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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> How to get a crisp night skyline?
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Showing posts 1 - 15 of 15, (reverse)
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 10/08/2006 01:18:18 PM · #1
Can someone give me some pointers on how to get a nice crisp clear look to a night time city skyline? Mine all seem to be fuzzy around some of the lights and building details & just don't have that clear look I'm looking for.

I have tried:

Tripod, of course and weighing it down a bit a help prevent movement
self timer (although I now have a remote to try)
Long exposure and short exposure

I just can't seem to get the right combination of things. It will be riverfront, so I'd like the smooth water look as well.

Thanks in advance for any tips!
10/08/2006 01:21:47 PM · #2
Only thing to add to your list is mirror lockup. The mirror slap when the shutter trips will cause a little bounce and that will cause some fuzziness on night shots.
 10/08/2006 01:24:01 PM · #3
Middlin' aperture (maybe f 7-10 or so). Obviously use the sharpest lens you have. Best tip is to shoot in RAW and bracket a few shots around -1 stop. When you look at your results, select a shot where the brightest lights are the least blown, and then use the RAW to generate two exposures, one as shot and one where you add about a stop of exposure in RAW processing. Combine the two shots in PS layers, with the overexposed shot on top. Erase blown areas. Walah, max dynamic range where you dim city lights (and water reflections) are maximized, but your highlights are not completely blown.
 10/08/2006 01:27:12 PM · #4
Are you shooting wide open? If so, that may be your main issue. Along with narrower DoF, shooting wide open won't let the lens give best results. The many, tiny point light sources in a night skyline are a "worst-case" challenge for a lens; they will make minor aberrations visible that would not be noticable on daytime shots.
Try shooting at f/8 or so, and adjust exposure time to give desired results. Keep ISO low. The 10D does not have long exposure noise reduction, so hot pixels could become a problem, however I did not find them to be a major issue when I shot with a 10D. I was able to do some very satisfactory night skyline images.
 10/08/2006 01:28:50 PM · #5
Originally posted by routerguy666:
Only thing to add to your list is mirror lockup. The mirror slap when the shutter trips will cause a little bounce and that will cause some fuzziness on night shots.


I'm unsure what you mean by this. I guess I thought mirror lock up was for cleaning the sensor (but I have yet to do that or look into it, so if I seem ignorant there it's because I am!)

How can you do a mirror lock up and still take the shot? I'm a little confused.
 10/08/2006 01:30:53 PM · #6
Originally posted by jpochard:
How can you do a mirror lock up and still take the shot? I'm a little confused.


Mirror lockup sets it so that two actuations of the shutter are required to take a shot. The first raises the mirror, the second fires the shutter.

Edit:
FWIW, the "sensor cleaning" setting is a separate setting. Mirror lockup is found under custom functions... I don't have the 10D body here any longer and don't recall exactly which function.

Message edited by author 2006-10-08 13:32:18.
 10/08/2006 01:31:11 PM · #7
Mirror lockup is one of the custom functions of your 10D. When you turn it on, the first shutter button press raises the mirror and locks it up, the second fires the shot. As router said, this avoids the risk of the mirror snap causing vibrations. Lots of astrophotographers use this feature regularly.
 10/08/2006 01:31:27 PM · #8
It should be one of your custom functions.

You press the button once, the mirror flips up. You press the button again, the shot is taken.
 10/08/2006 01:35:39 PM · #9
Cool! I knew I would learn something here. It may or may not make a difference, but it's something new to try.

I'm headed downtown tonight, so I hope to try and capture just the right shot. This is the last night for the Tall Stacks Riverboats event in Cincinnati and it should be a lovely night to be down there again. Last night I had some really great views, but it was from a bridge which had noticable vibrations and movement...and I didn't have my tripod with me either. So all things considered, the photos didn't turn out awful, but I have high hopes for tonight.

Thanks for your help!
 10/08/2006 01:35:57 PM · #10
Lookit this, me, Kirbic and router. I bet those two are watching the Packers. I'm watching da'Bears.
 10/08/2006 01:37:47 PM · #11
One thing that hasn't been brought up and suprises me a bit is weather conditions: humidity levels, fog/smog cover, etc.

High humidity or slight fog cover is going to take away from the crispness of the photo. A cool night with low air moisture is going to produce the best results.
 10/08/2006 01:38:21 PM · #12
Originally posted by strangeghost:
...I bet those two are watching the Packers. I'm watching da'Bears.


Well, the Packers are... unbearable :-P
 10/08/2006 01:41:00 PM · #13
I am watching the bears, of course!
 10/08/2006 02:12:54 PM · #14
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
One thing that hasn't been brought up and suprises me a bit is weather conditions: humidity levels, fog/smog cover, etc.

High humidity or slight fog cover is going to take away from the crispness of the photo. A cool night with low air moisture is going to produce the best results.


That's why I'm looking forward to tonight. There's extra interest along the riverfront with the Tall Stacks boats and it is a perfect fall day with crisp air and very low humidity. It was last night as well. I sort of considered last night my "set up" night - trying to figure out where I want to be at what time etc. Took some shots, but they are not as good as I want, so it's worth one more trip down there I think.

There's also a photo contest in connection with the Tall Stacks event, so I'm keeping that in mind as well. It also didn't hurt to have a bright, beautiful moon. All the elements are there, it's just a matter of my skill and eye to try and get what I want.

Edited to add: I also just did a thorough cleaning of my lenses so that they won't be any problem.

Message edited by author 2006-10-08 14:14:05.
 10/08/2006 02:55:18 PM · #15
If your photos are fuzzy, I would suspect that your tripod is not steady enough. One way to maximize the stability of your tripod is to make sure that your tripod's center column is NOT raised up at all. Extend the legs of the tripod, but do not raise the center column. If you do raise the center column, the tripod becomes very susceptible to wind/vibrations, etc.

I am of the opinion that mirror lock-up won't make a big difference in your situation. You are going to be using a shutter speed of several seconds, so even if the mirror does cause the camera to vibrate slightly for a fraction of a second, it won't matter. Having said that, mirror lock-up couldn't hurt, either, so you may want to do it anyway, just for peace of mind. Personally, I don't use mirror lock-up on night shots. Maybe I should, I don't know.

As others have said, I would use a mid-range aperture, say around f/8. I use an ISO of 100 or 200. And, of course, make sure you actually do focus on whatever you want to be in focus :)

Here's one of mine:

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