Beginner - My attempt of the Sydney Harbour Bridge

LuxD-147

Hi all,
This is my first post.

I am very new to DSLR Photography but i am very keen to learn.



This picture was taken around 11.50 pm.
I didn't have a tripod and it was so windy. This was the best out of 10 other photos that i have taken on that night.

Can you please be kind enough to tell me what you think about this photo?
How can i improve?

Can you please also suggest a lens for <600 AUD
I am interested in taking Landscape photos like this.

Many thanks

Photo Stats
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Canon EOS 1000D
Lens: EF-S18-55MM f/3.5-5.6
1.0 sec at f/3.5
ISO: 200
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Nikonic1

There is really no way to take a 1 second exposure with no tripod and have it look good. That should be your first purchase if you would like to continue with pictures after dark.

It's hard to give constructive criticism on a photo that is so technically flawed. Do you have others that you've taken so far?

My best suggestion is to read a lot here. There is a WEALTH of information. It would also help to read into some beginner tips for photography in general. This will give you a baseline and some groundwork to start building your knowledge on. Happy shooting

LuxD-147

Nikonic1 wrote:

There is really no way to take a 1 second exposure with no tripod and have it look good. That should be your first purchase if you would like to continue with pictures after dark.

It's hard to give constructive criticism on a photo that is so technically flawed. Do you have others that you've taken so far?

My best suggestion is to read a lot here. There is a WEALTH of information. It would also help to read into some beginner tips for photography in general. This will give you a baseline and some groundwork to start building your knowledge on. Happy shooting

Thanks for your comments.
Unfortunately other photos are all blurry.
Now i have a tripod and I am doing some reading about beginner photography. Thank you.

Nikonic1

Right on....educating yourself on the basics is a huge step in the right direction. It's one of the best ways to progress and insure that you won't end up frustrated and giving it up. Good luck....keep at it!

LuxD-147

Thanks you. Much appreciated

Thwack

For those that don't have a tripod, sometimes you can get away with a simple bean bag on top of a rock, post, low wall, etc. You can make your own for about ten dollars (mostly the cost of the beads that go inside) or buy a commercial version for slightly more.

It won't do everything a tripod will do, but it's a lot more portable and lower cost.

You mentioned you have a tripod now...but you also mentioned it was really windy. Even a good tripod can be jiggled by wind. There are tricks for improving that (by weight down the tripod or blocking the wind with your body). Then again, some times it's easier to wait for a less windy night to shoot (if you can get back to your spot easily…waiting doesn't work well when traveling).

You asked for suggestions on another lens…what features do you not like about the one you have?

Did you try shooting with any other ISO settings? If you don't need long exposure times, you can bump ISO to a higher number and drop the shutter time. Shorter shutter times don't look like they'd hurt that shot other than the water being a bit less silky...

TNTATC

You'll need a tripod and a lens for 600bucs shouldnt be a problem, I shot with $100 lenses for years with great results. It's all about how you work it. Just check settings and if you have a low F-stop you can shoot at lower light faster to aviod as much blurr. Check your horizon when shooting to make sure it's level if you looking for that. If you happen to have photoshop try to shoot in RAW mode it will give you a better quality pic in the end to work on. Well this was quick gatta get back to work. Keep trying you'll pic it up with practice.
Control your breathing like a sniper would when hand holding any pics at night.

schmoo

Hi LuxD and welcome! I don't have any advice other than what the fine photographers here have suggested, but I can say that you've come to the right place to get some good advice on starting shooting! Also, I hope that you'll be able to post your results so that we can watch your progress.

A lot of us have learned soooo much from just being on Dgrin and we hope that you find everything that you need here, too.