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10/09/2002 03:01:59 AM · #1 |
| I'm not quite sure on how to take a good night shot without it being too dark or blurry. What kind of aperature and shutter speed do I need to take the shots at? I liked that postcard 101 shot and want to take some city lights shots like that. |
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10/09/2002 03:13:47 AM · #2 |
Originally posted by Jubei Kibagami:
I'm not quite sure on how to take a good night shot without it being too dark or blurry. What kind of aperature and shutter speed do I need to take the shots at? I liked that postcard 101 shot and want to take some city lights shots like that.
With night shots you should turn off your flash. Make sure you use a tripod. Once you've set up your tripod you can use your camera's manual mode or it's Tv (shutter speed) priority mode which is better since you don't have to worry about setting the Av (aperture).
The amount of time you leave the shutter open depends on how bright the scene is. You'll have to experiment. Start with a Tv of 1 second then look at your results and adjust the Tv accordingly for your next shot.
If you don't have a tripod then rest the camera on something because when you leave the shutter open for long periods EVERY little movement is captured. The result of movement is a blurry picture.
Also, if you might want to set your white balance for the type of lighting that's available. Sometimes I prefer the yellowish colour that incandescent lights give so I don't adjust the white balance. It's your preference.
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10/09/2002 03:29:48 AM · #3 |
2sec, F4, ISO 100 is the settings for Postcard101.
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10/09/2002 04:20:07 AM · #4 |
i'have a little problem in night shots, especialy when there is neon sign in the shot. I can not make a balance between the the dark place and the well lighted sign, whether the sign is over exposed or the rest of the shot too dark. any advice.
but i found a site which may help also
//www.geocities.com/SoHo/Suite/8117/night.html
NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
If you want to stretch the
limits of your imagination
and equipment for
interesting interpretations
of our nocturnal world,
then grab your camera
and head out into the
night air. We spend half
our lives in darkness - so
why not take advantage
of the “down time†for
some low light
photography.
Aside from the obvious,
the major difference
between daytime and
night photography is the
time it takes to prepare
and expose an image.
Pre planning is the key. A camera with a “b†or “bulb †setting†is useful. A
“night†setting is adequate in place of a “b†setting. A tripod is essential along
with a cable release cord to trip the shutter and keep it locked in the open
position.
Medium speed film is all that is needed. High speed film with an ISO rating of
800 or higher would seem to be a logical choice, however, those above 800
yields too grainy of an image. I prefer 100 to 400 speed films. The
combination of finer grain and light sensitivity is just right for quality low light
pictures.
Some of my favorite nocturnal subjects include cityscapes, fireworks, traffic
headlight streaking across the frame and astro photography. Scenes at dusk
or dawn also qualify as “night†photography as well.
If you must use flash, use it to compliment the existing light for a more natural
effect. For a “normal†night scene, use ISO 100 speed film with flash. Start
with a shutter speed of about 1/15 sec at F-4 to retain some background
detail. Shutter drag or slow sync mode was designed for such techniques.
Rear curtain sync or second curtain allow the flash to fire at the end of the
exposure allowing ambient light to show as streaks prior to the flash
illuminated image.
Painting with light is another method to illuminate a night scene. Lock shutter
open, pre-focus on subject with flashlight as aid. Wear dark clothing and
illuminate subject with multiple bursts from an off camera portable flash unit to
“build up†sufficient exposure. Walk backwards towards the camera as you
"paint" with the flash to prevent yourself from being in the frame. Stay outside
the frame if at all possible. Try colored filters over your portable flash for
effect. A flashlight can be used as well for different effects.
* This message has been edited by the author on 10/9/2002 4:24:51 AM. |
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10/09/2002 05:37:27 AM · #5 |
waziz, thanks for the info. I never heard about the idea to "paint with light" but it's great and I'll certainly try this out. Sounds like a very fun thing.
About your question with the neon sign... I don't know if I'm correct but when the neon sign is coloured then maybe a colour filter helps reducing the brightness and thus reducing the overall contrast of the image. But I don't have such equipment and never tried that myself. Maybe some of the more professional photographers can answer if this is really a solution.
And to Jubei's initial question: use a tripod, that's most important :-) Then you can have longer exposure times without getting a blurry photo.
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10/09/2002 06:55:56 AM · #6 |
The painting thing is very nice idea.
FOr you night shot, I would do bracketing as well to be sure to have a nice shot with less night noise when you get back to the computer. Let you camera do the calculation and then as you have a manual mode, do the same shot with a longer exposure and a shorter exposure.
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10/09/2002 07:22:00 AM · #7 |
The Complete Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography by Lee Frost
is quite a good book on this subject - see if your local library
has a copy!
Gordon
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