Speaking of shooting at night, Any tips on taking a picture of a car at night using existing light? As an example, taking a pic on a dealership lot which is well lit with those large lights that illuminate the whole area. what settings.ie, shutter speed, ISO, aperature would be recommended? I would be using a tripod and my Canon 10D. Any input would be appreciated or if anyone has a pic of a car night pic would help. Thanks
With all due respect, we can guess all night here (pun intended:-) and don't even come close to what just a couple of minutes of test shooting and analyzing the histogram would give you.
With all due respect, we can guess all night here (pun intended:-) and don't even come close to what just a couple of minutes of test shooting and analyzing the histogram would give you.
Thanks for the reply. I plan on going out when it get dark to take a few "test shots". Never thought about using the histogram.
CANON 1D 10D 40D
EF50MM 1.4
EF50MM 1.8 MKI
EF28-135MM IS USM
EF 17-40MM F4L
EF 70-200MM f4L
CANON 580EX
Thanks for the reply. I plan on going out when it get dark to take a few "test shots". Never thought about using the histogram.
Glad to be of help. Histogram totally eliminates the guess factor. It's not *always* usable, e.g. it's almost useless when the light changes very fast (that is, unless you have a "live" one, which 10D doesn't have), but in your case it looks like a perfect tool for the job.
Good luck, dont' forget to share the final results!
Great thread... i'm just starting out with dslrs and have just been out once shoooting at night... just messing around with the settings, as i'm just getting used to my new dslr...
Exposure:30 sec (30)Aperture:f/22Focal Length:55 mmISO Speed:800Exposure Bias:0/6 EV
With different White Balance settings:
Exposure:0.002 sec (1/500)Aperture:f/5.6Focal Length:200 mmISO Speed:200Exposure Bias:0/6 EV
To all of you have been involved in this great thread, a newbie question: why such high aperture values? Instinctively I would have thought that the more wide open the better?
Went out last night and took a few test shots. The yellowish hue is from the overhead lights in the parking lot. This night shooting may be interesting.
CANON 1D 10D 40D
EF50MM 1.4
EF50MM 1.8 MKI
EF28-135MM IS USM
EF 17-40MM F4L
EF 70-200MM f4L
CANON 580EX
Here are a couple I took on the weekend, after this thread inspired me to get out and play at night.
[/quote]
Hey Scottboy, I love the sharpiness of this shot. what was the exif? with my night shots I find that the longer i keep the shutter open the less focused (softer) the photos look. I use a tripod and electronic remote release. So I can't seem to get tack sharp pics with long exposures and small appertures, and have to compromise my DOF with sharpness. Is that usual when shooting at night (this is way past sunset, say midnight)
EXIF = Date Taken 2007-11-03 18:59:41 CameraCanon EOS 350D DIGITAL Exposure Time 25s Aperture f/22.0 ISO100 Focal Length 35mm Flashflash did not fire, compulsory flash mode Exposure Program shutter priority
EXIF = Date Taken 2007-11-03 18:59:41 CameraCanon EOS 350D DIGITAL Exposure Time 25s Aperture f/22.0 ISO100 Focal Length 35mm Flashflash did not fire, compulsory flash mode Exposure Program shutter priority
Hey Scottboy, I love the sharpiness of this shot. what was the exif? with my night shots I find that the longer i keep the shutter open the less focused (softer) the photos look. I use a tripod and electronic remote release. So I can't seem to get tack sharp pics with long exposures and small appertures, and have to compromise my DOF with sharpness. Is that usual when shooting at night (this is way past sunset, say midnight)
Hi Izzy, that was actually my pic. I think Scottboy lost one of the quote tags when he quoted my posting, adding a little confusion to whose pic that was.
That shot was 15 sec exposure at 4.2f. Focal length 32mm. I don't really know why you don't get sharp pics at night I also use an electronic remote release... Perhaps at low aps your focus is not quite hitting the intended target and so getting lost in the shallow DOF??
Hi Izzy, that was actually my pic. I think Scottboy lost one of the quote tags when he quoted my posting, adding a little confusion to whose pic that was.
That shot was 15 sec exposure at 4.2f. Focal length 32mm. I don't really know why you don't get sharp pics at night I also use an electronic remote release... Perhaps at low aps your focus is not quite hitting the intended target and so getting lost in the shallow DOF??
Hey Mike, my bad. great pic do you set your focus manually, then? what about when I'm using aps at 10-22? I usually let the auto focus do the job, but I'm finding that I might have to get a high power flashlight and do it myself. How do you all find focus at night?
Hey Scottboy, I love the sharpiness of this shot. what was the exif? with my night shots I find that the longer i keep the shutter open the less focused (softer) the photos look. I use a tripod and electronic remote release. So I can't seem to get tack sharp pics with long exposures and small appertures, and have to compromise my DOF with sharpness. Is that usual when shooting at night (this is way past sunset, say midnight)
How heavy is your tripod? do you use mirror lockup?
If you hold one of the legs of your tripod and hit the shutter, you will feel a shudder as the mirror flips up, the whole point of mirror lockup, is to reduce the mirror slap by hitting the shutter once to lockup the mirror, waiting a few seconds then hitting it again to open the shutter. This helps heaps with the sharpness in long exposure shots.
The sturdiness of your tripod is a big thing too, especially if there is any wind. My tripod has a hook in the center under the head. For night shots, I take some cord and hang my camera bag off this hook, I make it just touch the ground so that it won't swing around. All that extra weight pulling straight down makes it much more stable.
You're prolly working with AdobeRGB (or some other extended color space). Web is sRGB kingdom...
Hey Nik, if I change the color space in the camera, will it stay consistent after post processing, or do I need to make some adjustments? and if I shot in adobe rgb, can I change it later, or is it finished?
How heavy is your tripod? do you use mirror lockup?
If you hold one of the legs of your tripod and hit the shutter, you will feel a shudder as the mirror flips up, the whole point of mirror lockup, is to reduce the mirror slap by hitting the shutter once to lockup the mirror, waiting a few seconds then hitting it again to open the shutter. This helps heaps with the sharpness in long exposure shots.
The sturdiness of your tripod is a big thing too, especially if there is any wind. My tripod has a hook in the center under the head. For night shots, I take some cord and hang my camera bag off this hook, I make it just touch the ground so that it won't swing around. All that extra weight pulling straight down makes it much more stable.
Hey James, thanks for the tip! i hadn't thought about hanging my bag from my tripod
I do use mirror lockup for night shots, but I'll try to hang the bag from the tripod and see how that works.
Hey James, thanks for the tip! i hadn't thought about hanging my bag from my tripod
I do use mirror lockup for night shots, but I'll try to hang the bag from the tripod and see how that works.
Thanks a ton
Izzy
Using a (usually rather heavy:-) camera bag as a tripod stabilizer is a fairly common technique. Here's a sample from a small sunset shooting gallery:
If nothing else, it's much better to keep your bag up in the air than have it lying on a dusty ground and thus risking bringing more dust into our fragile gear... And if shooting in public places it's also one less point of concern that it get its own legs and walks away from you...
Hey Mike, my bad. great pic do you set your focus manually, then? what about when I'm using aps at 10-22? I usually let the auto focus do the job, but I'm finding that I might have to get a high power flashlight and do it myself. How do you all find focus at night?
Hey Izzy, I was using my auto focus at night and found that it just didn't focus very well in the dark. I've now swithced and started using the manual focus and I think it works a little better.. you may want to try that.
Here's a good general question for the urban night shooters out there - is there any really good white balance preset for shooting under sodium lights? I went through my big pile of shots from SF's Dia De Los Muertos parade (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=674660#post674660) from last friday, and it was a nightmre in post processing getting the colors right again.
Nik, when I do that (sorry to ask in this thread, btw) and save as srgb the images look the same online as they did with aRGB. am I doing something wrong?
Comments
With all due respect, we can guess all night here (pun intended:-) and don't even come close to what just a couple of minutes of test shooting and analyzing the histogram would give you.
Thanks for the reply. I plan on going out when it get dark to take a few "test shots". Never thought about using the histogram.
EF50MM 1.4
EF50MM 1.8 MKI
EF28-135MM IS USM
EF 17-40MM F4L
EF 70-200MM f4L
CANON 580EX
Glad to be of help. Histogram totally eliminates the guess factor. It's not *always* usable, e.g. it's almost useless when the light changes very fast (that is, unless you have a "live" one, which 10D doesn't have), but in your case it looks like a perfect tool for the job.
Good luck, dont' forget to share the final results!
__________________
www.browngreensports.com
http://browngreensports.smugmug.com
__________________
www.browngreensports.com
http://browngreensports.smugmug.com
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
EF50MM 1.4
EF50MM 1.8 MKI
EF28-135MM IS USM
EF 17-40MM F4L
EF 70-200MM f4L
CANON 580EX
Hey all, this is from my first time out at night ever. please tell me what you think or how the shots could be better!
quadtone:
http://www.michaelhelbigphotography.com
http://www.thewildpig.blogspot.com
Hey Scottboy, I love the sharpiness of this shot. what was the exif? with my night shots I find that the longer i keep the shutter open the less focused (softer) the photos look. I use a tripod and electronic remote release. So I can't seem to get tack sharp pics with long exposures and small appertures, and have to compromise my DOF with sharpness. Is that usual when shooting at night (this is way past sunset, say midnight)
EXIF = Date Taken 2007-11-03 18:59:41 CameraCanon EOS 350D DIGITAL Exposure Time 25s Aperture f/22.0 ISO100 Focal Length 35mm Flashflash did not fire, compulsory flash mode Exposure Program shutter priority
Is that the moon on the left? good shot!
and Please, any comments/suggestions/criticizms are welcome as I really want to improve my night shooting!
Canon 30D
17-55mm EO-S
F/8.0
13/1 shutter
17mm focal length
Hi Izzy, that was actually my pic. I think Scottboy lost one of the quote tags when he quoted my posting, adding a little confusion to whose pic that was.
That shot was 15 sec exposure at 4.2f. Focal length 32mm. I don't really know why you don't get sharp pics at night
http://www.michaelhelbigphotography.com
http://www.thewildpig.blogspot.com
Don't tell anyone, but he Moon was not there !
Hey Mike, my bad. great pic
How heavy is your tripod? do you use mirror lockup?
If you hold one of the legs of your tripod and hit the shutter, you will feel a shudder as the mirror flips up, the whole point of mirror lockup, is to reduce the mirror slap by hitting the shutter once to lockup the mirror, waiting a few seconds then hitting it again to open the shutter. This helps heaps with the sharpness in long exposure shots.
The sturdiness of your tripod is a big thing too, especially if there is any wind. My tripod has a hook in the center under the head. For night shots, I take some cord and hang my camera bag off this hook, I make it just touch the ground so that it won't swing around. All that extra weight pulling straight down makes it much more stable.
Hey Nik, if I change the color space in the camera, will it stay consistent after post processing, or do I need to make some adjustments? and if I shot in adobe rgb, can I change it later, or is it finished?
Hey James, thanks for the tip! i hadn't thought about hanging my bag from my tripod
I do use mirror lockup for night shots, but I'll try to hang the bag from the tripod and see how that works.
Thanks a ton
Izzy
Using a (usually rather heavy:-) camera bag as a tripod stabilizer is a fairly common technique. Here's a sample from a small sunset shooting gallery:
If nothing else, it's much better to keep your bag up in the air than have it lying on a dusty ground and thus risking bringing more dust into our fragile gear...
HTH
http://www.michaelhelbigphotography.com
http://www.thewildpig.blogspot.com
Hey Izzy, I was using my auto focus at night and found that it just didn't focus very well in the dark. I've now swithced and started using the manual focus and I think it works a little better.. you may want to try that.
Scott
Any tips/kelvin settings?
Canon 40d | Canon 17-40 f/4L | Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 | Canon 50mm f/1.8 | Canon 70-200mm f/4 L
Nik, when I do that (sorry to ask in this thread, btw) and save as srgb the images look the same online as they did with aRGB. am I doing something wrong?