Category: Photography – Advanced Topics > 12. Camera & Technology – In-Depth Article ID: 12.7 Created: May 2026

The essentials at a glance

• Timelapse (time-lapse) is a sequence of individual photos taken at regular intervals and assembled into a video—slow processes then appear fast
• The most important parameters: interval (how often the shutter is triggered), total duration (how long recording continues), and the frame rate of the finished video
• The camera must be calibrated to avoid flicker (brightness fluctuations between frames)

Explanation

What is a timelapse?

In a timelapse, individual photos are taken at regular intervals. These photos are played back one after another as a video sequence, making slow processes (cloud movement, sunrise/sunset, plant growth, construction sites) appear accelerated.

Typical applications:

• Cloud movement and weather conditions
• Sunrise and sunset
• Night-sky timelapse (star trails)
• City traffic and crowds
• Construction documentation
• Plant growth (macro timelapse)

The most important calculations

Interval: How much time passes between two shots?

• Clouds: 1–5 seconds
• Sun: 5–15 seconds
• Plant growth: 30 minutes – several hours

Video frame rate: Typically 24 or 25 fps (frames per second)

Formula—number of images required:

Images = video length (seconds) × frame rate

Example: 10-second video at 25 fps = 250 images

Formula—total recording duration:

Total duration = number of images × interval

Example: 250 images × 5-second interval = 1,250 seconds = approx. 21 minutes of recording

Technical requirements

Equipment:

• Camera with an intervalometer (built-in or external)—automatically triggers the shutter at the set interval
• Tripod—absolutely essential; even minimal movements are visible in a timelapse
• Sufficient battery power—external power is recommended for long sessions
• Sufficient storage—250 RAW files at 25 MB each = 6.25 GB

Camera settings:

• Set to manual (M)—no Auto ISO, no auto white balance → otherwise brightness and color fluctuations occur between frames
• Manual focus—AF may focus differently between frames
• Turn off image stabilization—when using a tripod, it can create unwanted movements
• Shutter speed shorter than the interval—with a 5-second interval, a maximum shutter speed duration of 4 seconds

The flicker problem

Flicker is visible brightness fluctuations between successive frames. Causes:

• Mechanical aperture blades never close exactly the same way with automatic aperture settings → different amounts of light
• Changes in lighting (clouds, position of the sun)
• Auto ISO or auto exposure

Solutions:

• Lens Twist: Twist the lens slightly out of the mount until the electronic connection is interrupted → the aperture remains fixed open. Works with DSLRs and mirrorless cameras with physical aperture rings.
• Holy Trinity method: Set the aperture directly on the lens (manual vintage lenses)
• Deflicker in post: LRTimelapse, Lightroom, or After Effects offer deflicker algorithms

Post-processing

LRTimelapse (recommended): Specialized software for timelapse editing. Offers:

• Deflickering
• Automatic keyframe interpolation (adjusting white balance and exposure over time)
• Lightroom integration

Lightroom + Photoshop:

1. Develop all frames in Lightroom (batch)
2. Export as a JPEG sequence
3. Assemble into a video in Photoshop, Premiere, or After Effects

Step-by-step minimal workflow:

1. Import photos as JPEGs
2. Edit the first image → synchronize to all images
3. Export as a numbered JPEG sequence
4. In Photoshop: File → Import → Video Frames to Layers → export as a video

Practical tip

For your first timelapse, clouds on an overcast day are ideal—fast movement, a short interval (3–5 seconds), 20–30 minutes of recording, and 100–200 photos. This is manageable, the result is visible quickly, and the technical requirements are low. Then move on to more complex scenarios (night, night sky, sunset).