Shooting at night, few tips needed

[V-Wiz]

So i finally got a tripod and i want to go out and take some city shots at night. Can you guys give me some tips, For example, what aperture to use, which lens to use (18-55 or 50mm 1.8 or 70-200 F/4 L) which White balance to use. I will shot in RAW so i can do some editing in CS5. Thanks alot fellas.

[V-Wiz]

No one?

[ni$mo350]

Keep the ISO down, shoot on bulb, and experiment. Best thing you can do is just go out and do it and see what the results are like. If you don't like it, find out what you don't like about it and make the proper adjustments until you do like it. Hope that helps.

[V-Wiz]

Keep the ISO down, shoot on bulb, and experiment. Best thing you can do is just go out and do it and see what the results are like. If you don't like it, find out what you don't like about it and make the proper adjustments until you do like it. Hope that helps.


Thanks, Shoot on bulb? really, is that what is used all the time? You are right i will go out and practice then see where i need to improve, however tips always help.

[ni$mo350]

Thanks, Shoot on bulb? really, is that what is used all the time? You are right i will go out and practice then see where i need to improve, however tips always help.


Bulb allows you to choose the exact amount of time you want to use instead of the standard increments. You might have enough light to only need 7 seconds or 13 seconds, using bulb will allow you to zone in on the proper timing to get the best exposure.

[V-Wiz]

okay ill try that too. Thank you.

[blueM]

Try all your lenses. Shoot auto WB (since you are shooting RAW) & correct when you edit

[V-Wiz]

I Should probably use a high aperture right such as f/16, f/32 etc etc. Also ive heard the higher the aperture the sharper the images??

[i_am_hydrogen]

^Not exactly. Higher apertures introduce a phenomenon known as diffraction, which adversely impacts sharpness. I try to shoot my night shots at f/16 because it gives a starred look to the lights. I wouldn't recommend going above f/16, especially since you have a T1i.

Here's an example of the starred effect.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3409/4651389346_ce4d09a7de_o.jpg

Also, try to shoot during the "blue hour," the period of twilight after sunset when there is still blue left in the sky.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4446089919_ac17073cba_o.jpg

[V-Wiz]

AHHHH that is amazing, Thanks for the help, ill keep it under f/16 and try to keep it at ISO 100. Lock the mirror and use self timer since i dont have a remote. Thanks.

[ni$mo350]

I suggest getting a remote asap, it's come in handy especially when using bulb because if you start it, you're going to have to stop it which also might shake the camera if you don't have a remote.

[V-Wiz]

I suggest getting a remote asap, it's come in handy especially when using bulb because if you start it, you're going to have to stop it which also might shake the camera if you don't have a remote.


Oh intresting, since ive almost never shot in BULB (didnt have a tripod) i didnt know you turn it off yourself, So where can i get a cheap/good one. Thanks.

[ni$mo350]

I have the Canon RC1 remote and it's worked fantastic since day 1. You can search the used lot here or find it on B&H or Amazon. It's not that expensive either.

[V-Wiz]

Chris thank you, you have been very helpfull

[V-Wiz]

A little update guys, last night i went out and took 40-50 pictures, overall i am pretty happy for a first timer. I did have one issue, i couldnt shoot in BULB, It wouldnt record on the camera, I was able to shoot in shutter speed 30 (one step above bulb) but nothing on BULB. I had to click the shutter then press it again to stop it (like bulb guess) if i didnt hit the trigger a second time it wouldnt take the picture, whats happening here. Ill post pictures when i get a chance.

[ni$mo350]

Sorry, I'm running off a lack of sleep. So you tried to scroll past 30 seconds and it wouldn't go to bulb mode? That's strange. I don't think I had to adjust anything on my T1i in order to get it. Are you shooting in M?

[V-Wiz]

It did go to Bulb but i was not able to get a picture from it, yes M, i also tried ia AV, TV.

[V-Wiz]

Here is one of many pics i took.


f/6.3, shutter speed 30s. ISO 100 using a kit lens .

http://i32.tinypic.com/2wcmw46.jpg

[V-Wiz]

I was unable to get a correct exposure out of higher apertures since i couldnt use BULB.

[V-Wiz]

another at f/16, 30s, ISO 100, Using a 70-200 Lens

http://i30.tinypic.com/53v1xd.jpg

[[Hyuni]]

wow, that's a great photo! With a little more practice, you could get some really nice photos!
I would listen to whatever hydrogen has to say. His cityscapes are amazing.

btw, hydrogen I live in the burbs of Chicago. Would you mind if I tagged along next time you take photos during the weekend?

[V-Wiz]

Thank you very much, yes i do need practice and need a wireless remote, Most importantly i need to figure out why bulb was not working, or maybe i dont know how to use it. Thanks for all the help.

[ni$mo350]

Maybe (and this is just a shot in the dark) bulb requires the use of a remote shutter release. It's just a guess but I wouldn't know because I always used my remote when shooting anything longer than a second. You might want to double check the manual to see if it says anything about that.

[V-Wiz]

okay thanks again ill check the manual. also no matter what shutter speed i used i had to click the button once to fire and one more time to stop the recording, is this noraml? maybe because of mirror lock up? thanks again

[ni$mo350]

Yea that's what bulb mode is. If you were using the remote and wanted an exposure of 23 seconds you click once and then click once more at 23 seconds to stop it. Think of it as a stop watch. I don't think you had any issues with it in bulb then because it sounds like it's working correctly. It can go past 30 seconds if you need it to. Nice shots BTW.

[V-Wiz]

but i wasnt in bulb mode, my shutter speed was at 30 and 15, also there was no counting, does the camera count and you decide when to stop it, sorry its my first time

[ni$mo350]

but i wasnt in bulb mode, my shutter speed was at 30 and 15, also there was no counting, does the camera count and you decide when to stop it, sorry its my first time

If it says 30 seconds then it's not in bulb mode it's 30 seconds and you don't need to press twice. It should be one to start and it should automatically shut off at 30 seconds. Were you in live view by any chance?

[V-Wiz]

Well if I didn't press it twice it would not record the image,the picture was absent in my gallery, so I had to click twice, weather it was on for 5 seconds or 10 seconds, weird. no live veiw.

[V-Wiz]

Okay so I went out tonight again and took some great shots, I was able to use bulb, I had to just hold the button for it to work, duuhhhhhh. Ill post a pic when I get a chance. Thank you for all the help guys

[Veemac]

If you were having to push the button twice to take a photo, you probably had mirror lock-up enabled. First push flips the mirror up, second push takes the photo. And yes, on bulb mode you have to hold the shutter release down for the duration of the exposure (or use a remote). If you push and release the button, your exposure lasts for as long as you had the button down.

[V-Wiz]

yup, i figured that the second time i went out to shoot. Thanks.

[Mrslinger85]

You have to be in full manual to use bulb right? Is that the issue with not getting it to work? I read the manual, it explains on page 84 for the t2i. I was wondering how to do this myself until a few minutes ago. I hope this was the issue.

[elogical]

You have to be in full manual to use bulb right? Is that the issue with not getting it to work? I read the manual, it explains on page 84 for the t2i. I was wondering how to do this myself until a few minutes ago. I hope this was the issue.

Yeah, full manual

[CalPiker]

So i finally got a tripod and i want to go out and take some city shots at night. Can you guys give me some tips, For example, what aperture to use, which lens to use (18-55 or 50mm 1.8 or 70-200 F/4 L) which White balance to use. I will shot in RAW so i can do some editing in CS5. Thanks alot fellas.

Here are some tips I put up for someone elses question on night photography. Hope it helps you out. I also shoot in RAW, so I just leave it set to auto WB.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=11885775&postcount=5

[V-Wiz]

Here are some tips I put up for someone elses question on night photography. Hope it helps you out. I also shoot in RAW, so I just leave it set to auto WB.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=11885775&postcount=5


I noticed you MF, ive had great sucess with AF even in very dark situations.

[CalPiker]

I noticed you MF, ive had great sucess with AF even in very dark situations.

I've had pretty good luck with AF too, but sometimes you just need to use MF. Especially when shooting the moon or very dark objects far away. My 24-70 can handle AF pretty well, but some lenses might not be able to.