Remote shutter release

Learning goal

You will be able to recognize the ways of shooting without touching the camera, and decide which one to choose in which situation. You will explain why the finger pressing the shutter button shakes a camera on a tripod; you will compare the strengths and weaknesses of the self-timer, wired and wireless remotes, and phone apps; you will use bulb mode with a remote for exposures longer than thirty seconds; you will set up a sequence of frames for a time-lapse with interval shooting; and when using a remote in a group photo or in your own portrait, you will check with a test frame that everyone's face, on every skin, is exposed correctly.

The question

You are in front of a highland house on a clear night. First you want to set the camera on the tripod and make a two-minute exposure in which the stars will leave streaks across the sky; the camera, though, allows at most thirty seconds. Then you want to take a group photo of your friends sitting around the fire, and be in the frame yourself. You set the ten-second self-timer and run, but when you sit down in your place everyone is looking at you, no one is laughing, and the moment is gone.

How do I shoot without touching the camera? A remote, a cable or an app on your phone can solve both of these problems: going beyond thirty seconds without shaking the camera, and catching the moment without standing at the camera. In this lesson we will talk about the ways of shooting remotely, where each of them is useful, and what to watch for when shooting from inside a group.

Context

On the windy bridge and on the seaside rocks, we set the camera on a sturdy tripod and used the self-timer instead of pressing the shutter button with a finger. Because even on the sturdiest tripod, the finger pressing the shutter button gives the camera a small jolt, and the first moments of a long exposure record this shake. Not touching the camera is the last step in keeping the steadiness the tripod gives.

Shooting remotely isn't only about shake. It also lets you choose the right moment while waiting away from the camera, step into your own photo, control long times by hand, and shoot a sequence of frames lasting hours by itself. Which tool to choose depends on which of these jobs is needed.

Simple explanation

When is the self-timer enough?

The self-timer inside the camera takes the shot a few seconds after you press the shutter button; most cameras have two- and ten-second options. A two-second self-timer is enough for the shake left by the finger to die down when photographing a landscape or a product on a tripod, and it needs no extra tool. A ten-second self-timer, on the other hand, gives you time to get yourself into the frame.

The self-timer's limit is that it can't choose the moment. The shot is taken a set time after you press, with whatever is in the scene at that moment. The moment a wave crashes against a rock, the moment a bird lands, or the moment a group laughs together doesn't follow the self-timer's clock. Some cameras can take several frames in a row with the self-timer; this raises the chance of catching a frame in which everyone's eyes are open in a group, but you still don't choose the moment.

What do a remote and a phone app change?

A remote shutter release gives choosing the moment back to you. Wired remotes connect to the camera with a cable; they need no battery and are reliable, but you can only move as far away as the cable is long. Wireless remotes come in two kinds: an infrared remote has to see a small receiver on the front or back of the camera, and may not work when it is behind the camera or far from it; remotes that work with radio waves, on the other hand, don't need a line of sight and can work from farther away.

Many cameras today also work with phone apps. The app can show what the camera sees live on the phone's screen; it can let you move the focus point, change the exposure and shoot remotely. This is a powerful tool for watching the branch a bird lands on, or a group's faces, from a distance and shooting at the right moment. The price is that the phone's and the camera's batteries run down faster, and that there is sometimes a delay in the connection; for catching a very fast moment, this delay can matter.

How do you shoot beyond thirty seconds and sequences of frames?

Most cameras allow an exposure of at most thirty seconds. For longer exposures, bulb mode is used: the shutter stays open for as long as the shutter button is held down. Holding the shutter button down with a finger for two minutes is both hard and shakes the camera; a remote's lock button lets you keep the shutter open for as long as you want. A bulb exposure is how short star trails across the sky, a long flow of clouds in a dark sky, or a very dark corner of a city at night are photographed.

Interval shooting, on the other hand, is the camera taking frames by itself at set intervals, for example once every five seconds. When these frames are put in a row, a time-lapse is formed: clouds flow across the sky, shadows move across a courtyard, a flower opens. Many cameras have an interval shooting setting inside them; if not, a remote or a phone app can do this job. For a long sequence, switching exposure and focus to manual prevents brightness and sharpness from shifting between frames.

How do you get into your own photo and into a group?

With a remote hidden in your pocket or in the palm of your hand, you can take your place inside a group and shoot when everyone relaxes, laughs at a joke or turns to each other. This gives much more natural frames than the frozen smiles made to the self-timer's countdown. Everyone knowing the remote is in your hand is also a good habit, so that those taking part in the photo know when they are being photographed; remote triggering is used to stay inside the moment, not to photograph people without their knowing.

When you are in the frame yourself, you can't look at the camera's screen; that is why you need to start with a test frame. If people with different skin tones are sitting side by side in the light of a fire or a lamp, the camera's metering can shift toward the bright faces or the bright fire, and a dark-skinned face can sink into shadow, while a light-skinned face next to the fire can turn white. Taking a test frame, looking at whether there is detail in the eyes of each face, and then locking the exposure keeps everyone correctly exposed while you take the real frames. If the phone app gives a live view, you can do this check without getting up from your place too.

Visual evidence

You go back to the front of the highland house. You set the camera on the tripod, switch it to bulb mode, and keep the shutter open for two minutes with the remote's lock. In the frame, the stars have drawn short, thin arcs above the roof of the house; because you never touched the camera, the edges of the house are sharp.

You are sitting around the fire with four friends: one dark-skinned, one olive-skinned, two light-skinned. First you take a test frame and see that the cheek of the light-skinned friend sitting closest to the fire has turned white, and the eyes of the dark-skinned friend sitting farthest away have stayed in shadow. You move that friend a little closer to the fire and lock the exposure between the two. Then, with the remote in your palm, you go back to the conversation; as someone tells a story they all start laughing, and at that moment you press. In the frame all four faces are lit by the orange of the fire, there is detail in all their eyes, and no one is looking at the camera; there is the glint of the fire in the tea glasses in their hands. The same night, the same fire; the frames you took without touching the camera are both sharp and natural.

Common mistakes

Summary

Shooting without touching the camera keeps the steadiness the tripod gives, and lets you choose the right moment away from the camera. A two-second self-timer is enough to prevent shake but can't choose the moment; wired and wireless remotes give the moment back to you, and phone apps add a live view and changing settings, but use up battery and can lag. Bulb mode and a remote's lock open the door beyond thirty seconds, and interval shooting to a time-lapse; when shooting from inside a group, on the other hand, you need to check with a test frame that each face, on every skin, is exposed correctly, and lock the exposure.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will try different ways of shooting without touching the camera.

1. On a tripod, photograph a scene with a long time, first pressing with a finger, then with the two-second self-timer, and compare the sharpness.
2. Find out whether your camera works with a phone app; if it does, take a frame remotely with the live view.
3. If you have a remote, try a night exposure longer than thirty seconds with bulb mode.
4. Take a group photo with friends of different skin tones; first check each face with a test frame, then catch a natural moment while you are in the frame yourself too.

Check yourself

• Is the frame you took with the self-timer sharper than the frame you pressed with a finger?
• When shooting remotely, were you able to choose the moment yourself?
• In the group frame, can the eyes of the person sitting farthest from the fire be made out too?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. What does a two-second self-timer do in a long exposure on a tripod?

• A) It raises the exposure by two stops
• B) It waits for the shake given by the finger pressing the shutter button to die down
• C) It sets the white balance
• D) It makes it possible to go beyond thirty seconds

2. If the camera's limit is thirty seconds, how is a two-minute exposure made?

• A) By raising the ISO
• B) By setting the self-timer to ten seconds
• C) By switching to bulb mode and keeping the shutter open with the remote's lock
• D) By opening the aperture

3. Why doesn't an infrared remote work from behind the camera?

• A) Its battery has run out
• B) The camera is off
• C) The camera is in bulb mode
• D) It needs to see the receiver on the camera

4. What do you do before stepping into a group photo with friends of different skin tones in firelight?

• A) Take a test frame, look at the detail in each face's eyes, and lock the exposure
• B) Shoot directly and fix it later
• C) Put out the fire
• D) Set the self-timer to two seconds

Answers

1. B — The finger's jolt makes the camera tremble for a short while; a two-second wait is enough for this vibration to die down.
2. C — In bulb mode the shutter is open as long as the shutter button is held down; the remote's lock does this without touching.
3. D — An infrared signal needs a line of sight; a remote that can't see the receiver doesn't work.
4. A — When you are in the frame yourself you can't see the screen; a test frame shows beforehand that each face is exposed correctly.

Summary card

• Don't press the shutter button with a finger on a tripod; the two-second self-timer is the simplest fix.
• A remote gives the moment back to you; wired is reliable, infrared needs a line of sight, radio works from far away.
• A phone app gives a live view but uses up battery and can lag.
• Bulb and a remote's lock go beyond thirty seconds; interval shooting makes a time-lapse.
• Take a test frame before stepping into a group; check the eyes on every skin and lock the exposure.

Bridge to the next lesson

When you enlarge the sky frame of the highland house, you see a few small, blurry dark spots among the star trails that never move. The same spots are in other photos too, always in the same place, especially in light-colored skies shot with a narrow aperture. What are the black dots in my photos? The next lesson talks about the dust that settles on the sensor, why it becomes visible at a narrow aperture, and how to clean the sensor carefully.