Getting multiple lightning strikes at night is easy; just leave the shutter open for a long while during a lightning storm. You can do that because it is dark and the image will not easily over expose unless there is too much lightning. Getting multiple strikes during the day is another matter (if you don't want your clouds blurred and your rain pocket to become more than just a pocket). Please see the last two blogs on lighting (a few weeks or so back).

You will actually be surprised by how many times lightning strike multiple times at the same time (within a second). To maximize your chances of getting multiple strikes you have to keep your shutter open for just a bit longer than you otherwise would. Once again, I use a three stop neutral density filter to help get the shutter speed where I want it; for multiple strikes between 1 second and 1/4th of a second (you may be lucky with 1/8th of a second.

If you use a ten stop neutral density filter you can get nice long shutter speeds, but you will pay a price. In this image you can clearly see the pocket of rain in the back left of the image. That pocket of rain is moving quite rapidly to the right. If your shutter is open for too long that pocket might have moved all the way to the mountain or further. The sky becomes uniform. You will also loose the nice color to the right of the pocket. What is more is that storms usually go hand in hand with wind. That wind tugs at this tree in the foreground. Now how do you keep the tree sharp with a long exposure if the leaves are being blown around? That is why I assess the amount of movement and choose a shutter speed fast to enough to get a sharp tree, but slow enough to increase the chances of getting multiple strikes. When shooting this way during the day you can get wonderful detail in the clouds which will be lost with too long of an exposure since the clouds are moving.

          You get the desired shutter speed by playing with your ISO and your 3 stop neutral density filter. I also add a polarizer which can add another stop or two if needed. That gives me some flexibility to get to my desired shutter speed. To trigger the camera at the right moment I use a lightning trigger (by Stepping Stone Products). Now I know this lighting trigger is expensive and I also know that there are many competitors that are much cheaper. The competitors may work reasonably well at night but firing your camera during the day is another story. Don Smith teaches a lightning workshop in the Grand Canyon and has seen all these triggers in action and concluded with certainty that this one is simply the best.

          Make sure your camera's focus is set to manual. You don't want the camera to check focus when the lightning trigger wants to fire your camera. By the time your camera confirms focus the lightning is gone and you just missed your shot. Lastly, check your camera shutter's delay. Only cameras with lightning fast delays are suitable to capture lightning during the day. The Sony mirrorless cameras are very fast and work well.

          Be safe! Always follow governmental guidelines on lightning and safety.