how to judge the exposure time required for night shots

[staad3]

I thought night shots are interesting and nice after I tried some attempts. Colors tend to show out more, ie photos look nicer if the exposure are correct. Most of the time, I used the camera's auto function to judge how long the exposure is needed. If I choose not to do so, are there any guidelines as to how to select the correct exposure, other than more practice that leads to experience. Cos sometimes I use my film cam and i realise it may not be very accurate if for eg you had a lot of street lights(spot lights) and it can get too overexposed...or the person you want to take is near a signboard, so giving the false impression to the camera that lighting is sufficient.

had my tries on some singapore's night city view...but didn't have tripod, so got to make do with whatever i can find.

comments appreciated, other than some photo blurred(hands not steady)
link:
http://dolphymanta.multiply.com/photos/album/55

 

[jnet6]

you definity will need a tripod, get 1.

use smaller aperture eg. F8 and above + tripod(to hold shutter speed longer)
can try m-mode with diff exposure till you like.

 

[digisnap]

practise with digital first so u can see immediately the results of ur labor and u can adjust accordingly. Use film when u are already more confident and experienced so u don't waste a lot of night shots.

 

[Stoned]

One of the really fun things about night shots is that there is very little light available, so rather than exposing at "daytime" speeds of 1/30-1/125, it's fun to try longer exposures of several seconds or more, hence using the low light to your advantage, rather than letting it cripple your photography. Light trails as well as the different colours of light are fun things to work with at night, so try to keep your camera on daylight WB if you use digital to get the actual colours of the light(for example, fluorescent tubes show up green and mercury halide lamps show up as blue). Do things you can't do in the day!

For this you naturally need a tripod, but even for landscape photography in the day time I sometimes need a tripod because of the very small apertures and the filters used. It's thus quite a good idea to get a basic tripod for your gear. Since you're using a c5050, a small cheap one will do. It's one of the best investments you will ever make, because IMO, a tripod makes the biggest difference to the images I shoot, since I can use virtually any shutter speed I want, so I have full control over my DOF and exposure.

 

[staad3]

Oh yes, tripod is a must for night shots. It so happened on that day, I did not bring my tripod with me.
thanks for all your inputs, i guess indeed with digital cam it is certainly easier to play around.
hmm.... talk about WB i usually use auto mode, even for night. So should it be daylight mode as mentioned by Stoned?

 

[CT 3833]

The WB of Fullerton shot is definitely out. I dont think you should use daylight WB. It depends on the lighting condition of the night shot you are taking, but do try with various WB and evaluate the results, you will be amazed how stunning the color would come out to be at times.

 

[Jet Lim]

Normally I would use f5.6-f11 for my shoot. ISO from 100 - 400 and shutter will depends on the situation. I would also use Manual Mode. MUST use tripod. I also use a remote cable for my shoots.

See my website and hopefully gives you some idea.

http://jetlim.fotki.com/cityscape/singapore/

I have been into night photography for about a year now.. anyway still learning...

 

[Fumiryu]

Hi,

After seeing some photos from staad3, I would like to share some photos for your viewing and comments.

Please visit
http://fumiryu.multiply.com/photos/album/2

Please give your pointers so that I can learn from all of you.

Thank you.

 

[Jet Lim]

Hi,

After seeing some photos from staad3, I would like to share some photos for your viewing and comments.

Please visit
http://fumiryu.multiply.com/photos/album/2

Please give your pointers so that I can learn from all of you.

Thank you.

Few points to take note...

1) If you want to take buildings, try your best to take the whole building and not just parts of the building. Your picture composition is a bit "chopped off". Normally I would use my 17-40mm f4L lens or step further away... I would walk across to the other side of the river to take the whole fullerton.

2) If you want to take parts of the building - make sure it is interesting. In this case I do not see any picture that catches my eyes. Sorry for being blunt

3) Try to take with different timing from 7-8pm even after dark. The refection of those lights on water is what I look for.

4) By using a smaller aperture and increasing the exposure time will make the street lights more sparkling and thereby adding more sparks to the pictures

5) If you are taking water or sea or river, try to be a little patient to let the boats passed by or let the ripple settled down before taking them. Most of the time the ripple will disturb the water and therefore achieving good reflection at night will not be possible.

 

[Fumiryu]

Actually I wanted to find a good spot to take a bigger shot of the fullerton, with the wordings. But I just can't decide for myself where is the best place.

I was using 24-70 f/2.8L lens to take those shots, do not have the 17-40 f/4L lens that you mention. My friends were encouraging me to buy the 35 f/1.4L prime lens. Or maybe a tilt lens to take tall buildings. Unless I am always shooting buildings, I think it is not a good investment right now.

I heard that there is a filter that can make the star effect of the lighting look even better. Is it true?

The boats are always there. Looks like I need to get the right time to take a good shot.

 

[Hoky]

I heard that there is a filter that can make the star effect of the lighting look even better. Is it true?

It's called a star filter.

 

[staad3]

The WB of Fullerton shot is definitely out. I dont think you should use daylight WB. It depends on the lighting condition of the night shot you are taking, but do try with various WB and evaluate the results, you will be amazed how stunning the color would come out to be at times.

hmm..you talking abt the first photo i took? that one i set it to auto wb, so dunno what the camera take actually. but i look at the ground, the white looks white...so how do u see if it's off? any tips?

 

[jbma]

If in doubt always 'bracket' your shots.

 

[Jet Lim]

Actually I wanted to find a good spot to take a bigger shot of the fullerton, with the wordings. But I just can't decide for myself where is the best place.

I was using 24-70 f/2.8L lens to take those shots, do not have the 17-40 f/4L lens that you mention. My friends were encouraging me to buy the 35 f/1.4L prime lens. Or maybe a tilt lens to take tall buildings. Unless I am always shooting buildings, I think it is not a good investment right now.

I heard that there is a filter that can make the star effect of the lighting look even better. Is it true?

The boats are always there. Looks like I need to get the right time to take a good shot.

Go to the far bank of the river (facing the building). I ever use my 24-70 f2.8L and I am pretty sure you could get all in!

The key to the boats passing by is patience!!! I spend 3 hours at least taking fullerton!!!! Some will say "Crazy" but I believe in satisfaction!!!

 

[Kit]

Actually I wanted to find a good spot to take a bigger shot of the fullerton, with the wordings. But I just can't decide for myself where is the best place.

I was using 24-70 f/2.8L lens to take those shots, do not have the 17-40 f/4L lens that you mention. My friends were encouraging me to buy the 35 f/1.4L prime lens. Or maybe a tilt lens to take tall buildings. Unless I am always shooting buildings, I think it is not a good investment right now.

I heard that there is a filter that can make the star effect of the lighting look even better. Is it true?

The boats are always there. Looks like I need to get the right time to take a good shot.

Its "shift" that you need, not tilt for architectural shots. Anyway, Canon makes 3 specialised lenses that comes with both tilt and shift functions. Unless you are really into architectural photography or am making a living out of it, these specialised lenses are not a necessacity. You should try to explore ways of taking buildings with the lenses that you currently use. If it doesn't work straight on, find another angle.

There is no fixed rules saying you must include entire buildings in your photos. At times, the building surrounding is just not as photogenic as you'd like it or you are constrained by other factors. That's where you are presented with opportunities to look at the building differently from the others. Move in closer for a more dynamic perspective, isolate a part of the building to show some interesting detailing or simply design an abstract shot out of it. You'd be surprised that sometimes; after you've tried a few other angles, the worst shot would be the one showing the entire facade (which most people would take without exploring further). These shots will most probably become nothing more than boring snaps.

The key to good architectural shots is to know your buildings, know the light(very crucial), be patient and spend time to explore and learn to design your composition to suit the building and your constraints.

 

[Fumiryu]

There is no fixed rules saying you must include entire buildings in your photos. At times, the building surrounding is just not as photogenic as you'd like it or you are constrained by other factors. That's where you are presented with opportunities to look at the building differently from the others. Move in closer for a more dynamic perspective, isolate a part of the building to show some interesting detailing or simply design an abstract shot out of it. You'd be surprised that sometimes; after you've tried a few other angles, the worst shot would be the one showing the entire facade (which most people would take without exploring further). These shots will most probably become nothing more than boring snaps.

The key to good architectural shots is to know your buildings, know the light(very crucial), be patient and spend time to explore and learn to design your composition to suit the building and your constraints.

Looks like I have to find a portion of the building that is striking to the eye, that makes people ask a lot of questions.....

Have not found it yet.....