Night portrait with city lights as background

[anthony_m1]

I need confirmation or correction:

If I want to do a portrait of my family at night with a city scape as

background, I would set up the camera on a tripod, I already know the

exposure (8 sec. at f8 / 100 ISO), set my flash to the appropriate

setting for the distance from camera to subject, and shoot it like I

was simply taking a picture of the city. I would imagine the flash

would light up the subjects in the foreground and the longer exposure

will capture the city lights. Am I thinking of this correctly?

AJM

[twmeyer]

Make sure there's no ambiant light on your subjects, or they will look smudged. If they move during the exposure, the lights may show through them, which can be cool. Try it both ways... t <p>I think f8 is overkill, unless you've got a big family stacked in a way that requires a big DOF. If the city's a little out of focus, it really won't matter that much.<div></div>

[twmeyer]

And here's the other way. Take several like this, because the success of the image depends on everyone's eyes being clear of city lights (or maybe all of them <i>having</i> lights exactly in them... but that's a different photo)... t<div></div>

[anthony_m1]

Thanks for the quick response Tom. I will try it with a couple of different exposure combinations.

 

Your example was perfect.

 

Thanks,

AJM

[anthony_m1]

I posted my initial response before I saw your 2nd example. I was thinking of trying that 2nd idea, wasnt really sure what the results would be. Now I know. I think your first example is more of what I had in mind. Although, I will try it both ways.

Because it is a little cold in Cincinnati right now, I dont know how much cooperation I will get from everyone. I will have to work fast.

AJM

[mike dixon]

While Tom's response is more in line with what you're looking

for, remember you can also use higher-speed film, relatively

slow shutter speeds, wide apertures, and ambient light to

capture a different kind of look.<P>

<center><img src="http://mikedixonphotography.com/

jillcol02.jpg"></center>

[jay_de_fehr]

Yeah Mike, perfect for the urban zombie family! Great shot.

[anthony_m1]

Mike:

I am shooting the Canon 10D, so I have the advantage of playing with the film speed.

 

So what you are basically saying is forget the flash, use like an 800 iso, larger aperature and use the ambient light to expose the shot.

 

Cool idea, Thanks. AJM

[wakeforce]

Or you can pump up to 1600 and process it with neatimage.... I've been AMAZES by the results of this piece of software, it's incredible!

[david_chananie]

Nice thread, guys. Those examples help a lot. Thanks.

[steve_levine]

I would lose the 100 film,and get some NPZ 800.You will need either a TTL flash set up or a flash meter to balance the background,with a "kiss" of flash.

[twmeyer]

Nice image, Mike, and a beautiful "zombie", too. (I love zombies) <p>What's "Hatch Show Print"?... t

[mike dixon]

Thanks for the kind words, all.<P>

 

Hatch Show Print is a letterpress print shop that has made

posters for musicians, shows, etc. for about a hundred years.

For details, check out:<P>

<a href="http://www.hatchshowprint.com/hatch/">http://

www.hatchshowprint.com/hatch/</a>

[neild]

I have nothing to contribute in the way of suggestions - I was just browsing and thought that the night shots shown in this thread were superb!! I'll have to think about trying some myself!!

[blueisland]

I have tried this with 3 different methods. Briefly.

 

A: As in horrible family photo above (sorry) with a fill in flash.

B: Get your subject to stay very still and not blink using a long exposure (see my photo "chris on Balcony" )

C: Double exposure. Shoot background first (lock-off on tripod) then put in subject and use minimum ammount of flash as possible. This can be a bit hap hazard but you can get some quite funky results.

[twmeyer]

no need to apologize, given the luscious skin tones in your example, I can see why you think the family photo I made is "horrible". Thanks for the perspective :^)... t