How to Shoot a Lightning Timelapse Without Missing a Strike

Combining timelapse and lightning photography used to mean choosing one or the other. You’d either run your intervalometer and hope a bolt landed in-frame, or sit and trigger manually until your hand cramped.

Modern lightning camera triggers can do both — and do it right.

1. Understand your intervals

For storm timelapses, you’ll usually want 2–5 seconds between exposures. That keeps the clouds moving smoothly without jumping across the frame.

2. Integrate lightning detection

If your trigger can run timelapse and lightning detection simultaneously, you’re in the sweet spot. Bolt Hunter was designed for this: it monitors lightning activity even between exposures, so strikes don’t get lost while your camera is busy saving the previous frame.

3. Exposure settings

• Aperture: f/4–f/8

• ISO: 200–800

• Shutter: 1–2 seconds during brighter conditions, up to 10–15 seconds at night.
  Adjust intervals to match changing light; most storms shift quickly from dusk to full darkness.

4. Stability and framing

Use a sturdy tripod and consider a small sandbag to reduce wind vibration. Keep horizons level — you’ll thank yourself later in post-production.

5. Backup power

Timelapses can last for hours. External batteries or power banks keep both your camera and trigger running when the show really gets going.

Capturing both the structure of the storm and the lightning within it is one of the most satisfying ways to document severe weather. It tells the story of motion, not just the moment.