Taking a time-lapse is a complex task. Unlike a photo, which you can chimp and (usually) retake, retaking a time-lapse is not as trivial. This is why understanding how time-lapses work and how to take them is crucial before going out on the field.
This tutorial by Mark Gee (previously) is a full crash course on time-lapses taking you from planning through setting up, doing the actual capture, post processing and exporting. Mark is using Photopills for planning and a Syrp Ginie + Magic Carpet for moving the camera, but the principles apply to time-lapses taken using any gear. Hit the jump for a full video and clickable TOC.
In the field:
- 0:49 – Location Scouting – Mobile Apps | Composition
- 3:03 – Camera setup – Image Quality | Shutter | Aperture | ISO | Focus
- 4:33 – How to avoid star trailing
- 5:27 – Setup the Genie – Rec Time | Interval | Play Time
- 6:29 – How the interval works
- 7:43 – Setup the movement – Movement length | Ease in / out
Post Production:
- 8:20 – Introduction and workflow setup
- 10:32 – Color adjustments and neutralising the image
- 11:32 – Lens Correction
- 12:20 – Set black and white points
- 13:20 – Color adjustment – Clarity | Tone Curve
- 16:30 – Local Sky Adjustments – Graduated Ramp
- 19:37 – Technical Clean-up – Noise Reduction | Artifact clean up
- 22:47 – Sync color adjustments to all images
- 24:22 – Export all images to LR Timelapse
- 26:08 – Export out a movie from LR Timelapse – Codec | Output size
[Tutorial: How to setup a motion star timelapse | Mark Gee]
