Why do bright objects show white squiggly trails in a low-light photo?
Asked 9/6/2017
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2 answers
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I shot a self-portrait in a dim bathroom with a Ricoh GR II and no flash. The photo is overall dark, but a few bright reflections—near the sink and on the door handle—appear as white squiggly lines. What causes this, and how can I avoid it?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
49
This image shows a rather long exposure.
The image in general is very dark, but a few spots are light. Probably some reflection on shiny surfaces like the door knob, the sink and the tap.
If you take a long exposure shot without a tripod you always move the camera around a bit. While it is not visible for the dark areas you can clearly see movement trails for any shiny spot.
The trails on the left are nearly identical. The trail in the center has less movement. Therefore you probably "shook" the camera and also rolled a bit.
Basically, what you did was something close to "light painting" but with moving the camera instead of the light source.
Originally by user63756. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user63756
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Those white squiggles are motion trails from camera shake during a long exposure. In a dark scene, the camera used a slower shutter speed to gather enough light. While the darker parts of the scene don’t show much, small bright reflections on shiny surfaces record your hand movement as streaks.
So the issue isn’t the objects themselves—it’s a combination of:
- low light
- a slow shutter speed
- slight camera movement
- bright specular highlights on metal/glossy surfaces
To reduce or prevent it:
- use a faster shutter speed
- stabilize the camera with a tripod or solid support
- use flash or add more light
- raise ISO if needed
- hold the camera more steadily
A common handheld guideline is to keep shutter speed at least around 1 divided by the focal length (for example, about 1/100s with a 100mm-equivalent focal length).
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