Beginner Night Time Photos

johnmcdnl

Hey guys - I got my new bridge camera today - yes I know it's not a DSLR but it's all I can afford so :P

I've just been trying to get a few middlen good photos under the low light - I know I'm never gonna get amazing results but any C&C or advice would be appreciated...

These were the best shots anyways



Focal Length (35mm equivalent) - 949mm
1/1000sec, 4.4F, ISO800




Focal Length (35mm equivalent) - 27mm
60sec, 2.8F, ISO100


My Favourite


Focal Length (35mm equivalent) - 27mm
60sec, 2.8F, ISO200


any tips or advice is welcome and also any suggestions of possible shots i could try because I've really got no idea what else I could shoot tbh....

Thecageyone

Good stuff, I like the trails in the last one. I started on a bridge cam about a year and a half back, learned a lot while using it. they have a pretty vast range in one neat package. For night shots, Buildings with lots of lights can work well. You get that starry glow from them, even better if there's multi-cloured lights.

I did loads of similar stuff with my old fuji, but didn't upload much of it in the end -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cagey75/sets/72157622618274678/

Think 9/10 of those were done using it. The one from the dslr stands out because it does starry lights so much better - I did get a nice moon shot in there off the fuji though

pullandbang

The light trail shot is good. Good movement and the composition is good.
The second one is boring - no point of interest.
The moon shot is not bad, but the moon is not in focus and it's the brightest part of the shot. Nice to get the branch across the face of the moon, but if the moon is the subject, then it should be sharp.

Good work though and keep it up.

johnmcdnl

The second one is supposed to be the stars but yeah I can see how it's boring... any ideas how I could re do this one and make it more exciting..

Couldn't get a sharp picture of the moon for some reason - I could get it focused in the viewfinder but when I shot it just lost focus for some reason... I'm assuming a tripod could help but i'll try again tomorrow night and see can I get it focused...

CabanSail

You can get some excellent shots with a Bridge Camera. You do need to understand exposure, your camera and composition. Stick with it and you will be surprised what they can acheive.

I agree with the comments. The moon may require you to manual focus to infinity and a crop would be advised. The stars do not appeal but if you can set the shutter speed to Bulb you could try some Star Trails. The last shot is the best & would probably improve with some of the sky & black base cropped to make it a Pano shot (wide shot)

Keep trying things & have fun. You learn a lot from your mistakes.

What camera is it you have?

johnmcdnl

It's a Panasonic Lumix FZ38 - arrived in the post this morning so I'm still learning where all the settings are located etc etc...

CabanSail

That is a damn fine camera and very capable. I was looking at one recently in Dublin. IIRC the only thing missing that I would like is a HotShoe, but I could be wrong. It does shoot RAW, which is nice. That camera should serve you well and is capable of producing stunning images.

Look forward to seeing more of your shots soon.

paulusdu

The moon shot is superb, love the light trails also. I have a friend with a bridge camera, and she complains that she cannot take photo's like that. Can't wait to rub her nose in it showing her yours. Great stuff.


Although the second one is quite bland.

Buckz

the moon won't be sharp if the shutter speed is too slow- the moon is always moving. Try 1/125 at F5.6 and adjust as necessary. Like the light trails.

johnmcdnl

Just a little bit more playing around with light trails.. i ran out of time is all though and didn't get to finish it properly

Thecageyone

Buckz wrote: »

the moon won't be sharp if the shutter speed is too slow- the moon is always moving. Try 1/125 at F5.6 and adjust as necessary. Like the light trails.

I disagree -

Exposure 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture f/7.1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cagey75/4083671191/in/set-72157622618274678/

baby and crumble

i think a tripod would definitely help a lot, when i started it was the first bit of extra kit i bought, you can get a decent enough one for less than 50quid if you scout around, and i've found mine indispensible for shooting at night. And as for 'only' having a bridge, your setup is better than my dslr! so you'll be great once you figure out where everything is!

Steve Reddin

Hi John,

I like your moon shot, it kind of looks like Santa and his reindeers crossing it

In my experience, the best time to take a shot of the moon is when it is low in the horizon and closest to the earth; consequently it's biggest in our vision so you're not relying on your zoom as much. Unfortunately this only happens 3 or 4 times a year, and it's really one of those 'get your camera and leg it' times when you see it. Once it comes up off the horizon it gets relatively small again. I'd suggest looking at when the tides are highest during the year and match that with the moon phases, that's when it's going to be closest to the earth.

The main issue with shooting the moon in great detail is, as has been said, it is constantly moving, and moves a lot faster than people generally expect. As Buckz suggests, 1/125s speed is probably the slowest you'll get away with, any slower and the moon will have moved marginally during the shot and you loose the crispness of its features. To further increase sharpness use the lowest ISO available to you. Unfortunately, both these settings will mean a large aperture and it's only the very best lens that offer this option with good zoom.

I have a shot of the moon somewhere I took recently, I must try and dig it out and post it up.

The star shot is a nice exercise, and one I've done myself, but given that the nearest star to us (excluding the sun obviously) is over 4 light years away, you'll need one hell of a telephoto lens to make them look like anything more than pinpricks in the sky. Alternative shots are 4 hour long shots that show the movement of the stars through the sky, although this has been done quite a lot, or to take your moon and clone it into the star image. You could also clone your star image into the sky of the third shot to add real interest, albeit at the expense of capturing a true image.

If you wanted to really go mad, try cloning a night sky of stars into a daytime shot...actually that's not a bad idea....I might try that myself.

Hope this helps

Steve