It ALL depends on the storm conditions. There's no real rule of thumb because unless you’re shooting late night lightning, there's too much ambient light. Ambient will determine your exposure, not the lighting. If it's completely dark, you've got more options, but you also must deal with noise, or over exposure and film fatigue, or reciprocity failure.

If you’re trying to play the "keep the shutter open, and then close it after the lightning strikes," it must be dark out.

Also, depending on the storm, lighting can and often is bright enough to illuminate an entire landscape making it look like day even when it's night!


Post your shot and add environmental data and describe the storm conditions. . .