Night time shots

[DIW35]

Had an opportunity to stop in London a couple of nights ago, and thought I would have a go at some night time photography, a first for me.

C+C welcome as always.

[toothlessjim]

some nice stuff there....i like the one of the wheel.

[Knick Pee]

A few i took in Lincoln a couple of weeks ago......not very good technically as I've just got my SLR and learning from scratch....

[fid]

Taken this evening, around 5:30pm, 30 second exposure with a couple of floodlights on the cliffs behind me -

[arej]

fid how do you take photos like yours shown that show blurring of the waves and clouds etc, the similar technique often used on pictures of cities with the blurs of the car lights etc. Is it just long shutter with a tripod or some more manual settings?
Awesome photos so far guys, the London ones are very nice and clear shots DIW (nice Lambo too!)

[DIW35]

arej, I am sure fid will be back to tell you exactly how he took his photos, but you are correct in assuming that a long exposure time will give you that blurred/smokey effect on the waves. Also works well on rivers and waterfalls.

[Martin_Bpool]

DIW35 said:

arej, I am sure fid will be back to tell you exactly how he took his photos, but you are correct in assuming that a long exposure time will give you that blurred/smokey effect on the waves. Also works well on rivers and waterfalls.

Quick Q- How do you do that in the daytime, without over-exposing?

[DIW35]

Martin_Bpool said:

Quick Q- How do you do that in the daytime, without over-exposing?

Set the ISO rating as low as it will go, set the aperture to it's smallest setting. If that doesn't give you a slow enough shutter speed to blur things, then the only other option is to use a Neutral Density (ND) filter. These are available in different strengths, and will change the exposure by 1stop, 2 stop etc. They can be combined, but for clarity/sharpness sake it's best to use as few as possible to get the result you are looking for.

Edited by DIW35 on Monday 21st January 13:52

[Knick Pee]

DIW35 said:

Set the ISO rating as low as it will go, set the aperture to it's smallest setting. If that doesn't give you a slow enough shutter speed to blur things, then the only other option is to use a Neutral Density (ND) filter. These are available in different strengths, and will change the exposure by 1stop, 2 stop etc. They can be combined, but for clarity/sharpness sake it's best to use as few as possible to get the result you are looking for.

thats where my pictures fall down. I had a higher ISO setting (not realising)...I've since learnt

[DIW35]

Knick Pee, my night time shots were taken at about f7/f8 for 0.5 sec with ISO400. In most cases this was a 2 stop underexposure of what the meter was telling me to use, and I've also darkened them slightly in PS.

For future night sessions I am going to try ISO 100 and f16 for even longer exposures, which will certainly help to make people disappear if there are any in the shot.

[Goldeeno]

Hey.. they look good mate, i wouldnt mind a trip to London.
A few of mine.. Exif data is available on here..
Leicester
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldeeno/sets/7215760...
and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldeeno/sets/7215760...

[fid]

DIW35 said:

arej, I am sure fid will be back to tell you exactly how he took his photos, but you are correct in assuming that a long exposure time will give you that blurred/smokey effect on the waves. Also works well on rivers and waterfalls.

Yup, think I need to play around with the ISO settings though.

[Knick Pee]

DIW35 said:

Knick Pee, my night time shots were taken at about f7/f8 for 0.5 sec with ISO400. In most cases this was a 2 stop underexposure of what the meter was telling me to use, and I've also darkened them slightly in PS.

For future night sessions I am going to try ISO 100 and f16 for even longer exposures, which will certainly help to make people disappear if there are any in the shot.

[Goldeeno]

End of the day a shorter exposure will give you a crisper night shot. You wont get so much flair from lights etc. However but using a short exposure you need a higher ISO so its a balance between flair of lights etc and noise from higher ISO's.

When it comes to night shots, i dont take many, but will snap away at all different settings, end up with probably 10 shots all different. With my 350D cause the screen is small i can never tell which i preffer untill i get them up on a monitor.

Just keep an eye on the metering/exposure level on the camera, and try a low ISO, and see what shutter you need. Personally i normally end up wanting to aim for an aperture of f8-12 if i can, so from that set ISO at 100, take 3 shots at different shutters if you can, then jump to ISO 400, and doo the same.

Practice makes perfect , especailly in my case.

[Surfr]

I've been really into night photography for a year or 2 now and have gradually been improving. Here are some of mine in reverse chronological order:



















Ghost Cows!


This one was light painted with a torch






Aside from the last shot, which was taken at dusk in town, the rest were all taken at late evening, in the pitch black. Most expoosures are in the 5 minute region with some reaching over 10 minutes. The star trails give a good idea as to the length of exposure. I shoot a Canon 30D with a 10-22 EF-X lens for night shots. Almost always shooting at 100ISO and around F8. Be sure to take some spare batteries if you are going out for a night shoot. When in the freezing cold and the swensor is working for periods of up to 10 minutes at a time, the usually excellent Canon batteries wither quickly.

Any pointers, greatly accepted. I'm only a novice amateur.

My inspiration comes mainly from Flickr, and these photographers night shots:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notraces/sets/270103/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/burnblue/sets/1588427...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowoflightproject/...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadowoflightproject/...

and finally, mine can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/surfr/sets/480287/

[beano500]

Very inspiring stuff there Dan - particularly like the "ghost cows"!