How to get dark skies and better contrast at night?

[ajitmylavarapu]

Here is one photo I took recently of the Singapore cityscape:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajitmylavarapu/2139634254/

 

I am new to photography, so I get the following questions when looking at the photo:

 

1. Is it sharp enough? (Considering that I am using a Canon EOS 40D and a Canon

17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM?

 

2. The photo appears slightly "washed out" because of the yellow street lights.

Is there a way to get better contrast and darker skies in the photo?

 

Any other comments on the photo are super welcome. I am learning photography

now, so this would be very helpful.

 

Thank you.

[michaelging]

I think the photo looks fine, if the sky was any darker then you would not see the buildings.

[ajitmylavarapu]

@Michael:

 

Thanks. I am just wondering "What makes this photo different from what a professional quality photo looks like?" Is it the composition? Aesthestics? Sharpness? Contrast? Anything else?

[bruce_margolis]

I think it's a pretty good shot but there are some things to think about....

 

[1] Shoot in RAW. That gives you more latitude adjusting the white balance to your liking, especially with those "yellow" lights.

 

[2] I would use an f/11 aperture to avoid possibility of diffraction. Not a big concern here because it is so dark but something to think about for the future.

 

[3] Watch your horizontal balance. Looks to me like it is a bit lower on the left side.

 

[4] The sky is always difficult in these shots because it is uneven. The first thing you can do is try the shot again at twilight before the sky darkens too much. Another option, make adjustments in post processing with software but that takes a lot of time.

 

[5] Just my opinion, when I do long exposures like this, I set everything to manual. YMMV.

[will king]

The sharpness is pretty good. You could add some blacks to the sky to give it more pop.<div></div>

[ajitmylavarapu]

Hi Will,

What exactly did you do to the original photo? I am guessing you changed the WB, and increased sharpness and clarity in PS? Is that right?

 

Thanks.

[petemillis]

Ajit, where's the original photo gone? It seems to have disappeared from the link you provided.

[will king]

Yes, I did what you mentioned and also increased the blacks in the upper portion to lessen the washed out look.

[ajitmylavarapu]

@Pete:

Sorry about the missing link. Here is an updated one:

 

I made some of the changes that Will mentioned, and uploaded a new one.

[petemillis]

Thanks Ajit for that. It's always nice to see how images start out and how they end up. Thanks again.