Night photos of lit buildings?

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Matt.

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I've got an abbey about 500m away, and it's probably about time i took a few photos of it :) However, i'd like to do night shots which is something i haven't really done a lot of. What tips would you give me? is there an ideal time to take the pics? any sort of settings i should be using?

Thanks!
 
I would say a small appature, around f22 and about 30mins - 1 hours after sunset. :p I just stole that from the conversation you had on IRC :D

Are you going to take the photos from 500m away?

I would personally get there running upto sunset (the sun goes down fast this time of year) and just keep trying various settings and angles until you see something that looks good, then just wait for it to get dark and keep playing the the settings as the light fades. That aint a lot of help I know, but its the way I find most fun :)
 
best time is dusk, so you got light behind as well as in front, with a tripod, F8 - F11 i think i was told before, you dont get much chance to get it right, so be prepared for a couple of days shooting!
 
Tripod, lowest ISO you can, CLEAN sensor! Aperture priority with an aperture of f16 or smaller usually obliges with a decently long shutter time, but it does rather depend on how well lit the building it. Watch out for areas immediately around lights blowing out.

Night shooting is great fun and you'll probably get hooked on it! get stuck in, try things out and see what results you get, is probably the best advise I could suggest!
 
Witch said:
Tripod, lowest ISO you can, CLEAN sensor! Aperture priority with an aperture of f16 or smaller usually obliges with a decently long shutter time, but it does rather depend on how well lit the building it. Watch out for areas immediately around lights blowing out.

Night shooting is great fun and you'll probably get hooked on it! get stuck in, try things out and see what results you get, is probably the best advise I could suggest!
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You are spot on Witch - I am hooked on night shooting at the moment ...

Only comment I can add is eitehr 1. Use Timer, or 2. Use a shutter release cable.
 
chewyuk said:
You are spot on Witch - I am hooked on night shooting at the moment ...

Only comment I can add is eitehr 1. Use Timer, or 2. Use a shutter release cable.
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DOH - yes, should have mentioned the remote release! :bonk: In my defence I have this rotten coldy-fluey thing that's doing the rounds - and as a result am struggling to think in a straight line!
 
you could also take multiple exposures and combine later to combat the risk of the lights blowing out.
 
All above is great advice.

Multiple exposures are great if you cannot achieve the length of exposure you need (e.g. to blur moving clouds/water/light trails).

Use a remote and bulb setting for very long exposures. Canon remotes can handle longer exposure times than the camera will do automatically.

If you have an area that is not lit up enough, with a small aperature and long exposure you often have time to get in about with a torch or flash (plus gels) to add light where needed. Good Luck! :thumbs:
 
Jimmy_Lemon said:
I would say a small appature, around f22 and about 30mins - 1 hours after sunset. :p I just stole that from the conversation you had on IRC :D
Click to expand...

Haha I was just thinking "OMG Thats exactly what I thought" :p
 
One very important thing to remember when taking night shots is use the small rubber viewfinder cap (on my canon it's attached to the neck strap).

This stops stray light getting into the camera through the viewfinder.

I took a few shots of the Clydeside in Glasgow under a very well lit red bridge and with exposures in excess of 20 secs, all came out with what looked like red flare.

Now I always remember to put on the cap. Very effective.
 
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