Shooting people at night infront of City Buildings

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

11/14/2009 12:06:41 AM · #1

ok... how to perfectly expose people and building lights at night at same time...

Normally I would have to drag the shutter a LOT to expose the building lights, but that doesn't work with moving subjects...

I can drag it a tiny bit because the subjects will be lit with a softbox, but if I drag it too much, they won't be tack sharp anymore...

I can pump the ISO up a bit.... maybe to 800.... ???

any suggestions would be great.. I have a condo rooftop photoshoot tomorrow night... I'm going to try and do it at dusk so it should be ok, but I want do some shots later on in the evening which is where this problem may arrise,

thanks!!!

Eric

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Spork99

Canon EOS M6 Mk II

Canon EF-M 22mm STM Lens

11/14/2009 12:30:16 AM · #2

Hmmmmm...This is what I'd do: Get as little ambient light on your subjects as possible, then drag the shutter to pick up the ambient light on the buildings and have the subjects stay as still as possible.You might get some ghosting around the edges, but, if you do it right, the faces will be sharp and the buildings well exposed.

Judi

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

11/14/2009 12:33:19 AM · #3

Here is one of Leo's images. Check out the settings...maybe PM him for advice.

Camabs

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 35mm f/2.0

11/14/2009 02:04:37 AM · #4

You say you are going to use a softbox. I take it that implies you use a strobe as well? In that case, this may help:

-position the strobe in such a way that it spills as little light on the building(s) as posible
-set you exposure time at the sync time of your strobe
-find the apperture that correctly exposes the people, using your strobe
-fix the aperture and adjust the shutter time to correctly expose the building(s).

You may need to use some trial-and-error here, unless you are very experienced in using light meters. If you have other moving objects in the picture (e.g. cars), you may want to set your flash to go off with the rear curtain.

See this blog article for some more details and further links.

11/14/2009 09:33:53 AM · #5

Thanks everyone... i'll have to plan this out a bit more... =)

i'll post the pics tonight when I get home to get some critique =)

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trnqlty

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

11/14/2009 01:10:39 PM · #6

Everyone's been on point. That's how I created this image.

11/14/2009 07:16:10 PM · #7

ok... i'm back from the shoot... STUPID me forgot my battery pack =(

LUCKILY there was an outlet on the roof of the condo I could use =)

I'm editing the photos as we speak and i'll post them tonight and I would LOVE a full Critical critique...

please do NOT hold back!!! I can take it =)

moolacoola

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

11/14/2009 07:27:30 PM · #8

Shooting people is so not nice, especially in front of City Buildings. Shame.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

11/14/2009 07:38:25 PM · #9

It's ok, I used my 35mm =)

snaffles

Nikon D7100

11/14/2009 08:30:39 PM · #10

Magnumphotography loves to go shoot stuff at night, even though he's a Canon man maybe he can give some advice :-)