# Night Shots from the weekend



## Kev_mk3 (Sep 10, 2007)

first time using my canon 350d at all!!

used 3 different shutter speeds *(one on each)* but i had to give up as it was to bloody cold in the end :lol:


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## Morph3ous (Jul 6, 2007)

Looks good Kev. 

Good location for a trails shot, with a good composition.

Do you have Photoshop? By adding the 3 images together, you'll have one very nice picture indeed! :thumb:


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## Kev_mk3 (Sep 10, 2007)

Morph3ous said:


> Looks good Kev.
> 
> Good location for a trails shot, with a good composition.
> 
> Do you have Photoshop? By adding the 3 images together, you'll have one very nice picture indeed! :thumb:


i do but i havent a clue how to use it. had PS & my camera about a week


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## Mark J (May 10, 2007)

Kev, one of the dangers with nights shots is to take them at night in locations such as these! 

By that I mean total darkness, if you look at the 'light trails' pic posted by Morph3ous, you will see he has chosen dusk to shoot the trails.(granted there aren't many streetlights for him to worry about in his shot)

If you had shot your pics at dusk there would be less of a chance of light polution and blown highlights from the sodium lighting. Go out again at dusk and try the same shots you will be surprised:thumb:


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## Justin182 (Jul 18, 2006)

pic 1 and 2 are ace!


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## Kev_mk3 (Sep 10, 2007)

mark j said:


> Kev, one of the dangers with nights shots is to take them at night in locations such as these!
> 
> By that I mean total darkness, if you look at the 'light trails' pic posted by Morph3ous, you will see he has chosen dusk to shoot the trails.(granted there aren't many streetlights for him to worry about in his shot)
> 
> If you had shot your pics at dusk there would be less of a chance of light polution and blown highlights from the sodium lighting. Go out again at dusk and try the same shots you will be surprised:thumb:


Thanks I didn't realise TBH, I was on the way home from a friends when I had the idea to do it - about 12pm at night :lol: ill try again this weekend tho


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

still pretty cool

oh not in the dark, was thinking of trying it, but still might, depending on weather


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## Morph3ous (Jul 6, 2007)

The biggest thing with taking these type of shots is keeping the camera a) totally totally still and b) not moving it a mm between shots. This way, you have the largest scope of making the picture perfect in PS. Its ideally done with a tripod, but I managed to take mine by resting the camera on the side of the bridge.

Give it a whirl!


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## Kev_mk3 (Sep 10, 2007)

i used a tripod and it worked a treat


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Nice pics Kev, out of interest where is that?


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Good efforts those Kev

I would go for f8 or f11 and 30 seconds exposure on the tripod. Cover the lens with some black card until traffic appears, then remove the card, replace when theres a lull in traffic again etc until exposure complete.

Saves burning out detail and also increases light trails.:thumb:


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## Kev_mk3 (Sep 10, 2007)

many thanks james


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## Morph3ous (Jul 6, 2007)

It would be easier to use the 'bulb' function on your camera rather than putting card over the lens, as this may cause issues with the picture.

Bulb is very easy to use, as you choose how long the shutter stays open for. You press the shutter to start the picture when some traffic is coming, and then press it again when you want to stop.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Morph3ous said:


> It would be easier to use the 'bulb' function on your camera rather than putting card over the lens, as this may cause issues with the picture.


Wont cause any issues - not all cameras have bulb.[/quote]



Morph3ous said:


> Bulb is very easy to use, as you choose how long the shutter stays open for. You press the shutter to start the picture when some traffic is coming, and then press it again when you want to stop.


...and risk camera shake when pressing the shutter. Also meaning you may need to use multiple exposures or a bit of photoshopping to get the best results.

The black card technique reduces the amount of light pollution coming from outside the viewed frame which can make the picture look a strange colour. Also stops the rest of your picture becoming too bright.

Not trying to wind you up Morph3ous, just explaining why this technique is worth trying.:thumb:


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Morph3ous said:


> It would be easier to use the 'bulb' function on your camera rather than putting card over the lens, as this may cause issues with the picture.
> 
> Bulb is very easy to use, as you choose how long the shutter stays open for. You press the shutter to start the picture when some traffic is coming, and then press it again when you want to stop.


This isn't the case, it is normally a case of press and hold i.e. you have to keep the shutter button depressed for the length of the duration.

Some can have the two press function but not all.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

^^^^

Correct.:thumb:


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## Morph3ous (Jul 6, 2007)

My mistake. You're right about the bulb function.

Whichever method you choose to capture the light trails, you will most likely still need to take multiple shots and then play about with them in PS to get the perfect image. IMO it's going to be quite difficult to get the right amount of trails and the correct exposure all in one unedited frame. It's much easier to take lots of them, then play on the computer to get the best out of what you've got. That's what I did, and I'm more than happy with the result.

At the end of the day, as long as you enjoy what you do, and you like what you get at the end, there isn't really a right or a wrong way of doing it. 
The more advice/tips from more people the better I always think. :thumb:


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