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06/30/2005 12:31:03 AM · #1 |
My camera and I have problems trying to take night photos of somewhat lit objects ( see //www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=197900)
The camera selects a slow speed with wide open aperture (f2.8) and I vary shutter speeds and iso trying to get a descent shot, but the lit objects always seem too bright and washed out.... any suggestions? |
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06/30/2005 12:34:40 AM · #2 |
Is this it?
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06/30/2005 12:35:05 AM · #3 |
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06/30/2005 12:40:03 AM · #4 |
| It looks perfect to me. I did some quick adjustments and you are right where I would want it. It doesn't look washed out at all. |
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06/30/2005 12:57:48 AM · #5 |
Try this. Using a tripod (of course) and the "aperture priority" setting, set the aperture (it doesn't have to be wide open - focusing at night is more difficult with a shallow depth of field) and the ISO to ~400 or less. Let the camera select the exposure time. Set the timer to take the shot and see what shutter speed it selects.
Switch it to full manual using the same aperture and manually adjusting the shutter speed a tic faster if it is washed out and a tic slower if it is too dark. Play with it until it is right.
Once you get the exposure correct, try the different white balance settings to shift the colors the way you want them. |
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06/30/2005 01:11:41 AM · #6 |
Looks a touch soft, but otherwise all right. Did you use a tripod? This is a NECESITY when shooting at night.
White balance is one of the trickiest parts of night time photography. If your camera does custom white balance, then take a white sheet of paper or foam core with you when you shoot. Get as close to the subject as possible with the white object and shoot it in order to get the white balance right first. Then do as conglett suggests. Play around with the manual settings till you get the exposure you are looking for.
Don't get discouraged. Keep trying. Night time photography is tres cool!
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06/30/2005 01:20:57 AM · #7 |
I agree with Gringo and TooCool; aside from the fact that the focus is a little soft (possibly due to slight camera vibration when the shutter was pressed), this image seems properly exposed for a photograph taken at night.
If your goal is to take a picture of something at night and have the resultant image look the same as one taken during the day, then I think that the problem may be with your subject matter (or your expectations). During the day the various parts of this building (windows, walls, clock face, etc.) will reflect similar amounts of light. That is, there won't be a large difference between the amount of light from the windows and that from the associated wall. At night, the lighting situation is radically different: there's very little light reflected by the walls of the building, and (relatively) large amounts of light coming from the windows. To make the night and daylight exposures look the same, the relative brightness of elements in the scene will need to be the same under both conditions. As unintuitive as it seems, a long exposure under a starry sky will produce a better image than a "normal" shutter speed with a flash. |
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06/30/2005 02:06:37 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by metoecus:
At night, the lighting situation is radically different |
THAT'S what makes night time photography so cool as tricky as it sometimes is. After dark it's a whole different world!
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