Time Stacking Photography
- The Magazine For Photographers
- Oct 21
- 2 min read
What Is Time Stacking Photography?
Time stacking is what happens when you take a bunch of photos of the same scene over a period of time and then combine them later into one single image. Instead of just one single moment, you get a picture that shows movement/change. It is very similar to long exposure, however instead of leaving your shutter open for a few minutes or hours, you take hundreds of quick shots and “stack” them together afterward.
How It Works
This is the basic idea, laid out chronologically:
You set your camera on a tripod and shoot a time-lapse, one frame every few seconds or minutes.
Later, you take all those photos and blend them together.
The stacking merges the changes from each image (common subjects are clouds but also stars) into one composite photo that looks like a long exposure just a bit more surreal and painterly.
What You Need
A camera that can shoot in manual mode.
A tripod (absolutely essential).
An intervalometer or built-in time-lapse mode to automatically take shots over time.
Editing software with a stacking program/feature —> Photoshop, StarStaX etc.
Setting Up Your Shot
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