Night Shots

[Dracz91]

I took this with my Nikon D40 18-55mm lens...there are more pictures to come, since i'm doing my Creative Photo exhibition on my car!

any suggestions i would love to hear on how to take better pictures at night.

[Rocky2]

I love the tree in the background. It looks so...treey

[Dracz91]

lol i think that big tree looks like some kind of animal...attacking you...or maybe im just crazy.

[Tx4Codeman]

West palm? On the Fl site? MitsuOA Florida
welcome to c3g. Post more pics and start up that mod list.

[Dracz91]

yea west palm!

no not yet on the FL site.
I want to start modding but im low on money. and my radiator has a 2-3" crack so i have to fix that now...

[Tx4Codeman]

Originally Posted by Dracz91

yea west palm!

no not yet on the FL site.
I want to start modding but im low on money. and my radiator has a 2-3" crack so i have to fix that now...

join the site, or you'll miss all of our meets. We have a 1/4 mile meet tomorrow. So far 11 people on the list (like thats going to be the turnout ).

[Dracz91]

i did my name is the same as on here. DRacz91

[Mister_Bishi]

Nice shot. Good job

[mcgregord7]

Its really weird to say this but.... the car is beautiful while looking at the picture tho my attention is mainly drawn to that tree for some reason. i dont know if anyone else relizes that. From personal choice when i take picutres i make sure its a nice back round but not to much in the back round, maybe photoshop the backround alil dimmer to focus more on the car if you'll have that much going on back there

[Sam]

Originally Posted by mcgregord7

Its really weird to say this but.... the car is beautiful while looking at the picture tho my attention is mainly drawn to that tree for some reason. i dont know if anyone else relizes that. From personal choice when i take picutres i make sure its a nice back round but not to much in the back round, maybe photoshop the backround alil dimmer to focus more on the car if you'll have that much going on back there

You're a lying idiot. No one really cares what you have to say.

[Fergie]

Sam FTW

[Anus!]

Sam

although he is right to an extent.

try to keep your non subject matter simple so that your subject stands out.

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Anus!

Sam

although he is right to an extent.

try to keep your non subject matter simple so that your subject stands out.

Maybe it's just me but does the image look a little shaky?

[Pearl01Strat]

Originally Posted by Sam

Maybe it's just me but does the image look a little shaky?

Its most noticeable near the left side (right side if you were inside) of the vehicle.

Did you use a tripod? A very inexpensive investment. I have a cheapo Nikon and use a tripod. Vastly improves night shots.

[3gen_venn]

Originally Posted by Dracz91

I took this with my Nikon D40 18-55mm lens...there are more pictures to come, since i'm doing my Creative Photo exhibition on my car!

any suggestions i would love to hear on how to take better pictures at night.

Alright, here's my take.

First, Composition and Exposure. you want your car to stand out (and be better lit) and your background to compliment your main subject. With this image, you have a distracting background and a poorly focused/exposed car.

Suggestion for the first observation, you have your camera's set at F/4 and a slow shutter speed of 6 seconds.
- The wide aperture of F/4 results in a small sharp focused are in the image (more Bokeh, and what not) , where in this case, you want it to be in your car. I can't tell if you have it focused in your car. If you can set the number a little higher (f/8 or so or whatever your lens shows the sharpest in a given area of a photo) then you'll have a better chance of having a cleaner sharper image.
- The slow shutter of 6 seconds very likely resulted the blurry and better exposed background, which are your trees. I don't know if this is what you're trying to achieve, but with this image, as I already mentioned, it's distracting. Have you tried a shorter shutter speed? and make sure you meter your exposure more on your car so that it would come out better lit.

2nd, ISO Sensitivity. Your ISO setting is 1600 in this photo, and my best guess is that your image came out a bit grainy? I would suggest something a little lower if you don't want to post process (smoothening / reduce noise / etc) your image too much and lose details from the original photo.

With the 1st and 2nd, learn how your lens behaves at certain settings (Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO). Do alot of field tests, and eventually, you'll get used to the right settings you need to achieve whatever photo you want.

3rd, Post Processing. You're image looks choppy and it's possible its caused by either Sharpening (Unsharp Mask), or Image Resizing. Try different Photoshop CS2 setting in these areas and see what works best for your photo. I usually minimize sharpening depending on how the photo was taken, and use either Photoshop or Microsoft's PowerToys Image Resizer to the the resizing.

4th and lastly, Equipment and Lighting. I already mentioned about learning the quirks of your lens. If you want long exposures, try the timer settings of your camera or use a remote (wired or wireless) on a Tripod (I would say this is the most helpful tool for whatever photography you try) or a sturdy non-moving/shaking surface. Try getting more light sources by adding more light or placing your subject on the right spot to expose your photo/subject better.

Oh yeah, practice makes perfect and to each his/her own. Also, ask specific questions if you need help.

here's a sample of my first night shot: There's a flash on the left side of the photo, while there are several light sources (car's headlamps as you'll notice them on the bumper) on the right side of the car.

Click on the image if you want to check the other photos that night.

[Dracz91]

thanks everyone for their help. yes the picture is a little shaky. i have a tripod in my trunk but i forgot the piece that goes on the camera.. so i put the camera on the floor.

I'm going to go out again this weekend hopefully. I'll post the new ones when i take them

[Anus!]

Originally Posted by Sam

Maybe it's just me but does the image look a little shaky?

I'm on my iPod touch so I can't see that good. It does look like the clouds and tree are blurry but that is do to the movement during the long exposure.

[Dracz91]

I messed around with the picture in PS hers what i came up with (not the best), but I think it looks a lot better





what do you guys think about the headlights and the fog lights. Think they look better turned on?

[kabob]

Too much flare with the heads and fogs, man. It looks unnatural.