a timelapse are a bit confusing to you, check out this video:

The next four videos are all about post-processing and how to create your timelapse using certain software. This first one focuses on the basics of setting up your video size, frame rate, and importing your images:

Fixing color tone and making other small edits is basically the same as editing a still image. The only difference is that you will need to go through every set of images and edit one frame from each and apply the changes to all the photos in the set. Dodson shows you what tweaks and edits are most beneficial for creating a good looking timelapse:

Shooting scenes at sunrise or sunset when the light is changing dramatically and quickly can be tricky. In this video, Dodson discusses how he uses bulb ramping and how he uses post-production techniques to help keep the exposure of his shots consistent:

Perhaps one of the lesser discussed portions of creating a timelapse is rendering and exporting your series of images into their final video form (Via Fstoppers). This video covers how to create a series of video clips that you can move and edit in your timelapse:

If you haven’t gotten a good idea of the scope of creating a timelapse yet, this infographic will help you get a grasp on the immense amount of time and dedication that it takes to create one. Here are some stats from the Philly Is Ugly project:

Infographic on the amount of time and equipment it required to produce Philly is Ugly (Via endyphoto.com)

For Further Training on Timelapse Photography:

There is a COMPLETE guide (146 pages) to shooting, processing and rendering time-lapses using a dslr camera. It can be found here: The Timelapse Photography Guide