What do you think?

[OwenR]

I'm just moving beyond the "point and shoot" photography. Had a Canon S100, which I loved using until it was stolen. Replaced it with Canon S500. This one does much more, but reading in this forum, I think I'm limited as to what I can or want to do. Anyway, here is some of what I have done so far.
Night pictures are new to me. First attempt, (was a beautiful sunset) came out grainy. From this forum, I figured out the problem was ISO. It was set at 400. Next night, changed to 50 ISO. Also played with longer shutter speeds for the church. Thank you for your comments.

[am_pitbull_terrier]

I like the second one. You will learn so much here these fourms are GREAT.
The only thing I would do with the second is crop the road out... It's kinda distracting

[OwenR]

I AM learning from this forum. Thanks to all! I'll either crop the road, or just take a few more shots. This is my church, so can take more anytime. I think I want to change something to get a little less orange look. Any suggestions?

[VesselinG]

May be the white balance...
and, hey, this here aren't forums, its a school for photography! :D

[rammy]

You should be able to get a much better night shot. I think the light at the top of the church will "blow out" if you try and expose for the rest of the church.

Your EXIF seems ok, aperture and shutter speed. Although, I would change the white balance. Try experimenting with this.

Try out my guess:
Make sure you use MANUAL on your camera:
1) Attach your camera to a tripod or place it on a non moving solid surface.
2) Set your aperture to the largest size, then decrease by 1 stop (F5.6 or F8 for example).
3) Set shutter speed to about 5 - 8 seconds
4) Set ISO to lowest setting (50 or 100)
5) Set your white balance to tungsten or bulb
6) Manual focus on the church to make sure it is sharp

Take the picture. Good luck!

[rammy]

This is my church, so can take more anytime. I think I want to change something to get a little less orange look. Any suggestions?

The orange look is because of the low colour temperature of the surrounding light AND because of the type of gas/filament used in the lamps (street lamps, outdoor lighting etc). Personally I like this.

Change the white balance on you camera to either "white flourescent light" or "tungusten light" and try it. You could try Custom WB as well, if you have that facility.

[OwenR]

I did use a tripod, ISO at 50, aperture, I'm still trying to figure out on this camera. My understanding of aperture is - it is the lens opening, therefore whether or not I zoomed? Hmmm...I'm not sure but I think I did slightly. (So I should move closer and less zoom?) White balance? That's where I screwed up! I had it set for cloudy instead of tungusten or flourescent. Shutter speed was 1.3 and 1.6. So I will try more experimenting with both WB and shutter speeds. Thank you for all your help! Oh, and I love your example, Rammy.

[rammy]

My understanding of aperture is - it is the lens opening, therefore whether or not I zoomed? Hmmm...I'm not sure but I think I did slightly. (So I should move closer and less zoom?)
Erm, are you confusing aperture with focal length? Sounds like it. Aperture will be the control of light (amount entering the lens) and focal length is how far you can zoom in/out if you have a telephoto lens.

I would suggest you have an aperture (open the IRIS on the lens) to about F8. Hopefulyl this should ensure front to back sharpness of the church.

Next, zoom in (increase the focal length) to about 50MM or even 75MM if you can zoom in that far, so that the church fills the frame. Or get coser.

Oh, and I love your example, Rammy.
Thanks. It took me about 8 tries to get it like this. My timing was terrible, trying to capture the traffic steaks ;)

[PhotosGuy]

The night shots I like the most have been taken before it's completly dark & there is still some glow in the sky. Try it & see what you think.

[cjm]

Rammy that shot is awesome. Is that Washington DC or somewhere in England?

[rammy]

Rammy that shot is awesome. Is that Washington DC or somewhere in England?

Thanks! It is St Pauls Chathedral (where Prince Charles and Diana where married), in London, UK.

PhotoGuy, I agree, I like capturing just before dusk and just after dawn. Best light at that time. Dusk is easier though, no early mornings ;)

[PhotosGuy]

Dusk is easier though, no early morningsMe, too! And cars don't "sweat" then, either. ;-)

[OwenR]

Thanks to everyone for help and suggestions. I tried this again using 5, 6, & 8 second shutter. I like 8 the best. So far, it appears I can manually adjust everything on the Canon S500, EXCEPT APERTURE! What was Canon thinking? I still like the camera, but with all I'm learning, I wish I could experiment with aperture as well as exposure, shutter speeds, and all the other features this camera has. Thanks again for all your help.

[exposingmyself]

Had a Canon S100, which I loved using until it was stolen. :(

sorry.

i entered a store yesterday where i had to check my bag. i pulled out my camera and i was like "i'm taking my camera with me" he said..."you gotta ask if you can do that".

i wasn't asking him i was telling him.

i took it with me anyways.

[CappuccinoDavid]

Thanks for all the tips ;)

[tim]

The later shots are much nicer. The only thing I don't like is the really bright spotlight which blows out, but I don't think there's much to be done about that easily. You could take two photos with different exposures then blend them, but that's a reasonably advanced technique, and could take a lot of time.

[OwenR]

Okay, my last attempt of the church. First two were taken around 3:00am. Last one was 10:00pm and a little longer shutter. The surrounding lighting apparently different at different times of the night. I see big differences from my first photo to my last. Thanks to all who have helped me learn.

I also played with some macro stuff. :)

[rammy]

Well done, the church looks much better now :D

If you want to stop the blowout from that light on the roof (without using an ND Grad or other filter), try and create two exposures in the same "sitting":

(Meter for both pictures first, then set your camera and tripod and frame the church. Dial in setting 1, take picture, Dial in setting 2, take picture.).

Picture 1
1) Use "spot metering" on your camera, use the centre spot only and meter off the front facia of the building. Make sure you FILL the whole of the frame with the front of the building and nothing else. Get the reading and jot down the settings.

Picture 2
2) Now change to evaluative or matrix metering and take a reading of the roof and spire ONLY. Take a note of the meter readings.

Now, setup your camera and tripod and compose the frame for the shot. Dial in settings 1, take the shot. Dial in settings 2, take the shot.

Shot 1 should have a blown roof and spire but the rest of the church and area is well exposed. Shot 2 should have a perfectly exposed light, roof and spire, with the rest of the image very dark.

In PS elements or CS, combine the two images using two layers. You can now use layers blends and layer masks to create that "perfect" image. Try multiply with a layer mask hiding the blown pictures roof and spire.

You could also use gel filters...too fiddly for me ;-)

[OwenR]

Rammy, you have been a big help! Thank you very much. Unfortunately, I'm just an amateur and don't have the equipment for all that, yet. But someday.....then I'll play some more. For now, I'm satisified with the last one, considering the equipment I have. (Tripod and a Canon Elph S500) I will keep your information for use later. Good thing about this forum...your information probably helped others who DO have all the right equipment. Again, thank you!

[OwenR]

Hmmm...you know? I think there's a way I can do what you suggest. This camera DOES have spot metering. I'll just have to work with it more. If I have sucess, I'll post it again.