Beginner's guide to night photography
 |
| f/13, 1/4s, 63mm, ISO160 |
What you will need:
- a camera, in this case I am using a DSLR with a lens hood (to block out any side on lights)
- a tripod or wall
- a remote shutter release or you can use your camera's 2s self timer
Settings:
It is all about getting the right amount of light into your sensor. You will use time, the size of the aperture and ISO to get it right.
ISO: 100-160
Mode: M for manual
Aperture: decide on the amount of depth of field you want. If you want the subject in focus and the background blurry - go wide such as f/2.8. If you want everything in focus somewhere between f/8-f/13. Anything aperture smaller than f/13 will make the lights sparkle. These are the higher numbers, yes its confusing. Think of it like this: the higher the number you go, the smaller the hole becomes and the less light will get to the sensor, so the longer you will need to have the shutter open. Most cameras are not sharp at f/22, so avoid this one.
In manual mode, you don't set the shutter, you move the exposure until it comes back to zero using one of the two wheels on your camera - just try them to see what they change. Take a photo and see how it looks. Check the histogram to make sure you haven't clipped the blacks to the left and the whites to the right. If you have, then move the exposure to the left or right of zero and take another shot.
For photographs needing more than 30s you will need an intervalometer and you change the mode to bulb - if you don't have one of these you will still set the mode to bulb and use the timer on your watch or phone, but you will have to keep your finger on the button of your remote shutter, lifting it at the end. You can also increase the ISO to let in more light.
 |
| f/13, 8s, 27mm, ISO160 |
In this shot I had a neutral density filter on which reduced the light even more. There were a lot of people walking around and by slowing the shot to 8 seconds this allowed people to walk through my shot but not be captured by the camera. There was a taxi parked in front of the church who didn't look like he was going to leave anytime soon so we asked him nicely to move. I have three neutral density filters: a 3 stop, a 6 stop and a 10 stop. These are excellent to use during the day also. You can slow down water or disappear people as long as they are moving through your shot.
 |
| f/4, 1/125, ISO 2000, 60mm |
Sometimes you don't want to get your tripod out in a busy area and have to hand hold your camera. In this case you need to make sure your speed is at least double your focal length. To increase the speed, increase your ISO as well as your aperture by choosing a lower number thus making the aperture hole bigger ie f/2.8 or f/4. Be aware that your picture might not all be in focus on this setting, in this case it worked.
Focusing at night
At sunrise or sunset you may be able to see clearly enough to focus but in blue hour or after it's nearly impossible. If you get there early enough you can focus and put a piece of tape on your focus ring to keep it in place but this isn't always possible or you may decide to change your composition after you have taken a few shots. Turn your lens off auto focus. Put your camera into "live view" press the zoom button until it shows x10, then manually focus. Close live view to conserve your battery and take the shot.
 |
| f/8, 2s, 153mm, ISO640 |
I didn't want to increase my ISO too much as it made the picture too grainy. I just had to hope he would stay still for two seconds.
 |
| f/13, 30s, ISO160. White balance: tungsten |
 |
| F/13, 25s, ISO160 |
We went to a photography workshop in New York and the photographer preferred ISO160, but I have gone back to ISO100 now. I don't know if it makes any difference.
 |
| f/11, 71s, 19mm, ISO100 |
I didn't have an intervalometer and I couldn't see my watch so I had to count!
 |
| f/13, 1/10, 38mm, ISO100 |
A speed of 1/10 is too slow for hand holding, so you need a tripod. You can use this method for sunrise and sunset as well as night time.
 |
| f/13, 1/1, ISO 100, 58mm |
As you can see, my favourite aperture is f/13.
 |
| f/3.2, 1/250, 68mm, ISO640 handheld |
 |
| f/2.8, 27s, ISO5000, 16mm |
The ISO in this case is actually too high, you should aim for somewhere around 3500. The tree has been light painted with a torch. The white balance has been taken off auto and put on custom and set to 3700 kelvin, this helps balance the colour. To get sharp stars you divide your focal length into 500. So 500 divided by 16 = 30. So this shot should be less than 30s which it is or your stars will have tails on them. You will need to increase the ISO to get the right light which is why this one went up to 5000. I found it very difficult to get my trees and stars in focus, so this is not my picture! I think the trick is to be a fair way from your foreground subject.
Comments
Post a Comment