Night shots

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indigo

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Ok so im going to take a 2nd attempt of shooting london at night, can you give me some tips on settings etc on my camera for a good night shot?

Im going to get a tripod right now to take with me.
 
It may help telling people what camera & lens will be used.:):thumbs:
 
there must be quite a variation in lighting...at night
if you take a tripod you will get the benefit of small apertures to starr the lighting and freeze and ghost the scene
i would vote long exposures of up to 30 seconds if possible
 
I am looking to shoot at night so this thread is quite good for me to. I have a Canon EOS 450D with the 18-55mm IS lens. I will be using the tripod, what type of lighting should I be looking for?
 
i used to use 30 secs but then i changed

i now as a general rule use the following settings on my 30D

Set to AV

then use iso 100

and and about f9

but this is my personal choie you may have to find your own settings


here is a example
4085998463_f020c5df7e.jpg
 
wegotitugetit said:
i used to use 30 secs but then i changed

i now as a general rule use the following settings on my 30D

Set to AV

then use iso 100

and and about f9

but this is my personal choie you may have to find your own settings


here is a example
4085998463_f020c5df7e.jpg
Click to expand...

That's great @sketch and @wego.

Thanks. :thumbs:
 
Be careful if you are on your own i almost got mugged
Regards
Lost
(A GOOD HEAVY TRIPOD IS VERY HANDY CLUB)
 
Carlm90 said:
I am looking to shoot at night so this thread is quite good for me to. I have a Canon EOS 450D with the 18-55mm IS lens. I will be using the tripod, what type of lighting should I be looking for?
Click to expand...

doesn't matter - experiment.

I visited london a couple of weeks ago and just set up the tripod, used cable release, and experimented with various apertures.... I took pictures of darker areas and lighter areas, I tried exposures of 1 second to exposures of 30 seconds.... just get out there and expirement - but understand how the different apertures and exposure times will affect the finished product.

HTH
 
mgdaviso said:
doesn't matter - experiment.

I visited london a couple of weeks ago and just set up the tripod, used cable release, and experimented with various apertures.... I took pictures of darker areas and lighter areas, I tried exposures of 1 second to exposures of 30 seconds.... just get out there and expirement - but understand how the different apertures and exposure times will affect the finished product.

HTH
Click to expand...

:plusone::agree:

You can even try some hdr if you so choose!

My starting point is usually a good sturdy tripod, if you have a remote shutter release use it if not then set your camera to timer and mirror lock up and it will enable a three sec pause before taking the shot.. start with ISO 100 and say about f16 then depending on the available light adjust your shutter speed from there.. expect to use around twenty to thirty sec though..

Look out for some interesting angles, shadows and shapes and try to get a different perspective on things... But the main thing is that you experiment and keep checking the back of the screen to see how changing the settings alters the image..

An example of my last trip to london for some night time photo's

4095731937_e249978861_o.jpg
 
wegotitugetit said:
i used to use 30 secs but then i changed

i now as a general rule use the following settings on my 30D

Set to AV

then use iso 100

and and about f9

but this is my personal choie you may have to find your own settings


here is a example
4085998463_f020c5df7e.jpg
Click to expand...

could that be the lowry
 
Nice shot there onform,i agree you have to experiment with shutter speeds.:):thumbs:
 
Generally when taking photos at night, I use aperture priority and let the camera decide the shutter speed. If it's under exposing, I'll then switch to manual mode and keep the same aperture and increase the shutter speed from what the camera was suggesting. I'd generally use a small aperture (f11-f22), but it'd all depend on the effect I wanted. ISO - as low as possible.

I also shoot raw files so that I can adjust the white balance afterwards if needed.
 
Thanks for all the tips, i haven't managed to get out yet.

One question would you bother to use the flash? I dont have one apart from the small one on the camera.
 
indigo said:
One question would you bother to use the flash? I dont have one apart from the small one on the camera.
Click to expand...

No, you'd only need it if you wanted to light something in the foreground but on your first attempts I'd stick with getting the basics right and understanding how settings affect results. Can be tricky to WB night photos using flash, and on-camera flash is *generally* not that effective anyway.
 
Make sure you use a remote or a timer to stop camera shake + mirror up
 
Can someone explain the difference the apature setting has on night photography if you keep the ISO constant and set your shutter speed for the correct exposure dependant on the appature you use (ie you follow Recipricory(sp?) Law)

Ive heard the following rumours but not sure if they are true...

1. smaller apatures such as F16-32 make lights have a star effect?

2. DOF is not an issue at night?

I've always assumed that for night shots you should try and get the fastest shutter speed possible so as to reduce any effects of tripod and camera wobble... based on night scene shots where you want pin sharp images!
 
1. true (i generally try to avoid it)
2. not true. sometimes its less of an issue depends on the subject, but f8/f11 ish (depending on lens etc) will still give the sharpest results
3. not true. for example you could crank the iso and take a quick shot IMO longer shutter times give better results, and as above ideally you want to be f8 (if you can be bothered waiting), but yes you must keep the tripod still, but if you can keep it still for 30 secs you should be able to keep it still for 60.
 
lost said:
Be careful if you are on your own i almost got mugged
Regards
Lost
(A GOOD HEAVY TRIPOD IS VERY HANDY CLUB)
Click to expand...

This is what concerns me. I'd love to hit London at night but doing it on my own? No chance.
 
Dman said:
This is what concerns me. I'd love to hit London at night but doing it on my own? No chance.
Click to expand...

so long as you stick to the parts that are popular with visitors,like trafalgar sq,covent garden,tower bridge,south bank etc...you will be fine.

right,as said...tripod is essential..best shoot in manual mode,set the aperture for req'd DOF,and set the exposure.use remote or self timer with mirror lockup to minimise movement,and away you go....


DSC00037_filtered.jpg



towerbridge2_filtered-1.jpg


DSC00643.jpg
 
markelliot said:
Ive heard the following rumours but not sure if they are true...

1. smaller apatures such as F16-32 make lights have a star effect?

2. DOF is not an issue at night?

I've always assumed that for night shots you should try and get the fastest shutter speed possible so as to reduce any effects of tripod and camera wobble... based on night scene shots where you want pin sharp images!
Click to expand...

1) Depends on lens - some have a very distinct starburst pattern (Sigma 10-20) whilst others just have regular but not especially attractive points jutting out from the light source. The opposite of this is that, wide open, your light source can cause significant spill into other subject areas. Best example is to imagine a glass building with metal frames between each pane. Too wide an aperture and all you'll see is light with no definition to the edges.

2) DoF is exactly the same issue at night. It's generally considered sensible to shoot wide rather than long, as a long length will exaggerate any camera shake, and DoF is greater for shorter focal lengths at any given aperture.
 
Dman said:
This is what concerns me. I'd love to hit London at night but doing it on my own? No chance.
Click to expand...

You can be out of London this time of year by 7.30pm with a full set of dark images, there's still plenty of people around.

I spent a couple of hours two weeks ago shooting the City - packed everything up between locations and deterred any would-be aggressors with a purposeful walk and 60cm x 5kg of Manfrotto ;)
 
Stan the Man superb Images there, thats what night shots are all about IMO.... but then I am no expert just know what I like...Well Done :clap: :clap:
 
LovesRaptors said:
Stan the Man superb Images there, thats what night shots are all about IMO.... but then I am no expert just know what I like...Well Done :clap: :clap:
Click to expand...

cheers LR :thumbs:

i'm no expert,but i do love taking night shots...especially in city's like london with so much to shoot,but unfortunately all the above have been shot to death.

need to find something new now...:thinking: :lol:
 
I just use a mini tripod the 2 second timer. Its digital, take as many pics as you like, personally I go for a wide apertuere and a longer exposure to suck all the light up.
I took these recently, came out ok.
 
Thanks for the advise, i am hoping to get my night shots done soon, just dont fancy ventureing around london on my own.
 
loved the shots...cant always find something new and your shots have their own originality
 
I'm leaving work early one day next week to get up into London for rush hour, then I'll be surrounded by people. I'll leave it til about 8 before heading back, three hours should get me a few decent shots with any luck.
 
love this thread, some great night shots :clap:, never tried it with a dslr, must have a go when it warms up a bit.
lets see some more examples chaps...keep going and keep the info on technique coming too.
 
stan the man said:
cheers LR :thumbs:

i'm no expert,but i do love taking night shots...especially in city's like london with so much to shoot,but unfortunately all the above have been shot to death.

need to find something new now...:thinking: :lol:
Click to expand...

thats what i thought..you did creditable shots though..dont really like the wheel shot that way
could it be done static but lit..?

i think the mystery of the dark and lights are good in many areas..say richmond
 
You are better to shoot in raw for quality and editing in pp..Use a tripod and keep on your lowest iso setting.. keep the aperture to F/11 or F/16 for sharpness and DOF, use manual and adjust your shutter speed to increase or decrease exposure, put white balance setting on daylight and use a lens hood to reduce flare and of course better with a remote release than self timer.

Thats the way I was taught and works for me but then what do I know :D
 
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