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Any advice on night shots
- Thread starter BrennaRN
- Start date
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you should be set. What's your camera setup and what specifically are you trying to shoot?
I have a Nikon D40 and have been practicing with f/5.6 & f/8.0 and ISO of 200 & 800 and practicing on my Christmas tree at home, they aren't coming out like I would have expected. I'm serious panic mode. I only get one chance to get down there and take as many pictures as I can. I have so many questions. I think I'm going to post another thread and ask as many questions as I can think of. Please help if you can!
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
PM me and we'll talk. If you could send along an example of what youre getting, it would help.
Tho first and foremost f/5.6 & f/8 are way too slow for night shots. You want to be somewhere around 2.8 or 4. It lets more light in the lens.
Tho first and foremost f/5.6 & f/8 are way too slow for night shots. You want to be somewhere around 2.8 or 4. It lets more light in the lens.
WDWFigment
Well-Known Member
Ahh, here is what I wanted to ask you about, Dave. If I'm using a tripod, would there be any benefit to using a more wide-open aperture? What I mean, is will 2.8 and a faster shutter speed let light in the lens in a more favorable way than f/11 and a longer shutter speed? If there is no impact in the shot (which I assumed there wouldn't be, since nothing in the shot is moving), I always try to use around f/11 - f/14, or wherever the "sweet spot" of the lens happens to be. Obviously in both circumstances, the ISO is 200 (as low as I can go), so all that's changing is that I'm changing the aperture and shutter speed--both sets of A and SS would be "technically" correct. Are there any negative consequences of doing this?
CAPTAIN HOOK
Well-Known Member
Theoretically, all apertures will have an ideal shutter speed. So f2.8 and a quick shutter will gain the same exposure as f11 and a long shutter - but you're then affecting the photos depth of field when altering the aperture.
Use the widest aperture (smallest f number) on your lens and adjust the shutter speed accordingly
Use the widest aperture (smallest f number) on your lens and adjust the shutter speed accordingly
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
When i meant 5.6 & 8 being slow for night shots, i meant in the context of the parade and people moving around, hand-held, etc. Either you're going ot get camera shake or it will be vastly underexposed.
Getting back to the Shutter Speed, & Aperture Depth of Field relationships.
SS:Ap
oF. Meaning -> 1/60:f/16:Large DoF also equates to 1/1000:f/4:Shallow DoF.So there's nothing wrong with shooting at a small aperture on a Tripod just as you you're meaning it to be a long exposure with no camera movement.
You'll get everything in focus but something like that isn't very practical for a Parade.
Only negative is the person next to you going "Honey, come on. We're on Vacation"
:ROFLOL:
RiversideBunny
New Member
I had an interesting experience this December with the Osborne lights.
Each year they put the 'Black Cat' light in a different place.
In 2007 it was up high on a building.
Last year it was in an alley, behind a chain link fence, behind a snack cart. Some people may have missed it due to that location.
Anyway, I took a picture of the 'Black Cat' light in the alley.
Ironically I was able to do it because I had the P&S instead of a DSLR.
I had to stick the camera lens on the Kodak Z710 through a hole in the chain link fence to get the shot. As it turned out the chain link fence acted like a tripod and provided a steady shot for the longer exposure at 2.8.
If I had had the big DSLR with what would normally be a good night lens with wide arpeture it would not have fit through the chain link fence.
Sometimes we get lucky.
Each year they put the 'Black Cat' light in a different place.
In 2007 it was up high on a building.
Last year it was in an alley, behind a chain link fence, behind a snack cart. Some people may have missed it due to that location.
Anyway, I took a picture of the 'Black Cat' light in the alley.
Ironically I was able to do it because I had the P&S instead of a DSLR.
I had to stick the camera lens on the Kodak Z710 through a hole in the chain link fence to get the shot. As it turned out the chain link fence acted like a tripod and provided a steady shot for the longer exposure at 2.8.
If I had had the big DSLR with what would normally be a good night lens with wide arpeture it would not have fit through the chain link fence.
Sometimes we get lucky.