Annoyed Newbie!

AboveUsOnlySky

AboveUsOnlySky

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Name
Matt
Edit My Images
Yes
Good evening everybody!

I am new to the DSLR (got a D70) - although I have loved photography for as long as I can remember.

Im a portrait sort of guy, and seem to take good shots of landscapes too (will post pics below). I love natural light.

BUT i struggle with lighting when its getting darker. Big time.

Like tonight, I tried to take some pictures of my car after a good clean and just could not for the life of me get a good shot.

My car is black so it doesnt help but everything I was taking was either overexposed or too dark!

See pics of car below, and some of my (better) shots from the beach.

Thanks everyone :cool: :cool: any tips on taking good pics in the dark (with sunset behind)

(resized)

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nice shots and on the car maybe some exposure compensation, flash or a hdr to expose everything on the image. other than that play around with both aperture and shutter speed
 
The car has some bad backlighting did you try shooting from the other side of it?
 
Thanks :)

I am using the shutter setting and if I adjust the exposure compensation it either makes the car even darker (-) or makes the sky all white (+)

I love the sky on the picture, but again, the car is too dark!

Grrrrr :D



malla1962 said:
The car has some bad backlighting did you try shooting from the other side of it?
Click to expand...

As above, I wanted the sunset in the picture, the other side was just bushes!
 
Looks like the car is in quite a shaded area and your camera has set exposure for the sky, if you set your camera for correct exposure on your car in that shade it will probably over expose the sky. You could try taking 2 pics with different exposures and merge them or failing that take a pic of the car in better light ............ lol.
 
The range of light between the sky (lightest) and car (darkest) makes this a difficult shot to get. It looks like your camera has exposed the shot for the sky and not the car i.e. the shutter speed is likely to be too quick thus not exposing the car for long enough and making it too dark.

You could try 'Spot' exposure on the car. This would get the car right but runs the risk of 'blowing-out' the sky i.e. making it too bright due to big difference in light levels between the sky and the car. You could also try exposure compensation, moving it by 1 stop (+1 or -1) each time until you get a shot you like.

You may have more joy taking the picture in the other direction i.e. with the sun behind you and the stronger coloured sky behind the car. There would then be less of a range of light and the car would be better lit. Watch out for your own shadow though.

Failing that you are into taking 2 shots of the car, one exposed for the sky and one exposed for the car and merging them using photo-editing software to get the best of both.
 
I guess the only option as you say is taking 2 pics. Im never going to get a good pic when the lighting is that bad.

Thanks for the replies everyone
 
Shooting cars is more difficult than it looks. You need really good light, from the right direction, and anything but a black car!

Black is notoriously hard, verging on the impossible to get looking really good. The pic you posted would look completely different if shot from the other side, ie not into the light, and if the car was a lighter colour.
 
Like everyone else has said, it's really difficult to properly expose a back-lit subject - let alone one that is black (it's a SEAT isn't it?).
Try taking it the other way round or at a different part of the day when the sun is in a more favourable, or find a way if illuminating the car by flash or some other means - although this will bring a new set of issues with it as well.

I've not tried HDR but I think it'd help you here as it combines a range of exposures, but I believe you will need specialist software.

I like your other pics by the way, might want to clone out the dirt on the lens on the first landscape though :)
 
The dirt's on the sensor ;)
 
madhouse said:
Like everyone else has said, it's really difficult to properly expose a back-lit subject - let alone one that is black (it's a SEAT isn't it?).
Try taking it the other way round or at a different part of the day when the sun is in a more favourable, or find a way if illuminating the car by flash or some other means - although this will bring a new set of issues with it as well.

I've not tried HDR but I think it'd help you here as it combines a range of exposures, but I believe you will need specialist software.

I like your other pics by the way, might want to clone out the dirt on the lens on the first landscape though :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for that - and I know, I must have missed that dirt mark when editing! :)
 
AboveUsOnlySky said:
I guess the only option as you say is taking 2 pics. Im never going to get a good pic when the lighting is that bad.

Thanks for the replies everyone
Click to expand...

The light is good fact but the brightness range is wide so you need to figure out how to catch it. If you can shoot 16 bit raw then expose for the shadows and pull the sky down in post. If you can't then shoot two or three mask between them in post.

The sky shots, you may have enough in them already.

I'd also pay some attention to composition.
 
I think get a good exposure on the car, then merge in your sky of choice in PS/PSE. There are tons of tutorials on the net, that will help you make a good job of it. Also, what about a bit of fill in flash to even the exposure out a bit. Not a difficult job with a Speedlight or two.

As has been mentioned already, black is difficult colour. In future buy an 18% grey or silver car.;)
 
Two exposures of light the car are your only real options. With the light behind the car it is coming towards you so of course you are not going to get any light on this side of the car.

Another way of trying it would be to tripod mount the camera and use a torch or other light source to paint the car with light. I do it with boudoir shots using a video light and while that car is bigger the principle remains the same ;)
 
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