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Looking for Holiday Lights Photography Tips
Hi Dgrinners, I'm hoping to solicite some of your fine wisdom. I'd like to know if any of you have some tips on shooting holiday lights. I know the basics (no flash, shoot RAW, high ISO (or a tripod), and try to shoot just after sun down), but I'm hoping for a little more insight.
Last year, I totally lucked out and got this shot from my point-and-shoot:
Canon PowerShot S400 at ISO 400, 1/160s, f/2.8
This year I'm all geared up with an XT, an EF-S 17-85 IS and a Sigma 30 f/1.4 and would love to get a bunch more keepers. I have a couple of restrictions that make things interesting though. First, we'll be doing a lot of walking through neighborhoods with a lot of people, so tripod work will be difficut. I need to be able to go hand held. Second, with a bunch of people around, I'd prefer not to have to change lenses in the dark, so I really need to pick one and stick with it. Shooting hand-held in the dark, I'd usually tend toward the fast 30mm prime. But, I worry that may be too long for some shots and, shooting fast, the small DOF may be a problem in big scenes. Given that, I'm planning to go with the slower IS zoom.
1) Any recommendation contrary to going with the slow zoom?
2) Any general tips regarding metering, exposure compensation, composition, etc?
Thanks!
Ben
Last year, I totally lucked out and got this shot from my point-and-shoot:
Canon PowerShot S400 at ISO 400, 1/160s, f/2.8
This year I'm all geared up with an XT, an EF-S 17-85 IS and a Sigma 30 f/1.4 and would love to get a bunch more keepers. I have a couple of restrictions that make things interesting though. First, we'll be doing a lot of walking through neighborhoods with a lot of people, so tripod work will be difficut. I need to be able to go hand held. Second, with a bunch of people around, I'd prefer not to have to change lenses in the dark, so I really need to pick one and stick with it. Shooting hand-held in the dark, I'd usually tend toward the fast 30mm prime. But, I worry that may be too long for some shots and, shooting fast, the small DOF may be a problem in big scenes. Given that, I'm planning to go with the slower IS zoom.
1) Any recommendation contrary to going with the slow zoom?
2) Any general tips regarding metering, exposure compensation, composition, etc?
Thanks!
Ben
0
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www.ackersphotography.com
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-to-photograph-christmas-lights.html
Comments and constructive critique always welcome!
Elaine Heasley Photography
The only thing I can add is that lighting displays (stationary) is where IS starts to shine (pun intended).
G
You must shoot in that great light of twilight, when the sky has not quite gone dark, but the sun is down, and the tungsten lighting begins to come into balance with the ambient.
In that brief time - maybe 10 - 20 minutes - the light is glowing and you can capture the decorative tungsten lights against the coming night sky with the buildings and people also lighted by the ambient light in balance with the strength of the tungsten.
You will need to pay attention to the light, because you will find that the exposure changes minute by minute as the sun gets farther and farther below the horizon. This is when architectural photographers do their best work.
With Christmas light, you might be able to extend this brief time a few more minutes by judicious use of fill flash also - say -(minus)1 or -(minus) 2 stops of fill flash.
The later in this period, the darker everything but the lights. The earlier in this period, the brighter the surroundings. You can have it either way.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Thanks, Elaine. That's a great reference.
I've not done much (read hardly any) holiday light photography, but when I did I kind of viewed it as I do night/city photography (which I also don't do much or often
Last year a good friend of mine was working just a stone's throw from the White House so we decided to meet up and take a walk around the Christmas trees. I met another friend at near the Air and Space Museum and we walked from there. Is this shot of the Capital the twilight light you were speaking of?
http://phyxius.smugmug.com/photos/118212120-M.jpg
So, by the time we walked to my friend's office and the White House it was dark as pitch.
http://phyxius.smugmug.com/photos/118214121-M.jpg
The National Christmas Tree
http://phyxius.smugmug.com/photos/118216846-M.jpg
Each state also has a tree -
http://phyxius.smugmug.com/photos/118217853-M.jpg
And then I also have this shot of the Power Plant in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Taken on New Year's Eve before the fireworks.
http://phyxius.smugmug.com/photos/120230338-M.jpg
I can't remember who posted them, but someone had wonderful christmas light photos that they posted here on dgrin. But, what are some suggestions about these? Exposure is hard to determine and I tend to like my images a little darker than most. I cringe to "expose" to the right of my histogram sometimes.
Any additional thoughts?
Glenn mentioned IS lenses and I have to say I was absolutely thrilled with the handheld results I got from the VR lens (VR is just Nikon's version of IS).
Yoyo, I'm not sure if rear curtain flash or the like would work since the person will most likely be close to the tree, but it can work for nighttime scenery shots. This was just a test, but it was a flash + long exposure
http://inlinethumb28.webshots.com/603/2487688790053642453S500x500Q85.jpg
Maybe you could set up a tripod and take two shots, one long exposure of the tree and one flash with the person and then blend the two in photoshop? I'm not sure how strange that would look...
SmugMug Support Specialist - www.help.smugmug.com
http://www.phyxiusphotos.com
Equine Photography in Maryland - Dressage, Eventing, Hunters, Jumpers
This is probably not exactly what you are looking for, but maybe it helps anyway.
Christmas in New Mexico is a little different: The standard christmas lights are luminarias, little paper bags with a candle inside. But for Photography that does not make much of a difference. I usually shoot lowest ISO and long exposure time with little or no fill flash, before it is completely dark outside.
(15" f/16)
(15" f/5) What looks like some fill is actually a strategically placed street light to the right.
(13" f/5) The long exposure also helps blur some of the people walking through the frame.
(30" f/8) And I always use the heaviest tripod I have, not only for the photos, but also to protect the camera: People always try to knock mine over in the dark...
Where is this? Its beatiful!
Las Cruces Photographer / Las Cruces Wedding Photographer
Other site
Hi Josh,
It's all in Albuquerque. The first pic is University House on the UNM campus, the rest are from Old Town on Christmas Eve.
Edit: Thanks to http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=657186&postcount=4 I finally got my location to show below my user name.
And I thought I had it bad having to plug in five different sets of lights every night. I ended up automating with X10--something they can't do with those candles.
I have discovered some neighborhoods in San Carlos, California, that people go all out in decorating their houses for the holidays...the following are shots taken last night, as the sun was setting, with my DSLR Olympus E300 14-54mm lens, tripod, tungsten White Balance (3200K), ISO 100 f8 for 2-6 seconds...
And this should have been my Christmas card this year...
Hope you like them...
Carlos
The ones I like most are the 1.st and the last.
However as the WB was set to 3200K both look a little bit too magenta/red.
May be you could correct that from your raw file...
Health to all the family and to yourself