HELP... Night shooting

[joe.morgan]

So i took my camera out tonight to take some shots for my film but nothing wanted to work for me. I have only used my 300d a few times in the day and it seems like everything is different at night. No matter what i do i cant get any crisp shots, the shutter stays open for ages, the flash is used when it really doesn't need to be used.

On any of the advanced options (P, M, TV, AV) the shutter stays open for about 5 seconds, no matter what i do i cannot change this.

Any advice or ideas?

Thanks

Joe

[tim]

You need to understand exposure and your cameras metering system. What are you taking photos of?

The easiest way is in manual mode. Put the camera into partial metering, point the centre of the viewfinder at what you want to be properly exposed, adjust your ISO/shutter/aperture until the exposure indicator is at zero. If another part of the image is then too bright you'll need to exposure for that (faster shutter/lower ISO) and use fill flash to brighten it up. If the rest of the image is too dark you'll need to use fill flash.

The book Understanding Exposure that I link to in this thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=242640) will help you a lot.

[joe.morgan]

Thanks for your help, im making a film using photo stills so its a series of shots of the characters walking along and talking together. Most of the shots i have taken so far have been pretty crap and ones that came out ok were just pot luck!

[naqs]

Thanks for your help, im making a film using photo stills so its a series of shots of the characters walking along and talking together. Most of the shots i have taken so far have been pretty crap and ones that came out ok were just pot luck!

photo stills... How many shots do you take for yours. and how do you go about putting them together.

[tim]

ISO800-1600, lens wide open, shutter 1/125th or so, meter the background, use manual, and use fill flash to light your subjects. Manually zoom the flash if you need to.

[naqs]

Funny... I just realised I know a guy here in NZ called Joe Morgan who owns a TV business

[joe.morgan]

Thanks tim, ill give it a shot!

Naqs - im doing around 1 FPS and going to put it together in avid. Even though alot of the shot looked crap straight out of the camera, with some post production work they actually look ok.