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12/14/2006 07:32:43 PM · #1 |
Howdy all,
I've received several PMs about how to get a nice star when shooting into the sun. I've experimented with this a lot this past year; you can see them on these photos of mine:
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(the last one is a different effect, but I liked it and wanted to show it off...)
Just point into the sun and shoot! Well, I have learned a few things beyond this:
-The smaller your aperture, the more pronounced the stars will be. These were all shot at f 8, the smallest my camera will go.
-Take all of your filters off and make sure your lens is super clean. The sunlight should go through only one piece of glass--your lens. Filters add weird lens abberations that can be attractive (usually in the form of hexes or octagons, depending on your shutter shape), but I usually don't want them.
-I usually underexpose--by a lot. This strange light really freaks out your camera; it just isn't smart enough.
-When composing, I've found that it's best when the sun is just barely peeping out from something. This keeps the lines (or rays) sharp and clear.
I hope that's helpful! Have fun!
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12/14/2006 07:41:45 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by dsidwell:
-I usually underexpose--by a lot. This strange light really freaks out your camera; it just isn't smart enough.
-When composing, I've found that it's best when the sun is just barely peeping out from something. This keeps the lines (or rays) sharp and clear. |
I've been practicing this a bit too -- the above is good advice.
Also, be careful of your eyes and your sensor when shooting into the sun -- neither one can take very much of that.
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12/14/2006 08:00:16 PM · #3 |
Great tip David.
I stumbled on that by accident when I took my PL filter off one day and was using the depth of field preview to check the effect.
(didn't mean to step on your thread)
Message edited by author 2006-12-14 20:18:46. |
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12/14/2006 09:15:25 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by dsidwell:
-I usually underexpose--by a lot. This strange light really freaks out your camera; it just isn't smart enough.
-When composing, I've found that it's best when the sun is just barely peeping out from something. This keeps the lines (or rays) sharp and clear. |
I've been practicing this a bit too -- the above is good advice.
Also, be careful of your eyes and your sensor when shooting into the sun -- neither one can take very much of that.
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My camera is starting to show a lot of noise of late--could this be the reason? I shoot into the sun a lot, but usually early morning.
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