# Night Time Advice



## Charlie Clark (Dec 14, 2014)

Hi
Took this picture recently. Wondered if there is any i can do to make it better. Used tripod & cable release. The settings are on the Flickr link

Starflyer | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


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## Designer (Dec 14, 2014)

Welcome!

I think the central part looks extraordinarily bright.  If anything, I'd say this shot is a bit overexposed.


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## Charlie Clark (Dec 14, 2014)

Cheers but too sure how sort that out.


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## tirediron (Dec 14, 2014)

This is going to be tough to do since you need a long exposure to get the circular effect (VERY cool idea BTW).  I think it would have to be a series of images; one long exposure (probably with a couple of stops of ND for the centre part), another for the centre column and potentially a third for the "rim", then merge them either using masks, or with software like Photomatix.


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## Charlie Clark (Dec 14, 2014)

Thanx for the advice


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## Tailgunner (Dec 15, 2014)

Designer said:


> Welcome!
> 
> I think the central part looks extraordinarily bright.  If anything, I'd say this shot is a bit overexposed.



Nice, I've never tried a shot like this from a distance. Anyhow, I'm going with a bit over exposed as well but only a bit. You could dial back the shutter or stop it down some...I would probably try stopping it down my self.


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## Charlie Clark (Dec 15, 2014)

Hi
Thanx for getting back to me. Sorry having never been shown how to use a camera,this quote means little to me

You could dial back the shutter or stop it down some...I would probably try stopping it down my self.

Chaz


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## vintagesnaps (Dec 15, 2014)

Since a camera is recording light, this type photo is challenging what a camera can do. Taking more than one photo varying your settings by a stop each time could get you one that's a better exposure, and learning more and developing skills in using a camera is probably what helps in general in being able to get good pictures in lower light situations.


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## Charlie Clark (Dec 15, 2014)

Thanx for the advice


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## dennybeall (Dec 15, 2014)

Some photos we want to take just can't be taken without some clever actions up front or actions in post processing with Photoshop or some other program.
You need less exposure for the central part since that is "blown out" (totally white because of too much light). I use Photoshop so would set up camera on a tripod and take a shot that was correct for the central part and then take a second shot that was correct for the swings(?) and put the two shots together using the computer program.


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## Tailgunner (Dec 15, 2014)

Charlie Clark said:


> Hi
> Thanx for getting back to me. Sorry having never been shown how to use a camera,this quote means little to me
> 
> You could dial back the shutter or stop it down some...I would probably try stopping it down my self.
> ...



No problem. 

It can be confusing, especially Aperture numbers. The larger the number, the smaller the aperture or opening. The smaller the number, the larger the opening. The larger the opening, the more light, the smaller the opening, the less light. Stopping down a lens means switching to a larger number or smaller aperture. This will reduce the light and allow for longer shutter speeds. The above mentioned photo seems a bit overexposed. So stopping down the lens would cut back on light. One of the reasons I would take this approach instead of decreasing the shutter time is to help increase depth of field. 

Example: Your settings shows this shot was taken at F/4.5. I would try the same shot at F/5.6-16. 

I wouldn't change the ISO. 

You can also cause light trails, blur, or smooth water by stopping the lens if you don't have a filter. This will cause you to use a slower shutter speed...you need a tripod for this. 

Dailing back the shutter time is probably something I came up with. It basically means reducing the shutter time, if you're running 1/2sec, try 1/1sec. It's just something you have to play with. One way to experiment is to run a cable release shutter button and set the camera to bulb mode. Then the shutter speed is in your hands, you just hold the button for a few seconds at a time adding more time as needed until you find what looks good.


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## Victor Utama (Dec 16, 2014)

Here is what i would do.

Since i use lightroom to edit my photos. Lightroom allows me to create virtual copy. So, if you only have one photo, feel free to duplicate them.
Probably you will need three of them.
Then you can adjust each photo accordingly, to meet the desire look. For this case, the middle part does looks over exposed. So you might want to have one of the copy to be under exposed so you can see more details. 
Once you are done, Stack them up on photoshop and use layer mask to reveal only the desire part.
When you are finish, save it as one layer.

Hope that helps.


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