Night time shooting help

cab.in.boston

My wife and I drive past this house all the time, and always think it looks beautiful, especially lit up at night. But how do I get good looking shots of something that is mostly very dark, but with a bright highlight like the spotlight on the door? I bracketed a few shots so that later (if/when I learn how) I can try an HDR and see if that works. Anyway, this is the shot, it was shot on my D90, Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 at 42mm, ISO 800, 6s, f/11. I'm relatively happy with the house itself, although the door frame is fairly blown out, but the background is totally lost. What can I do for subjects like this?

Artistic critique of the shot itself isn't really what I'm looking for (I know it's not level, my tripod was across the street and not square with the house), I'm working on technique here.

Thanks.

craig_d

For a scene like this one, I'd be inclined to mount the camera on a tripod and take at least three exposures: a long one (possibly several seconds depending on what the ambient light is really like) to get the background and the roof, another one spot-metered on the front door itself (not the bright white frame; the door looks to be of a middling-light value, so I think the frame should come out okay this way), and then one about halfway in between those. Combine the exposures either by hand with layer masks, or with HDR.

You could probably pull some detail out of the shadows in this shot just by pulling up the low end of the tone curve, but probably not enough, especially on the roof.

There is always the simple solution to not having enough light, which is to provide your own, but if you don't want to call attention to yourself by using a flash, then combined exposures is the way to go, I think. A flash, of course, would cast shadows of its own, which you might not want, and you'd have to be careful not to drown out the house light and the shadows cast by it.

cab.in.boston

Thanks for the tips. So I guess I was on the right track. I just didn't know if there was some way to get it all in one exposure. I did a 3-frame bracket, all f/11, ISO 800, with shutter speeds of 2s, 6s, and 20s. Looks like I'd need to either open up the aperture or do an even longer exposure to get more detail on the roof.

You're exactly right, I didn't want to call too much attention to myself, I was shooting at about 10pm, and I didn't want to concern the residents. I even turned off the AF flash assist light so they wouldn't think some weirdo was out trying to peep in their windows. However, even had I used flash, that might have given some detail on the roof, but I doubt it would have been enough to bring out the background.

The door is definitely a medium color, it's a very old-fashioned looking wooden door, and is a big reason why my wife and I like the look of this house.

Thanks again!

g_smith

Though you might like to see a HDR made from the low res photos of your home. I used Photomatix Pro and one of the default HDR settings called "Natural" then added a bit of contrast and shapening with Capture NX.

DSC_1193_11-12-2009_21-15-27And2more_tonemapped.jpg

TangoJuliet

While the HDR might be one way to do it, I might try going during that period just after sunset, while the sky still has some color to it. Tripod, ISO 200, long shutters, perhaps bracket and layer, but it might not be needed.