What constitutes a "proper" exposure when taking night shots? The histogram? Eye-balling it? I saw one guy describe the method as follows: keep lengthening the shutter speed til it "looks right" in the viewfinder.
When shooting in daylight, I can look at the histogram, and know if I'm over/under exposing. But, with these type of shots (especially with ones with less light in the scene), I often take multiple shots, then choose the one that looks closely to the way I remember it. And, that's usually after I look at the images post processing.
Night photography is a challenge.
Alan:What constitutes a "proper" exposure when taking night shots?
Same as daylight photography. The proper exposure is the one that gives you the results you want. Now, if you ask us which exposure will give us the results you want, then you have to first tell us what you want.
Alan:Night photography is a challenge.
Agreed!
Daniel Browning: Now, if you ask us which exposure will give us the results you want, then you have to first tell us what you want.
Now, if you ask us which exposure will give us the results you want, then you have to first tell us what you want.
Okay, here goes. Which one do I want? (Don't say "none of them," because you'd be right. This is for illustrative purposes only!)
Straight out of Adobe Camera Raw, to a jpg, with the standard settings in ACR.
I don't like any of them.
John Hinton:sigh...aperture. I can spell. I can
John,
"Aperature" is by far my most miss-spelled word on the forums.
I was at a fair recently........Sept 29th.....I too like the lights: This is my third year shooting this fair...
Here's one that blows my mind....look at the settings: The candy striped post on the far left is a ride called Extreme. You can see legs hanging from the suspended benches. It was moving pretty fast.
Canon EOS 5D, wt EF 50 f1.4, f/2.8, 1/250, ISO 400, No Flash Shows what fast prime glass can do.
I've got an obsession with shooting concession stands:
Canon EOS 5D, wt EF 50 f1.4, f/2.8 @ 50 mm, 1/200, ISO 800, No Flash
Canon EOS 5D, wt EF 50 f1.4, f/2.8 @ 50 mm, 1/320, ISO 800, No Flash
Wow Chuck those are great. Almost looks like HDR. I agree - fast primes are brilliant.
btaylor:Almost looks like HDR
Thanks btaylor. The new auto dodge feature in SilkyPix Pro really helps. It's the closest thing to auto HDR I've ever used. Of course, A 5D @ ISO 800 or less with a 50 1.4 @ f2.8 doesn't hurt.
Chuck, those are outstanding. Now....that's what I'm talking about!!!
You've got the touch!
I hate you Chuck.
Love, John
John Hinton:I hate you Chuck.
LOL........priceless!!
"I create feelings in others that they themselves don't understand." Lightning McQueen, Cars
Thanks for hating me........ LOL
That last one chuck is perfect!
Chuck, even though this is an older thread, a couple of more questions on your night shots at this fair.
Did you hand hold these? Monopod? Tripod?
Was it "pitch black" night, or dusk, on some of the shots?
If you did use a tripod, was that a problem with all the people walking around the area?
Thanks!
Alan: Chuck, even though this is an older thread, a couple of more questions on your night shots at this fair.
Thanks for the inquiry Alan. Sorry for the delayed response.
These were all handheld. Notice the shutter speeds.
It was night. You can see the black sky in the first two. The last one has the side of a building in the background.
#1 @ 7:32 PM 35 minutes after sunset (6:57PM). (That is the sky behind the scene)
#2 @ 7:39 PM (That is the sky behind the scene)
#3 @ 7:40 PM
It's quite a testimony to the light gathering capabilities of the 5D with the EF-50 1.4 @ f/2.8.
For comparison, this one was taken at 7:17 PM.
Canon EOS 5D, EF 28-70 f2.8L, f/4 @ 28 mm, 1/125, ISO 1600, No Flash
Thanks, Chuck. I did notice the shutter speeds, but I wanted to confirm the handheld.
That makes it easier when milling around a bunch of people, too.
With my 50 f/1.4 and 5DMk2, I'm gonna have fun when the fair rolls around next year.
Alan:With my 50 f/1.4 and 5DMk2, I'm gonna have fun when the fair rolls around next year.
Oh Yeah!!
P.S. - You had asked:
"What constitutes a "proper" exposure when taking night shots? The histogram? Eye-balling it? I saw one guy describe the method as follows: keep lengthening the shutter speed til it "looks right" in the viewfinder."
I shot all of my fair pictures in Av mode with center weighted metering. I shot in raw and post processed with SilkyPix DS3. From what I remember, I did little exposure compensation.
Now, does this apply to all night shots? No. In these examples I have a very bright, well lit object centered in the frame. Some night shots are fairly dark overall with light spotted about. There are a few ways to handle it. First, set exposure compensation more negative as the total overall scene gets darker. Your camera's meter always wants to expose to 18 % gray. Your first photo in that shopping mall sign series is the most properly exposed. I know you don't like it, but it is the dynamic range of the camera that you have to shoot for. Notice the blue sign at the bottom behind the mall sign. You can see that it is blown out in the next two. Also, look through the viewfinder and take shutter speed readings of various parts of the scene. As you scan from dark areas to light areas, how much does your shutter speed change. If it doubles then that is one stop. If it quadruples, that's two and so on and so forth. You can get a feeling of the "dynamic range" of the lighting and can better compensate for it. In the last shot I posted of that ride with the blue sky, I probably aimed the center area of the camera at the brightly lit portion of the ride and hit the AE lock button before backing out composing and taking the shot. I say probably because that's what I practice most of the time when in those kinds of lighting situations. I can literally freeze the shutter speed at any setting based on the brightness of different areas in the scene. If you scan around you can easily decide which areas you can stand to be blown out and which areas you don't mind are in the shadows. I am still teaching myself to use the HUD info in the viewfinder and to always check it as I am composing a shot. I hate taking a great photo only to later discover than the lighting had changed and the shutter speed was 1/30th @ 200mm and the terrific shot I took is crap because of motion blur. I kick myself thinking "If I'd only paid attention". It's a learning process that hopefully becomes good habit.
Alan, I'd love to have a MkII. Have a great time at the fair!!
Chuck, you are a font of information (or, is it fount?). Either way, that little vignette tutorial was extremely useful.
I'll burn these suggestions into my grey matter hard drive.
I also have the original 5D, and that camera still produces stunning images. Your examples show how the 5D really shines. I'll probably bring it with me, and slap my 24-70 2.8 onto it, just in case.
Thanks again.