Night Photography, need advice

[AaronNelson]

where do i post this?
im looking for advice on what i did wrong or what to try next time..with my night photography?
I went out the other night for the first time.
handheld with nikon VR, it was raining and this is what i ended up with.
these are jpg fine out of the camera (i do have raw format files too, but i dont know what to do with them yet)(much to learn)

im asking for help, im not offendable so shoot away and let me have it. thanks again for your time!! it is greatly appreciated!

[schmoo]

I think you did post the original in the right subforum the first time, so I'll move this there and delete the duplicate for you. :thumb

[Izzy Garavito]

Hey friend, the first thing I would do is get a decent tripod. I love my ball-head, so I'll recommend getting one too. Then get a remote shutter release, non-mechanical. if you can afford wireless then do it, but otherwise a decent one should be around $30. This is the only way to get sharp pictures in low light, and you'll be using longer exposures later so it will be a must.

Then, search around here on Dgrin. there's a ton of good info on nigh shooting and a lot of amazing pics.

Your pic is a good start. However, with the abovementioned equipment you could have avoided using ISO1600 and kept it tack-sharp.

It looks like you can definitely get some nice shots of that building--it's pretty cool lighting.

keep those night pics coming and post them up on the night-shooting thread!


http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=72999&page=5

[AaronNelson]

schmoo, thanks
izzy, thanks, i do have a good tripod....why didnt i use it? good question...lol, i read somewhere that i wont need it with my new vr lens...
i also read to set at 1600...what the heck...maybe i was sent on a snipe hunt!...

i will look up more studies before next round.

any setting suggestions? iso? wb? A? S?

:scratch

now to find the night thread....jeez, lost lost lost

[AaronNelson]

im going out again tonight...(with my tripod!)

[Llywellyn]

Also check out this thread (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=72999). It has some great discussion about different settings you can use for some crisp night shots, as well as several examples. :thumb

[pathfinder]

The cheapest way to dramatically improve the quality of your lenses is a first rate tripod that you use.

I am just as guilty of not using a tripod as often as I should way too often.

I lost a few frames yesterday in downtown Toronto that - had I used a tripod - would have been real keepers, but now they are just snapshots, and I have no one to blame but myself for not setting up a tripod in the middle of the sidewalk in a busy downtown street:D

[AaronNelson]

thanks all,