Hi all, first time I've poked my head in here really, but I would appreciate some pointers.

Earlier in the year I bought a Fuji S1600 camera, mainly because it had a 15x zoom lens and had far more adjustment than my Kodak P&S without needing to shell out £500 on a DSLR.

So, it takes good pictures in its automatic modes, but I don't know where to begin with adjustments that may make them better. Inspired by the photo comp this month I had a go in the dark with it tonight. Basically I stuck it on a tripod, pointed it out the bedroom window, set it on an 8 second shutter and fired

It came out not bad!

While I know I have accidentally hit an OK setting, how should shooting in low light be approached properly, what is the first thing to think about?

Settings for this photo:

Shutter: 8sec

Aperture: 3.1

ISO: 100

Bearing in mind it's digital Mike, I'd just try several shots at different speeds/apertures to see which one you prefer

Once you've done a few you'll soon get a feel for what is likely to work in different circumstances

Good effort for starters - maybe try to lose a bit of the window frame

I'm in the same boat Mike

I want to submit an entry but everything i've ever taken at night or in a dark room (wedding disco) has come out terribly!

Didn't matter if it was with the cheap and cheerful Samsung compact or my Canon 1000D.

It's the movement that destroys night time photography.

As the shutter is open so long any movement blurs the picture instantly.

My plan is to dig the tripod out and go experiment with different settings - I know the kind of picture i want to take and after net research kind of know how to take it I just need to experiment until I take something I am happy with

As a general rule, the longer you have the shutter open for the more noise is likely to wind up on the final image. Some cameras have the ability to change the amount of noise reduction for long exposures, but this may also reduce the detail a bit, and the camera will immediately chug away for at least as long as it took to shoot while it processes. I'd tend to keep the ISO setting low (400 max, maybe 800 at a push) as small spikes of light with higher settings will tend to blow out on the final image. You're then just balancing the aperture and shutter to get the exposure. If your lens has a sweet spot in its aperture range (f/8 tends to be about right) then use that but you may find that your slowest shutter speed is 30 seconds and not quite enough - if that happens open the aperture up a bit and try again. It's also important to work out where to take the meter reading from - leaving it as standard full frame metering will usually work ok, but if you have a spot metering setting, try to take the reading from just off to one side of the main light source

As for movement, it's worth using your timer with a 5 sec or so delay. When you press the button you can introduce a bit of flex into the camera and tripod, which will result in movement at the start of the exposure as it settles. A remote release is a good alternative

As for movement, it's worth using your timer with a 5 sec or so delay. When you press the button you can introduce a bit of flex into the camera and tripod, which will result in movement at the start of the exposure as it settles. A remote release is a good alternative

Was about to say that - some cameras even come with an IR remote. That 'Stargazing Live' thing recommended holding a piece of white card up against the lens until after you've clicked the shutter if either of these option's aren't available to you...

Although I'm not the OP, a big thank you from me guys. As always; some good info/tips (and helpful people) in response to this query.

As said already, I think the one thing that can make the biggest difference is the use of a tripod. Remote release is also a great tip.

Just keep experimenting

Cheers,

Steve

is there any way to remove the amount of yellow in the photo with the cam? as i have done the same and the street lamps always give a horrid Yellow Glow

(sorry to steal the thread but i thought it would be releated)

Caught this on camera back in 2005 on a little Samsung 405, aim and press.LOL

The problem is one of balance - in the OPs post the white doorframe is quite well captured. The camera knows that's white, so it captures everything relative to that and the entire image is fairly representative of reality. Streetlights cast a surprisingly yellow light but you don't really notice when you're out and about.

There are way to adjust the white balance to adjust this effect, but it's often easier to shoot the photo in RAW and then adjust the colour settings in Photoshop or the app that came with the camera. If your camera doesn't shoot in RAW format, then looking for the colour balance options in your photography software of choice might tame it slightly.

is there any way to remove the amount of yellow in the photo with the cam? as i have done the same and the street lamps always give a horrid Yellow Glow

(sorry to steal the thread but i thought it would be releated)

You could try a few of the other White Balance settings. Or take a look at it in Post Processing, with Photoshop or similar, to reduce the effect.

is there any way to remove the amount of yellow in the photo with the cam? as i have done the same and the street lamps always give a horrid Yellow Glow

(sorry to steal the thread but i thought it would be releated)

I carry some white card with me, stick it on your subject and take a shot of it without flash, use this full "white" (but probably looks yellow) picture to set the custom white balance.

Kev

I carry some white card with me, stick it on your subject and take a shot of it without flash, use this full "white" (but probably looks yellow) picture to set the custom white balance.

Kev

Do i fill the frame with the white card??

then step back? and take the desired photo?

Yes, pretty much. Take the shot of the white card. Then choose 'custom WB' on your camera, then use that photo. Some cameras differ, so it maybe you choose 'custom WB' then it prompts you to take a photo. Just depends...

Problem with that shot is that setting the WB for the streetlamp would make the interior wall look very blue. The issue is that you're mixing light sources with different colour temperatures.

If you wanted that shot without the cast you'd need to WB for the lamp, meter to darken out the internal wall and then use a flash with CTO filter to light the interior to the same colour (or get an orange bulb for the room).

You could also use Photoshop to combine the two halves from a RAW file with different WBs I guess?

Thankyou all, Might try the WB card trick with the alteration on the metering point.

A great way to improve the colour of street shots, or at least a really convenient way that I use, is just to open the image in something like Lightroom or similar and use the eye dropper. Simply point the eye dropper on to a part of the image that you know should be white (it worked quite well during the recent snow for instance) and the image is colour corrected automatically. It’s not perfect, but gets pretty close, very quickly. It’s best to shoot in RAW though, as this gives you much more scope for correction as well as the usual benefits.

I have used the timer release trick when I have a long exposure on a tripod, but because of the mirror moving, it can cause a little blur. Luckily most DSLRs can do a trick called ‘mirror lock up’ to help avoid this. Bridge cameras like the Fujis don’t suffer from this as they don’t have the mirror bit of the DSLR.

A great way to improve the colour of street shots, or at least a really convenient way that I use, is just to open the image in something like Lightroom or similar and use the eye dropper. Simply point the eye dropper on to a part of the image that you know should be white (it worked quite well during the recent snow for instance) and the image is colour corrected automatically. It’s not perfect, but gets pretty close, very quickly. It’s best to shoot in RAW though, as this gives you much more scope for correction as well as the usual benefits.

I have used the timer release trick when I have a long exposure on a tripod, but because of the mirror moving, it can cause a little blur. Luckily most DSLRs can do a trick called ‘mirror lock up’ to help avoid this. Bridge cameras like the Fujis don’t suffer from this as they don’t have the mirror bit of the DSLR.

What ever happend to gettting a good photo? by getting a good photo! none of this editing in computers.....

What ever happend to gettting a good photo? by getting a good photo! none of this editing in computers.....

It's no worse than we used to do in the darkroom

It's no worse than we used to do in the darkroom

Sexual inuendoes aside.

Will try it the card thing later

What ever happend to gettting a good photo? by getting a good photo! none of this editing in computers.....

I think getting a good photo is what the photgrapher does. Getting a techincally corrected photo is what the 'pooter does. I have to say that as an untalented photographer, the pooter has helped me many times..........................if only it helped me take more artistic/creative shots too :(

Here's a very rare and short clip of the great Ansel Adams talking about that very issue, in terms of visualisation.

of how to do a spot of Astro shooting. Anyone who saw the recent BBC thingie with the lovely Brian Cox might like it. The camera that is used is a Canon 40D, but the principle will be the same for virtually all DSLR and Bridge cameras.

Thanks for the tips everyone

I've found that I have a choice of 2 aperture settings, and 8 seconds is the longest shutter. But I am optimistic that my idea will work. All i need is a nice night, hopefully clear of cloud. I might have a chance sunday night.

If I can't get that, I shall switch to plan B

It's very unusual for a camera to have only two aperture settings - usually you'll have a range between two extremes, and that'll change slightly as you zoom in. Is it limiting the choices based on which mode the dial is set to?