Shoot in Raw
The main reason for shooting light trails in raw is to ensure that you have
greater control over your images later on during the post-production stage. This will allow you to alter the color
balance of your shot and also avoid color casts from the artificial light
sources.
Use a low ISO setting
An ISO setting of 200 will ensure that your images have as little noise as possible.
These low settings also mean that you win be able to achieve the long exposure times necessary to capture
effective light trails.
Focus manually
You'll find that many cameras struggle to
autofocus in low light conditions because of the lack of contrast. For this reason, its often better to manually focus on the key part of the scene. The
magnify function in Live View can help
with this.
Use Bulb mode
For exposures longer than 30 seconds, use the
camera's Bulb mode. This enables you to keep the shutter open for as long as
you need. Use a remote release to open the shutter, then simply hold it open
for the required exposure time.
The main reason for shooting light trails in raw is to ensure that you have greater control over your images later on during the post-production stage. This will allow you to alter the color balance of your shot and also avoid color casts from the artificial light sources.
An ISO setting of 200 will ensure that your images have as little noise as possible. These low settings also mean that you win be able to achieve the long exposure times necessary to capture effective light trails.
Use Bulb mode