A. The satode test applies to lightning just as it applies to fireworks:

A photograph cannot meet P4 (and cannot qualify as TTG) if the photo depicts multiple bursts of light that a viewer at the scene would not have seen simultaneously.

In TTG-speak, each successive (non-simultaneous) bolt or burst of lightning represents a new “scene.”

P4’s “one scene” requirement allows depicting only one specific arrangement that occurred during exposure (or satode).

Any viewers who are aware of satode will likely be skeptical about any TTG-labeled lightning photograph that depicts multiple instances of lightning and was not recorded in 1 second or less (see “C” below).

B. What’s the best way to make TTG-qualified photos of lightning?

The surest way to convince viewers that a TTG-labeled lightning photo doesn’t show multiple “scenes” of non-simultaneous lightning bolts is to depict just one lightning instance per photo.

Both of these methods will usually result in only one lightning instance per photo:

1. One TTG-compatible option when photographing “strikes” instead of “sky flashes” is to make a single long exposure, keeping the shutter open while waiting to see the lightning strike—

— and to end the exposure immediately after the strike so that the photo doesn’t depict a subsequent strike, which would disqualify the result from P4 thanks to the satode test. (When making a long exposure, remember to watch for sasibe considerations in other areas of the photo.)

2. Another TTG-compatible option — useful for both “strikes” and “sky flashes” — is to use a lightning trigger, an aftermarket device that attaches to the camera and trips the shutter when the trigger detects a lightning flash. Since the makers of these triggers recommend fairly short shutter speeds (e.g., 1/125th of a second), the TTG label on a single-exposure photograph made with such a device is unlikely to raise any satode-related objections.

C. What if the TTG label is attached to a photograph depicting multiple instances of lightning?

The label is unlikely to be challenged on satode grounds if the photograph was made with a single uninterrupted exposure that lasted no longer than 1 second (because “occuring within the same second” is likely to meet most viewers’ definition of “simultaneous”).

But for any photograph depicting multiple instances of lightning that was made by combining exposures or was made with a single exposure lasting longer than 1 second, most viewers are going to assume that the photograph does not meet the satode test and does not qualify as TTG (because it fails to meet P4).

D. Notes

• All Trust Test restrictions apply to all TTG-labeled lightning photos, most notably to the “land” aspects of photos that are made from long exposures (e.g., sasibe considerations).

• Because lightning bolts qualify as “forms and shapes,” all of the usual P2-related restrictions apply to them:

As per P2, lightning bolts cannot be added, deleted, replaced, resized, moved, blurred, or reshaped, nor (as per P7) can the depiction of any lightning’s “tones and colors” misrepresent the appearance of the scene as it was during the exposure.