First Ever Night Shot

Seajay

Seajay

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,493
Name
Cathy
Edit My Images
Yes
Been keen to try so took myself off to the Auld Kirk in Alloway near to Rabbie Burns House.
I was not at all comfortable trying to get my tripod straight as I was standing on graves but when i saw the first picture appearing with no flash I was thrilled.
Room for improvement I know but I enjoyed trying.They have coloured lights in there that turn all colours very distracting.





Auld Kirk Alloway Ayr by cooriedoon, on Flickr







Auld Kirk-2 by cooriedoon, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
Not bad for a first try white balance is out but easy corrected, you could do with a better subject and compositition but a great first effort youll get more confident the more you try, I think the strong light behind you has a lot to do with it, hope you dont mind ny WB edit probably more like you saw I got rid of the purple cast

8374567964_4f453d8ae4_b.jpg


8373442989_1b7c649d96_b.jpg


Dave
 
Last edited:
Hi Cathy great first effort. Well done.
 
Dave no it is fine I take all the help I can get :) and it does make a huge difference thank you.


My problem was that behind me was a timer that did paint the church yard in purple ,lilac ,yellow ,red ,green etc I have no idea why they do that it would look just fine with normal lights . So I had to wait very now and then for the normal light before the cycle of colours began again . Not the best place to start. But really just wanted to see if I could do it. As usual it was fun though I must be mad going out on a Saturday night to a graveyard on my own.

Scott thank you I appreciate that.
Cathy
 
Last edited:
Seajay said:
Dave no it is fine I take all the help I can get :) and it does make a huge difference thank you.


My problem was that behind me was a timer that did paint the church yard in purple ,lilac ,yellow ,red ,green etc I have no idea why they do that it would look just fine with normal lights . So I had to wait very now and then for the normal light before the cycle of colours began again . Not the best place to start. But really just wanted to see if I could do it. As usual it was fun though I must be mad going out on a Saturday night to a graveyard on my own.

Scott thank you I appreciate that.
Cathy
Click to expand...

ah you didnt mention the coloured lights until you edited your post
 
Dave they really were hard to work around but no matter . I think next time I will maybe go and try the squinty bridge in Glasgow it looks much more exciting lol!
 
Hi, for me, getting out there at night deserves a massive well done.

Dave's edit does improve and it can be quite hard not to produce a cluttered photograph. Just keep an eye on the border of your photograph, #1 for example had a rather large grave stone dropped and poking in at the left.

Good show, thought, and well done for under taking such a spooky shoot! Cheers.
 
Andy thank you and yes Dave did a great job it looks so much better

i have taken note of your advice and see what you mean.

To be honest i was not paying enough attention in there tonight.
In and out rather quick but t was so exciting to see an image in this light with no flash for the first time.
I will try again soon. Many thanks to you all.
 
Seajay said:
Dave they really were hard to work around but no matter . I think next time I will maybe go and try the squinty bridge in Glasgow it looks much more exciting lol!
Click to expand...

had to google squinty bridge in Glasgow looks good , for your next outing, go with someone so you dont feel vulnerable, next time try ISO 100 as you did and F11/16 for the bridge shot and manual/bulb (id go for the latter) rather than AV as it choose F3.5, then you can choose the exposure time rather than the camera guessing
 
Last edited:
Dave have now added these settings to my note pad on my phone and I will try these next time. I really appreciate this a lot thank you.
I just got myself a shutter release cable I think I prefer it to the remote as i now don't have to click in front of
the camera.
 
Seajay said:
Been keen to try so took myself off to the Auld Kirk in Alloway near to Rabbie Burns House.
I was not at all comfortable trying to get my tripod straight as I was standing on graves but when i saw the first picture appearing with no flash I was thrilled.
Room for improvement I know but I enjoyed trying.They have coloured lights in there that turn all colours very distracting.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49668250@N04/8373442989/
Auld Kirk Alloway Ayr by cooriedoon, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49668250@N04/8373456879/
Auld Kirk-2 by cooriedoon, on Flickr
Click to expand...

That is so much fun isn't it! I love shooting night shots. My favorite is shooting night shoots of water, like docked boats. The slow shutter makes for a awesome smooth effect and light reflections can be flat out beautiful. You should try it if you get a chance.

Here is my flicker account if you would like to check out some of them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47096888@N06/
 
Shayne you have many wonderful pictures there! I do like the one with the boats and all the light reflections and enjoyed all your other night shots.Thank you for sharing and I must have a think about Ayrshire and where and what might be good to take in an evening.
 
Seajay said:
Shayne you have many wonderful pictures there! I do like the one with the boats and all the light reflections and enjoyed all your other night shots.Thank you for sharing and I must have a think about Ayrshire and where and what might be good to take in an evening.
Click to expand...

I see some similarities between Shayne and you. It only seems like 2 minutes since he started here, asked loads of questions and always took the advice on board. He's learned more in a short time than many photographers do in a lifetime because of this.
 
Phil that is good news for me as I do feel like a TP stalker, and a bit of a pest even though I do get out and try all the advice given. I know I don't always get it right but I really do listen and appreciate all the help on this list. At least when I pop along for my 4 hour work shop in Glasgow once I get it booked I will know what he is talking about. I am also going along to my local camera club this week for the first of my free sessions and can,t wait . I am hoping they too like questions from a novice:)
 
Good on you Cathy going out on a cold dark night. I was out Sat. night but didn't come back with anything worthy of posting lol. Nice shots though. Personally I prefer the B&W one. Would agree about using manual/bulb for the night shots though.
JohnyT
 
Well! what can i say?

Been browsing through all the night shots Johny they are fabulous and i love the HDR ones but that willow tree!!!! loving it!

Ok now I know i need to get another night shot quick so that i can get rid of my wee graveyard ones so embarrassing ! but hey need to start somewhere
Cathy
 
Thanks for the compliment!
As you've probably gathered, night/low light shots are all about experimentation. What I do is keep (for now) all my night shots so I can keep track of what settings work (for me) then eventually I will delete them. There are quite a few tutorials on Youtube too.
JohnyT
 
Well there is another lesson I have learned. I don't take note at all I set out with something I know should work ,look at it and then just bracket my way through delete the worst which is most right now. I have learned not to trust my view as I know it will change on my iMac but instead of noting down settings to try on my phone I will now note what I am using and compare as I go.
 
Hi Cathy,

I too am a novice, and love night shots (see my Flickr page, there's a link below in my signature). Don't worry if you haven't made note of your settings, you can get them up on info in iPhoto, or on Flickr. In iPhoto look where the edit button is in the bottom right corner, then click on the info button, it will tell you your aperture and shutter time, along with iso etc. on Flickr look down the right hand side once you've clicked on your pic, look for additional info, then click on the info part this will open a page with a whole raft of information on the settings you have used. Sorry if you already knew this!

Good luck with your next night time shots, I like the grave yard ones!

Alan
 
Phil V said:
I see some similarities between Shayne and you. It only seems like 2 minutes since he started here, asked loads of questions and always took the advice on board. He's learned more in a short time than many photographers do in a lifetime because of this.
Click to expand...

Thanks Phil that is a very nice compliment coming from someone with your knowledge. For the record it was 3 minutes ago when I got my start into photography. Lol. Actually I started in march of 2012 but I spent hours and hours studying and practicing. The credit really goes to Phil and Hopoy and all of the others that were so gracious with all of their help. I learned so much from this site and their members in such a short time. Thanks everyone. Cathy my advice is to ask as many questions as possible and shoot in between. These members have a world of knowledge between them and are so happy to share. Good luck and don't forget to show us your progress.
 
Seajay said:
Dave have now added these settings to my note pad on my phone and I will try these next time. I really appreciate this a lot thank you.
I just got myself a shutter release cable I think I prefer it to the remote as i now don't have to click in front of
the camera.
Click to expand...

Cathy, if there's a radio remote rather than an Infra Red one, you can stand practically anywhere (even in other rooms, depending on brand of remote) and trip the shutter. No chance of a tug on the cable when releasing.

Nice results, especially for a beginner. Well done for listening to advice - plenty don't bother!
 
I have not looked at radio remotes yet mine was just a cheap one from ebay.
I will go and have al look and thank you for your very welcome advice. I do love this forum you are all great!
 
Last edited:
Really good idea, wish I had the skills to take good night pictures! Your not too far from me actually, and its given me a good idea of where to shoot night shots.
 
Just a word or 2 on the standing on graves issue...

If the graves are frequently visited or recent, respect the mourners and don't trample the grave. Old graves with no signs of recent activity (from mourners!) still deserve respect but you're unlikely to offend the inhabitants by standing on them (one hopes).
 
I have a question on radio remotes. I use a cable remote 99% of the time and truth be told there is a very low possibility of pulling the cord and creating shake from what I have seen. I also have a inferred remote but I don't like it all to well. The signal has to hit the camera sensor in order for it to work and sometimes that is no easy task. I had my camera set up on a tripod and rotated long ways and had a really hard time getting the remote to work. My question is about the radio remotes, do they work on all cameras or does your camera have to come with the feature? I am using a 600D right now and will be going to a 5Dmrk3 this year so if it is possible I would like to use the remote for both cameras. Sorry to hijack.
 
shaylou said:
I have a question on radio remotes. I use a cable remote 99% of the time and truth be told there is a very low possibility of pulling the cord and creating shake from what I have seen. I also have a inferred remote but I don't like it all to well. The signal has to hit the camera sensor in order for it to work and sometimes that is no easy task. I had my camera set up on a tripod and rotated long ways and had a really hard time getting the remote to work. My question is about the radio remotes, do they work on all cameras or does your camera have to come with the feature? I am using a 600D right now and will be going to a 5Dmrk3 this year so if it is possible I would like to use the remote for both cameras. Sorry to hijack.
Click to expand...
The radio remote has a receiver that plugs into the remote socket, I don't think the same remote can be used on a 600d and 5d. From memory the 600d is a std jack plug and the 5d has the proprietary Canon D shaped socket. There's DIY solutions to create a multi use remote for Canon though.
 
Phil V said:
The radio remote has a receiver that plugs into the remote socket, I don't think the same remote can be used on a 600d and 5d. From memory the 600d is a std jack plug and the 5d has the proprietary Canon D shaped socket. There's DIY solutions to create a multi use remote for Canon though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the fast reply. I don't know how important this is to me right now as I have just started to take self portraits. I was trying to take a long exposure shot of myself but the movement of trying to get the remote to react messed things up. I also noticed some difficulty trying to take pics of my girlfriend and I wail on vacation with the remote. I will look into the cost of these and probably end up with one for my 5D but not so sure about the 600. Thanks again.
 
Shayne, try a combination of remote and self timer. Trip the remote and use the self timer delay to lose the plipper.

It should be relatively easy to add a connector to the middle of a radio remote's lead so the camera terminal can be changed to suit. You might need to but a cheap cable release to get the second camera terminal unless you can blag one from somewhere!
 
Nod said:
Shayne, try a combination of remote and self timer. Trip the remote and use the self timer delay to lose the plipper.

It should be relatively easy to add a connector to the middle of a radio remote's lead so the camera terminal can be changed to suit. You might need to but a cheap cable release to get the second camera terminal unless you can blag one from somewhere!
Click to expand...

That sounds like a good idea. No more hand in the air as the shot fires. Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top