Sharing some time-lapse tutorials

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If you’re a kinesthetic learner like me, you’ll skip the reading and go straight to YouTube to learn anything you need to know.  YouTube really is the place learn almost anything.

I thought about doing my own tutorial on how to make a time-lapse, but that’s too involved and others have covered it all anyway.  Instead, I wish to share some of my favorite tutorials and bookmarks that I’ve accumulated.  The trick however is to decipher who is worth listening to, and so I’ve aimed to do that for you.

All you need to know on how to make an award winning time-lapse is out there already.  There’s a plethora of tutorials on how to make a time-lapse with very little gear through to adding special effects in post production.

In my opinion, there is no one way that’s correct for processing.  It’s whatever works for you.  There’s more than one way to skin a cat and various knives to do it, but it’s the end result (your production) that counts.  Be advised, my blog is not so much about composition and framing your shot.  It’s more about workflow and picking up on the essentials, or applying some techniques you need.  Workflow is something that is unique to you and comes down to what you’re using, i.e. camera, intervalometer, computer, software and more.  These tutorials give you the foundations and skills which many of them have in common. It’s great that people are willing to share their knowledge and many of them give it FOR FREE!

Starting out

Ramping and day to night (referred to as the Holy Grail of time-lapse)

Milky Way

Hyperlapse

With gimbals, this process is rather easy.  But without, you can doa timelapse this way but it does involve a lot of time and a computer and software to stablise your footage.  The results are really are great if you put in the effort.

Hyperzoom

Processing 

It’s true that more time is spent behind the screen making a time-lapse. In some cases it can be days or even months.

Effects

Tips, dos and don’ts

One thing Preston Kanak (see tutorial above) and Enrique Pacheco agree on is foreground items like grass or trees that are considered distracting.

HDR time-lapse

The latest Sony cameras and a handful of other cameras has almost negated the need for shooting bracketed frames and using high dynamic range software.  Follow Michael Shainblum’s advice and don’t pull the shadow slider up too much as it will likely introduce flicker.

Free stuff

Time-lapse Network

If you’re needing a place to look for further information, or to learn more from other experienced time-lapse photographers, then do visit the Time-lapse network.  It’s a great resource and also has heaps of tutorials.

 

There you go !  There’s a lot more out there obviously, but I hope this proves useful as a repository for all you need to know, particularly if you’re starting out.

Stephen Patience is also a time-lapse photographer.  He has twice been a finalist in the New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year competition. In 2017, he was awarded ‘winner’ of the Panasonic-Lumix time-lapse category. Stephen’s work has been published in various forms, seen on TV, and used in other international film media.