Night Photography

[John Hinton]

I recently took some night photos of our local fair. Because of crowd conditions I had to rely on IS to get the shot. I used a Canon 30D with the 24 -105mm f/4 lens. I was using aperature priority and shooting slightly to the right. It became evident that I was using the wrong lens, and possibly wrong settings.


While the resulting photos were ok, they were also eh . . . Stop motion was virtually impossible, which isn't always bad, I understand. I was able to get some lighting "pop" with post-processing as well as toning down, or lighting up the crowd as the situation warranted.


I am seeking some input as to what lens and settings would be recommended for this type of venue. I would be looking to incorporate colorful neon lighting enmasse, dark crowd scenes and light crowd scenes. Hopefully I have made some sense here.


Any assistance is always appreciated.


Pax,


John

[John Hinton]

I forgot to add, no flash.


Mea Culpa,


John

[Chuck Lee]

I recently took some night photos of our local fair. Because of crowd conditions I had to rely on IS to get the shot. I used a Canon 30D with the 24 -105mm f/4 lens. I was using aperature priority and shooting slightly to the right. It became evident that I was using the wrong lens, and possibly wrong settings.

John, sorry to hear your having trouble.


It is always helpful if you postan example or at least tell us what camera settings you were using.


ISO:


Aperture:


Shutter Speed:


Exposure Compensation: (you said you were shooting ETTR) tip 1: night scenes are very dark overall. You want to EETL like a black cat in the coal mine. ETTR is for white dog in the snow and to increase the dynamic range recorded when shooting in RAW.

[Firesteel]

If you can't use a tripodor need to stop motion, you need to boost your ISO and/or get a fast prime lens (sometimes both).The 50mm f1.8 might be a good place to start, especially if you are not sure about what focal length you need. It is 2 1/3 stops faster than your f4. The 50mm f1.4 is a full 3 stops faster than f4.

[Vlad Xp]

John,

The answer to "What lens and settings should be used" completely depends on what you're trying to achieve when capturing your images. Depending on the circumstance and available light, some results may be difficult or impossible to attain because of the variables involved.

You mentioned that some of your results indicate that you used the wrong lens. Would you say so because your lens did not allow you to capture the wide enough area, not let you zoom in far enough, or because the minimum aperture (f/4) of the 24-105 forced you to use longer shutter speed because of low light conditions?

Again, the lens and the settings selection always start with your subject, and what you want to capture that subject doing.

Stop motion of the moving subject is be done with a shutter speed of 1/125th of second, or higher depending on how fast your subject is moving. In low light, you'll have to set you ISO way high, and aperture at its widest setting, to use such shutter speed.

Neon lights on the rides are not bright enough to shoot hand-held, unless, again, you push your ISO to almost its highest limit. Besides, you may want some light trails created by such lights on the moving objects to make the composition more interesting. That definitely will require a relatively long shutter speed - such that it's not usable for hand-holding, no matter if you have IS on the lens or not. Yes, the crowd at the fair may inhibit the use of the tripod. In that case, Find a stationery object, put a camera on it. Set your camera on Manual: aperture f/5.6, ISO 100, shutter 10 seconds, 2-second self-timer, and see what happens. If the scene is not bright enough, increase the shutter speed.

I hope this helps, and as Chuck mentioned, it would help to see some of your shots.

[John Hinton]

Sorry for the long delay. Here is example one. I liked the composition, but feel that the overall photo could be improved.



<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" id="Inbox"]
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Camera:
</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]


Canon EOS 30D
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Exposure:
</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]


0.167 sec (1/6)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Aperture:
</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]


f/7.1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Focal Length:
</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]


24 mm
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>


ISO Speed:
</td>
<td>


800
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>



Any suggestions?

[John Hinton]

Sample Two



<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" id="Inbox"]
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Camera:
</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]


Canon EOS 30D
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Exposure:
</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]


0.067 sec (1/15)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Aperture:
</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]


f/7.1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Focal Length:
</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]


24 mm
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>


ISO Speed:
</td>
<td>


800
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

[John Hinton]

Sample Three. Thanks for any replies.



<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" id="Inbox"]
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]Camera:</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]Canon EOS 30D</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]Exposure:</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]0.05 sec (1/20)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]Aperture:</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]f/7.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]Focal Length:</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]35 mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>ISO Speed:</td>
<td>800</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

[John Hinton]

And finally, for anyone wishing to further examine my blundering around in the dark:


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


EXIF data is available for all photographs posted.


Thanks everyone,


John

[mattsartin]

for starters, open the aperture on that lens all the way up, your shots were @ f/7.1, with that lens f/4 is 1 2/3 stops faster. if you want to stop action and be able to shoot wide angle at a fair, i would say your best bet for lenses would be 24mm f/1.4 L or the 35mm f/1.4 L