I need help taking night pics!

nicholas · Jan 31, 2005

So, I've had this camera about a year now and still can't figure out how to take night time pics with it. It's a Canon Powershot S320. I've tried using the "night" setting on the camera, and using a tripod (well, not a real one, but sitting the camera on something to take the pic) but they always turn out WAY dark like the first pic below.

The second pic below was taken tonight and is much better in regards to light, but I had to set the shutter speed at about 15 seconds (literally) to take the pic. So in order to get a decent pic of Spectro, apparently I have to start taking the pictures an hour early and by the time the camera figures out what it's doing, the floats will be there. LOL

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

PhotoDave219 · Jan 31, 2005

Okay, I'll tell you first hand that *I* have trouble shooting spectro. Its a regal pain to get just enough of a flash to fill in the lights that are on teh costumes.

In that shot, the camera's computer balanced the flash so that the lights of the float are properly exposed. Your best bet is to try and use some sort of manual mode.

nicholas · Jan 31, 2005

Well, it's not just Spectro as you can see from the pic here.

I've tried a lot of different manual settings such as shutter speed, flash, etc but the only thing that's helped is an INSANELY long shutter speed, which is just not an option (for spectro or fireworks and things of that nature).

I guess I just need someone to hold my hand and show me exactly what needs to be done and how. (I'm only freaking out about this because this upcoming trip will be my nieces first trip ever (and I think her first vacation ever)) and I have been designated the photographer. EEP!

barnum42 · Jan 31, 2005

On mine, I'll first just leave the camera to it and if that does not work, trial and error on manual settings. As I don't have a cable release, I use the two second self timer so I'm not going to jiggle the camera by pressing the shutter release.

PhotoDave219 · Jan 31, 2005

nicholas said:
Well, it's not just Spectro as you can see from the pic here.

I've tried a lot of different manual settings such as shutter speed, flash, etc but the only thing that's helped is an INSANELY long shutter speed, which is just not an option (for spectro or fireworks and things of that nature).

Okay, first. Put the camera down and go to the bookstore or Amazon and get the "National Geographic Field Guide to Photography". By far the BEST beginner book on photograhy ever written.

To shorten the shutter speed, you'll need to boost the ISO to 400-800. Fireworks (handheld) are shot at 1/10th -1/15th of a second, with the f stop as wide as it will go.

If youre going to take a picture of a subject that is far away, the flash wont do squat. Wont do squat for fireworks either. Say anything over 10 feet away probably your flash wont do diddly.

Teh nature of nighttime photography is very hit and miss. Night shots mean long exposures. And with spectro, try putting it in full auto mode after getting teh iso as high as it lets you go.

barnum42 · Jan 31, 2005

PhotoDave219 said:
Teh nature of nighttime photography is very hit and miss.

I think that's the biggest key

. At least with digital over film you can churn out lots of experimental photos at no expense to yourself.

nicholas · Jan 31, 2005

Thanks for the ideas. I'll fiddle with it some more tonight. :wave:

nicholas · Jan 31, 2005

Ok, did some fiddling and bought a new flash card (512mb! wahoo!) and came up with these, which are MUCH better than my previous night attempts. Feeling better

Thanks again for the help!

tigsmom · Feb 1, 2005

Great photos, Nick! Much better. I love Flatiron buildings... they are so unique.

My nightime phtos are lacking and I've been following the conversation here.

Dave, I'm buying that book as soon as I can get to B&N.

Keep up the good work. :wave:

PhotoDave219 · Feb 1, 2005

Yeah, but my biggest recommendation to everyone is to sit and spend the 15 dollars on a good beginners guide and learn how everything is interrelated.

tigsmom · Feb 1, 2005

PhotoDave219 said:
Yeah, but my biggest recommendation to everyone is to sit and spend the 15 dollars on a good beginners guide and learn how everything is interrelated.

Got my book today! :wave:

Robfasto · Feb 4, 2005

As mentioned night time pictures are hit or miss, I just take a bunch and see what happens. Most of the time I leave the camera (Canon Powershot Pro 90 IS) on auto and then view the shot and then adjust them from there. I have always been pretty good at 'freehand' pictures for shots between 1/30 - 1/15 of a second. When using a tripod I use the remote that came with the camera and that stops any sort of shaking that can happen.

Here are a couple of pictures taken within 1 minute of each other

This one was taken at 8:21:28 / Exposure 1 second at F2.8 / ISO 50

This one was taken at 8:22:07 / Exposure 1/3 second at F6.3 / ISO 50

Whenever I go to Disney I end up trashing 50-60% of all night time pictures.

nicholas · Feb 4, 2005

Wow! Those were within a minute of each other?! That's crazy! The difference is almost (pardon the pun) like night and day! :lol:

I've been testing mine a little bit more and discovering some things along the way. Haven't had a chance to get the book yet, but do plan on looking into that. Here are a couple more of my test shots from around Manhattan.

Robfasto · Feb 5, 2005

Night and day is right, it was only about 30 minutes after sunset so that is way the sky is a bit blue still on the darker one. I have some pictures that I have exposed for 8 seconds, you get some neat lighting effect like that.

Another thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread. All cameras are different so trail and error is best for your camera. Metering and such are different on all cameras.

Personally if using a tripod I always use the lower ISO since speed of the shot is not as important.

PhotoDave219 · Feb 5, 2005

All the more reason to use a light meter and manually set your exposures.... My new D2h tends to blow the sky out on some settings. Very annoying.

Laura · Feb 5, 2005

I've never been able to take night photos until I bought the f/1.8 50mm lens for my camera. It's as easy as point and shoot with that sucker. I got a bunch of perfectly exposed, crisp photos of Wishes and Illuminations with no tripod on automatic settings and less than 1 second exposures. That lens is so great for everything.

But anyway, looks like you're doing great with your photos already!

Robfasto · Feb 5, 2005

I have a 1.8 for my 35mm camera, it works really great when using 400 speed film. I just don't use it much anymore because the digital is so much cheaper. My brother just got a Digital Rebal which I am going to borrow on my next trip.

K-dub · Feb 9, 2005

Robfasto, I love the first shot of your "night & day" set!

I find it ironic that the little fella is the only one in the crowd that stood still and I'm sure he gets told all the time, "You never stand still for a second!"

That one proves them wrong!

speck76 · Feb 10, 2005

I have found that the most important 2 items in nighttime photography are patience, and a tripod.

FrumiousBoojum · Feb 17, 2005

Another tip:

If you're in a situation where a tripod is prohibitive, such as in a crowd (which is quite easy to be in at WDW), you may want to invest in a lens with an image stabalization feature if there's one available for your camera.

I've yet to buy one or use one (broke people like me can't buy all the lenses that one wants), but I've seen some comparison photos and they do make a lot of difference on shots with longer exposure times. It's not perfect all the time, especially on large amounts of camera shake, but you'll see the difference between IS and non-IS lenses.

I've just now gotten back into photography after being absent from it for a few years out of lack of an SLR camera... glad I have this forum for some good tips. Going to look into buying some of those National Geographic books now.

I need help taking night pics!

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