Night shooting of city scapes..

octanehammer · 10th of October 2011 (Mon)

Last night I went down and photographed Idahos state capitol building. When I got home I noticed there appeared to be 'ghost' lights in my images...

My theory is they are from glare or reflections due to the fact I left my UV filters on my lenses. My brother believes it may have another cause..

I still new to my DSLR, and am learning as fast as I can.

Any thoughts about my theory being the cause?

sandpiper · 10th of October 2011 (Mon)

Most likely is that you are right, that is typical of shooting in those conditions with a UV filter on the lens.

octanehammer · 10th of October 2011 (Mon)

Cool! Thanks for the info. I'll get over as soon as I can and try it out...

RPCrowe · 7th of November 2011 (Mon)

A lens hood also helps prevent flare and will physically protect the front element of your lens. Removing any filter from the front of your lens is a good idea...

BTW: A way to get in the ballpark regarding exposure is to place your camera on a tripod and shoot in aperture priority. Use an ISO around 160 or 320 to get the best quality and stop down about two stops from your maximum aperture. As an example if your lens has an f/2.8 aperture; close down two stops to f/8.

NOW... Select exposure bracketing with 1 stop between exposures. Combine this with a -1 stop exposure compensation. This will provide the following exposures: as your meter reads, one stop below what the meter reads and two stops below what the meter reads. Sometimes it is better to use two stop bracketing and a -2 stop exposure compensation.

This will most of the time give me the best exposure somewhere within the bracketed range and will also often give me a basis for a three image HDR composite.

Use mirror lock up and a remote release if your exposures are lengthy...

octanehammer · 30th of April 2012 (Mon)

Thanks for the tips Crowe. I learned the UV filter I had on the lens was giving a reflection of car lights creating my "ghost lights".

10th of October 2011 (Mon)	#1
octanehammer Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 76	Night shooting of city scapes.. Last night I went down and photographed Idahos state capitol building. When I got home I noticed there appeared to be 'ghost' lights in my images... My theory is they are from glare or reflections due to the fact I left my UV filters on my lenses. My brother believes it may have another cause.. I still new to my DSLR, and am learning as fast as I can. Any thoughts about my theory being the cause? __________________ ~Patrick~ Sony Cybershot DSC-H3 Canon EOS Rebel T1-i EF S 18-55mm IS EF S 55-250mm IS

10th of October 2011 (Mon)	#2
sandpiper Cream of the Crop Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Merseyside, England Posts: 5,565 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Night shooting of city scapes.. Most likely is that you are right, that is typical of shooting in those conditions with a UV filter on the lens.

10th of October 2011 (Mon)	#3
octanehammer Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 76	Re: Night shooting of city scapes.. Cool! Thanks for the info. I'll get over as soon as I can and try it out... __________________ ~Patrick~ Sony Cybershot DSC-H3 Canon EOS Rebel T1-i EF S 18-55mm IS EF S 55-250mm IS

7th of November 2011 (Mon)	#4
RPCrowe Cream of the Crop Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego County, California, USA Posts: 7,099	Re: Night shooting of city scapes.. A lens hood also helps prevent flare and will physically protect the front element of your lens. Removing any filter from the front of your lens is a good idea... BTW: A way to get in the ballpark regarding exposure is to place your camera on a tripod and shoot in aperture priority. Use an ISO around 160 or 320 to get the best quality and stop down about two stops from your maximum aperture. As an example if your lens has an f/2.8 aperture; close down two stops to f/8. NOW... Select exposure bracketing with 1 stop between exposures. Combine this with a -1 stop exposure compensation. This will provide the following exposures: as your meter reads, one stop below what the meter reads and two stops below what the meter reads. Sometimes it is better to use two stop bracketing and a -2 stop exposure compensation. This will most of the time give me the best exposure somewhere within the bracketed range and will also often give me a basis for a three image HDR composite. Use mirror lock up and a remote release if your exposures are lengthy... __________________ See my images at http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/ EQUIPMENT: Two Canon 7D cameras plus Canon D60 camera modified for full-time IR; Tokina 12-24mm f/4, 50mm f/1.8 Mark-I, 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro, 135mm f/2.8 Soft Focus, 70-200mm f/4L IS, 300mm f/4L IS, and 400mm f/5.6L lenses; Last edited by RPCrowe : 8th of November 2011 (Tue) at 13:04.

30th of April 2012 (Mon)	#5
octanehammer Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 76	Re: Night shooting of city scapes.. Thanks for the tips Crowe. I learned the UV filter I had on the lens was giving a reflection of car lights creating my "ghost lights". __________________ ~Patrick~ Sony Cybershot DSC-H3 Canon EOS Rebel T1-i EF S 18-55mm IS EF S 55-250mm IS

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