Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Tips for shooting at night

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Tips for shooting at night

    Hi, next week for a limited time the Emirates A380 will visit ULLI for a few days, arriving at 9PM. I’m either going to shoot it on approach from a parking lot or on rollout from the departures ramp.

    It is going to be well after sunset, and since I have absolutely no experience shooting at night, I need some tips.

    What settings to use to ensure photos are sharp and exposed? I understand I need a tripod, how would I pick the correct one?

    I’m using a Canon EOS60D with a Canon EF 70-200 lens.

    Regards

  • #2
    Hey there!,
    Any tripod will do, as long as you can move the camera from right to left.
    #1: use a tripod!!!!! for low light shooting a tripod should always, always, be used. Use a few arrivals coming before it to get the angle the tripod is set at just right.
    #2: you will have to go way open with your aperture, as low as you can go really. weather it be F/2.8 or F/4, low as possible.
    #3 1/40-1/100 is probably the best shutter speed. If you have to use handheld try like 1/80th. If a tripod is used go down to like 1/40 or lower.
    #4: iso is gonna have to be high, like iso 600-1600. it can be cleaned up as much as possible in editing afterwards.
    #5 Image stabilisation is a must. If your lens doesn't have it it may be a pain to get crisp shots, especially if handheld.
    #6 if he is holding somewhere on the taxiway (or somewhere), get as close as you can to the fence, set the tripod and camera as close as possible and with out seeing the fence in the picture (can be tricky!!) and just shoot some long expos (if you need help with that just let me know and ill give you a hand.)
    If you have any questions just let me know.
    Best regards,
    Tim



    https://www.flickr.com/photos/154010489@N04/
    https://www.instagram.com/crosswind_...ography/?hl=en

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by CrosswindPhoto View Post
      Hey there!,
      Any tripod will do, as long as you can move the camera from right to left.
      #1: use a tripod!!!!! for low light shooting a tripod should always, always, be used. Use a few arrivals coming before it to get the angle the tripod is set at just right.
      #2: you will have to go way open with your aperture, as low as you can go really. weather it be F/2.8 or F/4, low as possible.
      #3 1/40-1/100 is probably the best shutter speed. If you have to use handheld try like 1/80th. If a tripod is used go down to like 1/40 or lower.
      #4: iso is gonna have to be high, like iso 600-1600. it can be cleaned up as much as possible in editing afterwards.
      #5 Image stabilisation is a must. If your lens doesn't have it it may be a pain to get crisp shots, especially if handheld.
      #6 if he is holding somewhere on the taxiway (or somewhere), get as close as you can to the fence, set the tripod and camera as close as possible and with out seeing the fence in the picture (can be tricky!!) and just shoot some long expos (if you need help with that just let me know and ill give you a hand.)
      If you have any questions just let me know.
      Best regards,
      Tim
      Thanks a lot Tim! I'm planning on borrowing a tripod from a friend and testing it over the weekend. I'm a bit worried that at F4 my photos would turn out soft. Unfortunately there are no spots at my airport where you can get close to the fence, but I'll try my best anyways.

      Comment


      • #4
        Hi Ermak,

        At your airport, is there any spot where you can view it pushed back or at the gate?(Anywhere that its stopped) I'd imagine at LED there would be only 1-2 gates for the A380 to use, so is there any public spots to get close to those gates? Inside the terminal etc? It would be ideal to get it at that time when you have plenty of opportunities rather than it taxiing past etc. then you could get some long exposure shots.

        Good luck!

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi!

          When you use a tripod you have to switch off the image stabilization. The IS lens look for the vibration in your camera in order to reduce it. But if you use the tripod there is no shakes or the level of shakes is below.

          Good luck!

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Tim Bowrey View Post
            Hi Ermak,

            At your airport, is there any spot where you can view it pushed back or at the gate?(Anywhere that its stopped) I'd imagine at LED there would be only 1-2 gates for the A380 to use, so is there any public spots to get close to those gates? Inside the terminal etc? It would be ideal to get it at that time when you have plenty of opportunities rather than it taxiing past etc. then you could get some long exposure shots.

            Good luck!
            Hi Tim, unfortunately I don't have access to the ramp, the view from the terminal is from the departures area only and I must have a boarding pass to get there, plus filming there is prohibited.

            The terminal blocks the ramp from view of any accessible road, and the airport is surrounded by swamp (yep, St. Petersburg) so the only viable options for me would be to stand on 28L or R extended centerline and shoot it as it approaches or stand at the departures ramp to shoot it rolling out on 28R. Best case scenario: 10L is in use and then I can get a shot of it taxiing.

            Regards, Dmitrii

            Comment


            • #7
              Hi Dimitri
              Unfortunately, a moving subject needs a short exposure time to be frozen.
              Night shots are not suitable for moving subjects. Even if you have a very bright lens, this is not enough.
              I'm sorry for you that you can not capture it close parked or stationary, but you'll have very little chance of having a good shot even if you use the tripod (useless if you have to "chase" the subject).
              You could only save yourself if the movement is very slow (eg taxiing). In this case, if the plane is towards the camera, even a slow time (1/125 sec.) May suffice.
              You must also consider the general lighting conditions.
              If there are direct light shots on the aircraft, these will help you reduce ISO or increase shutter speed.
              ISO speech.
              There are sensors that work better than others at very high ISO with acceptable amounts of noise. This helps in post-production for its correction. There are sensors that even at low ISO (meaning low ISO between 400 and 1200), whose noise immediately becomes very visible and difficult to correct.
              Greetings and let us know how it went. Sorry my bad english.
              Enzo
              P.S. Of course there would be all the talk about the possible use of the technique of panning or post-production in which, by a dark shot, you can extract an illuminated subject. but this would be very long here

              Comment

              Working...
              X