I have a digital camera and I was wondering if any one had suggestions on what settings should I take very low light pictures? I have taken a few pictures already and they come out to blury. I know that I should have some light in the room when I take the pictures, any one have any suggestions? I am trying to take some pictures of an industrial building that I just wired for lighting. Mr X
Have you tried using a tripod? I know my camera has a remote that allows me to actually focus and snap the shot so I can't shake the camera.
No I have not done that yet. Also my lighting in the room is almost pitch black. Which I know to be a problem - question - How much light should there be in the room if you want it to look like it is night time and give the full effect of the windows? Mr X
I am still learning my cameras capabilities. After reading the manual and a ton of help, I figured out how to open the iris more, allowing more light in. I still have problems with night shots however. I can't say I have ever tried one that challenging. The best I can suggest, read the manual, search the internet for information. Canon has some good stuff out there. I am still looking for good information for my Nikon.
Here is a quick list of things to try after consulting my list of things to try. It helps to take note and have patient friends. First, put the camera in manual or shutter priority mode. This will allow the shutter to stay open long, allowing the needed light in. Next, manually adjust the aperture to the lowest number possible. This should allow in the maximum amount of light. This may cause the picture to look too light. If this is the case, either change the shutter speed or change the aperture. Quickening the shutter speed will let in less light. By closing down the aperture (i.e. from F2.8 to F4.0), it will also decrease the light and will increase the depth of field. Then just keep playing with the setting to achieve the desired results. Hope it helps and look forward to see the pictures soon.
A tripod, or anything else that will hold a camera in place for long exposures, is a necessity. A good rule of thumb is that you need a tripod for any shot longer than 1/30 second with your "normal" lens. It's perhaps 1/15 sec (max) with a wide angle, and 1/200 sec with a moderate telephoto. A long telephoto gets yu into the 1/1000 sec range before you need a tripod.
Mr X, My tripod and remote is in the truck, but I took 3 pictures to illustrate what I said in an earlier post. The only thing I changed was the aperture setting of the camera. The only light was from a small night light about 10 feet away with the camera sitting on the dresser. Here are the camera settings: Picture 1 - Shutter Speed 30/1, F4.5 Picture 2 - Shutter Speed 30/1, F8.0 Picture 3 - Shutter Speed 30/1, F14.0 Had I messed around with the white balance, I could have removed the reddish tint from the picture.
I believe I almost have it. Key word being "almost." I think the lack of any light was really doing a job on the camera before. I have a Canon PowerShot SD450 Digital Elph 5.0 Megapixel. The "tripod" that I used for the photo below was an old spray paint can. Yeah I know ... I can do better than this for a tripod. Does the speed setting matter for darker pictures? Currently I think it is set for 400 and it seemed like it took forever for the picture to take. The picture below was taken from about 12" away with a slight zoom to get in closer. The light source was a hand held work light that was placed on the floor. I think it turned out fairly well. But I will continue to work on it. Thank you for your feed back. Mr X
The more zoom you have, the more light you need. I used to 18-55mm lens and was set at 22mm in the shots. It took about 30 seconds for each shot. I was able to microwave a frozen pizza in the time it took to get 3 pictures. Lengthening the shutter speed shutter speed will let in more light, therefore a lighter picture. The 3 I took were at an ISO of 200.
Well I thought I would share with you how the pictures turned out. I think I can live with these: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/500/Train_141.jpg http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/500/Train_137.jpg Although I am still going to be trying different settings on the camera to see if I can get some of the extra glow out. Thank you for the help and suggestions. Mr X
I concur with the others on a tripod. Shooting below 1/30 at any setting will cause two negative factors: blur and unsharpness. I shoot a lot of px with a tripod; lock up your mirror, if you can, to avoid shaking; try high ISO/ASA (say, 1200 or close): you'll lose some detail, but gain some sharpness (less blur on lighting). Keep notes of your shots to reference what px with what settings you like. Lastly, try different types of light bulbs. Be willing to experiment. And last of last: avoid flash. Use light to make your px.
I experimented for my x-mas picture. I used a DC throttle to adjust the light in the building! For more night I would have dimmed the room light. Wolfgang
Keep experimenting. Light will "bloom" at just about any exposure or aperture when it overwhelms the darkness. The idea is to get just enough light into the picture so that it doesn't bloom. That's not an easy task, and it's best done by constant experiments. Boosting the ISO probably doesn't help; it usually leads to more glare and blooming. A good lens helps. I've got to say, in my case, it's been luck more than skill. I've sold a three cover shots from nighttime scenes; why the highlights didn't bloom is simply beyond me.
eye level scene: I believe you have everything lighted at the correct balance here, but too much exposure overall. The scene as a whole does NOT look like night--just like a slightly underexposed model photo-- and the lighted windows are “burned out”--severely overexposed. I suspect as least part of the apparently lack of focus in the window areas is not so much out of focus as burnout of the image. Keeping the same balance of light (I assume you had SOME light on the overall scene), lower the exposure with smaller aperture, faster shutter or both. Lock camera down on tripod if you have one handy, and bracket like crazy. Shoot same scene and angle with different f/stops and different shutter speeds. My STILL camera experience is primarily with film cameras, but I suspect best effect would be an exposure such that the window light is either exposued right-on or perhaps half a stop to one stop overexposed. To create dark effect in rest of scene, that should be what would be 4 to 8 stops underexposed for shooting scene intended as bright. But DON’T make it absolutely unlighted. Make it dark and dim but not black. hi-angle of switch tower Night effect is good, but windows BURNED OUT. I would stop down lens until flare disappears from windows, (which will make rest of scene much blacker if not totally black) THEN keeping aperture the same, add a little light to overall scene so it has SOME visible shapes but still relatively dark…
I'll share a little trick I read somewhere - to avoid shaking the camera when depressing the shutter button, set the timer on your camera. This will allow you time to remove your finger from the button before the shutter goes off. Eric
One thing about it... you don't have to worry about burning film to experiment. Digital has been a very freeing experience for me. Keep up the good work! My photos are at www.philandersonart.com
To avoid bloom, I try to shoot at my lens's optimal aperture, which is usually about f/8 or f/11. If I shoot wider, say at f/4, the lens typically isn't as sharp. If I shoot lower, say at f/22, diffraction sets in. If I have a depth of filed problem at f/8, I use Helicon Focus software to shoot "slices", and let the software piece it together. A thought: can you turn down the interior lights? Or turn up the room lights? It's fussy work, this shooting of model trains. I'd rather be outside, where I can't wipe out an entire village with one swipe of my hand.
I think I have it! Well I think I may almost have it! http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/500/Train_148.jpg http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/500/Train_151.jpg http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/500/Train_158.jpg Thank you for all your suggestions. I took these photos with ISO 400 (which at this point I think is the highest my digital will go) and using a hand held work light set below the layout to provide a little bit of light. BUT the key was to adjust the exposure down to -2. This really took the "burn out" away from the windows. Thank you ... Thank you ... Thank you for all your help. Any way it leaves me with the question of "Now what?" :shade: This is the first two of 16 lighting jobs that I am going to be doing on the layout. Let me know if you would like to see more as they come along? Mr X
Mr X, I think you could still use a little more ambient light in the backgrounds. There are few outdoor places or situations where the background is completely black. Even one small bulb in one fixture will cast residual light quite a far distance. Yes, there's a cone, but outside the cone there is still a little light. I can't think of any time (except in caves or sealed buildings) where I've been totally night blind. I've been pretty far out in New Mexico on a moonless night, with a thick cloud cover, and could still navigate quite well, once my eyes got accustomed. I think you've got the lights down. Now just add a little more ambient light for shadow detail. The last image is almost there, but I think it could still use a little more ambient light. I'd love to see more!
