brent_atkinson Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 I am trying to get some good recommendations for settings on my canon 40D. I am shooting a house at night that has specialty exterior lighting (spotlights that shine up the corners of the house etc). I have the Canon 18-135mm lens. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent_atkinson Posted November 11, 2007 Author Share Posted November 11, 2007 sorry forgot to mention I will be using a tripod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_smith6 Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Canon doesn't have 18-135 lens oO Use spot meter, .cr2 (RAW) and check the histogram after every picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_smith6 Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 ISO 100 or 200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenPapai Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Since you have a DSLR this is easy. Take 12 to 16 shots and exposure bracket them. Use a cable release (if you have one) and definitely select MLU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bueh Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 I agree with Michael and Ken. Just try different settings and see which ones work best. If you can get your hands on a shift lens for this shooting, I'd also recommend this tool for architecture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuppyDigs Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 A spotmeter isn't a good idea for a beginner. You have to be extremely selective about where you meter, and that selection process takes some prior knowledge and experience. Otherwise you'll get a terrible a terrible exposure. Likewise with the histogram and nightshots. I'd go with Ken's suggestion of bracketing and later selecting the best shot. Can't go wrong with that one. Sometimes the light’s all shining on me. Other times I can barely see. - Robert Hunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourthst Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 I have found evening to be the best time for shooting "night shots". There is about a 20 minute window that works quite well. You have about 10 or so minutes prior to sunset and about the same amount of time after sunset when the sky or ambient light and artificial lights more or less balance. You need to get there early to get your gear set up. Also shoot in tungsten mode. That gives the sky a great deep blue color. Meter off the sky just above the horizon, adjust accordingly, and shoot test shots during the whole session, the light changes quickly at that time of day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilangsu mahanty Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Paul, why does Brent (the original poster) have to SET the WB, when he can always tweak the RAW file later? -Nilangsu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo7hs2 Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Nilangsu, Perhaps because RAW adds a layer of complexity that the beginner doesn't need. JPEG will work fine for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo7hs2 Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Sorry for the lack of response in my above (off-topic) comment. My recommendation mirrors Ken's. Remembering your previous post, Brent, leave the camera in all of its default settings until you understand what they do. I don't recommend that you experiment with RAW until you are getting decent images as JPEGs. Put the camera in manual mode, and bracket the exposures just as Ken recommends. The MLU (mirror-lock up) will help alleviate vibrations, although you can try shooting without it first, and turn it on if you need it. Virtually unlimited bracketing is a great benefit (and curse) of dSLRs. If you have the time, you will nail the exposure eventually. The bad news is that it can make your exposure skills rusty, or they can improve by seeing what actually works. Your mileage may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo7hs2 Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 BTW, since you have a tripod, I recommend using ISO-100 to limit noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielrtan Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 not 18-135 but maybe 28-135 kit lens with 40D in US, using low ISO, tripod, Long expose, noise reduction - on, setting white balance, RAW file, - best regard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason_hall4 Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Also if you do a good job of locking down the camera between bracked shots you can layer them in photoshop (assumeing you have it) and creat a composite image. Lots of stuff on the net on how to do this. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourthst Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Nilangsu, you are correct that one doesn't have to shoot in tungsten mode if one shoots in RAW. It is the technique I use however and I do shoot in RAW. I guess it's an old habit, shooting to the color balance desired, brought over from film. It does improve work flow a bit though and seems more precise to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdanmitchell Posted November 12, 2007 Share Posted November 12, 2007 f/8. ISO 100. Tripod and cable release. Bracket exposures. You may need to combine a couple of exposures if the dynamic range of the scene is too great. Be sure to activate the long exposure noise reduction feature on the camera. I'd shoot RAW to maximize the ability to adjust the images in post-processing. It is a matter of taste, but I tend to worry less about "accurate" color balancing of such photos and more about the effectiveness of the image - sometimes playing around with the artificial light color casts is interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenPapai Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Still waiting on those lighting shots Brent... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now