Long exposure Nikon d5100 howto?

[TheSiege]

All I want to do is take a long exposure photo of my kids using sparklers, but I have no idea how. I know I need to keep the shutter open longer, but I have no idea how to do it, or where in the menu to do it. Someone please help

 

[Syborg1211]

Put the camera in S mode (Shutter priority). Now the scroll wheel at the upper right on the back of the cam controls shutter speed. The " symbol means seconds so when it says 3" that's a 3 second exposure. If it just says 3 with no " it means 1/3 of a second. Tripod highly recommended, if not required, for long exposures.

 

[iGas]

Set ISO speed to Low or 100 ISO, and Shutter priority up to 30s, or close the Aperture to f22 or f16. Or, Manual mode and select your shutter and aperture speed independently.

 

[Railgun]

How long of an exposure do you want? What are you trying to do exactly.

There are many ways to go about a long exposure but if you're looking for something specific there may be a better way to accomplish it.

 

[CuriousMike]

Shutter Speed matters, but so does aperture.

Both of these had the ShutterSpeed at 5 seconds.

f/5.6 -- Notice how the background is diminished

f/3.3 -- Notice how more background is seen

 

[iGas]

Shutter Speed matters, but so does aperture.

Both of these had the ShutterSpeed at 5 seconds.

f/5.6 -- Notice how the background is diminished

f/3.3 -- Notice how more background is seen

What is the ISO setting?

 

[CuriousMike]

The ISO was 500 in both ( I don't remember setting ISO... hmm.)

Anyhow, if you don't have an EXIF viewer for your browser, I strongly suggest installing one. They're really useful.