How to take Long Exposure Shots on Mobile

Long Exposure Photography lets you expose a scene for many seconds and lets you create unique images. Light trails, Star Trails, Milky Way Galaxy shots, Light Painting etc are all created using various Long Exposure photography techniques.

Is it possible to shoot Long Exposure on Mobile ?

Answer is Yes .. and No. In order to shoot a long exposure, your phone must come with a Pro mode where you can choose a slower shutter speed. Many manufactures like LG Mobiles, Huawei, Honor, OnePlus etc have a Pro mode build in to their default camera app. Google Pixel phones on the other hand do not have a Pro mode and there is no way to shoot traditional long exposure photographs with those.

Another way is to find a third party app that can shoot in lower shutter speeds. Lightroom Mobile Camera for an example has a Pro mode that lets you shoot manual and adjust ISO and shutterspeed. The problem here is, while the default camera app often supports up to 30 secs exposure, Lrmobile camera on many phones can only do 1 sec maximum.

Must Haves for Mobile Long Exposure Photography

• A Solid Tripod - This is a Must. If you don't have a good solid tripod, any small shakes - even the one caused by wind - can result in a blurry, less sharp image.
• Lowest ISO possible - You are on Tripod already, so why increase the ISO and create more noise in your image ? Use the base ISO always when shooting long exposures. Only exception is when you are shooting the Milky Way. 
• Less Light - perfect time to do long exposures is after the Sun has gone down or just before the Sunrise. You can alternatively use ND filters to cut down light - which is not to that easy to attach on Mobile phones 
• Shoot Dng Raw - To get the best quality and dynamic range, shoot raw and edit it in Lightroom Mobile app.
• Patience - yes - you need that as often times you wouldn't get the shot you want on the first try. Keep trying. Shoot at different shutter speeds and get the result you want.