# night pictures, help please!



## spiffybeth (Jan 28, 2008)

how do i control the lens flare????






6 seconds
f/29
iso 400





4 seconds
f/22
iso 400





2 seconds
f/18
iso 400


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## domromer (Jan 28, 2008)

I don't know. I thought a small fstop would to the trick.


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 28, 2008)

Change your ISO to 100, keep you f/# as closed as you can.  It helps to do this at twilight too.....


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## JRob (Jan 28, 2008)

try iso 100.
And keep the high Fs.


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## ClarkKent (Jan 28, 2008)

Do you have a lens hood?


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## spiffybeth (Jan 28, 2008)

i do not have a hood.


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## spiffybeth (Jan 28, 2008)

here's another at iso 100. 





f/16
8 seconds


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## Lowa2 (Jan 28, 2008)

small fstop number would do it yes? 

That's what I do!


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## spiffybeth (Jan 28, 2008)

the first image is f/29. i cant go smaller than that...but maybe i need to and i cant?

thanks everyone for the replies!!!!!!!!


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## Sw1tchFX (Jan 28, 2008)

Tight apertures cause the stars, if you open up your aperture to say, f/1.8, than they will just be white blobs.


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## spiffybeth (Jan 28, 2008)

thanks sw1tch!

if i open the aperture more, the flares are worse, i can show you what i have if youre interested? 

i just want the flare gone.


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## Jermz_01 (Jan 28, 2008)

are there lights behind you when you are taking the picture?  aka, more "street" lights


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## spiffybeth (Jan 28, 2008)

yes jermz, there are.


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## Jermz_01 (Jan 29, 2008)

I'm wondering if the lights behind you are affecting the shot... only reason I mention it - I had a night shot that a light off to my right side, rear created a nasty flare... a lot of P&P took care of it... but... it was a light behind me causing it... I was pretty close to the light though... just a thought...


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## spiffybeth (Jan 29, 2008)

thanks! i think i was about halfway between light posts. ill see if i cant go back and shoot from the beginning of the path.


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## Bevel Heaven (Jan 29, 2008)

remove your filter and try it again


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## spiffybeth (Jan 29, 2008)

i didn't use a filter. thanks though!


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 29, 2008)

ISO 100
f/# as high as it will go.. f/29 if that's all you get
don't need a hood or a filter
long shutter, and shoot that a twilight....not total night time
the lights are going to look like stars, you can't get around that...but you will get them smaller and more detail of the rest of the background..

example


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## spiffybeth (Jan 29, 2008)

tennessee, if i had exposed the first image i posted for longer than 6 seconds, the flare would have gone? or are you saying the flare is there because i did it too long after twilight? or both?

thanks for the feedback!


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 29, 2008)

spiffybeth said:


> tennessee, if i had exposed the first image i posted for longer than 6 seconds, the flare would have gone? or are you saying the flare is there because i did it too long after twilight? or both?
> 
> thanks for the feedback!


 

the flare is there because you left your aperture too open ( small # ), Higher # less flare...less. I say too shoot at twilight so you get some more background like the most recent pic at iso 100 f/16 but with better results.  Bump your f/16 to f/22 - f/29 with a ISO 100 and shoot at twilight you will like your results much better.....keep shooting, and keep trying different things. 

explanation....the higher f/stop lets less light into the sensor, the ISO 100 is a slow developing film speed, these combined with long shutter speeds are ideal for night photography.


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## spiffybeth (Jan 29, 2008)

thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 29, 2008)

beth...BTW my settings for the pic I posted were as follows:

ISO 100
f/22
shutter 15sec ( or more)
EXP +/-  -1.0


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## spiffybeth (Jan 29, 2008)

thanks for giving me your settings.

ive never experimented with the EV. do you think that would help me?


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## D-50 (Jan 29, 2008)

When you say "lens flare" do you mean the star shape of the lights, because that is not lens flare.  Lens flare comes from light skimming accross your lens creating a flare in your photo that appears to come from nowhere.  The star shape of the lights like others have said comes from having too closed of an aperature being a result of the blades in your lens closing.  You cant take a long exposure at night without lights beoming unatural looking unless you want a dark photo with only the lights appearing as they do to your eye.  To get a shot at night with lights that look "normal" and the rest of the scene properly exposed you'll need to combine two photos, one for the lights the other of everything else. Even if you shoot a night scene with an open aperature the lights are still going to look like big balls of light (I believe that was already said as well)


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## spiffybeth (Jan 29, 2008)

no, i wasnt talking about the star bursts. those i like and wanted. 

its the circled area


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 29, 2008)

spiffybeth said:


> thanks for giving me your settings.
> 
> ive never experimented with the EV. do you think that would help me?


 
I use the EXP compensation to bracket. Take a few pictures at different exposure comensations and pick out the best....It always helps.


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 29, 2008)

spiffybeth said:


> no, i wasnt talking about the star bursts. those i like and wanted.
> 
> its the circled area


 

Were there lights above where you were standing? I think I misunderstood what you were calling glare...


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## D-50 (Jan 29, 2008)

Oh I didn't even notice those.  Probably caused by the light you were standing under. Thsoe are easy to clone out though, sometimes the setting you're in makes it tough to avoid flare and cloning is the best way to fix it.


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## spiffybeth (Jan 29, 2008)

i was standing in between sets of poles. if i had to guess, id say they were 20 feet apart so i was about 10 feet in either direction from an overhead light.


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## just x joey (Jan 29, 2008)

use a lens hood? lol


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 29, 2008)

spiffybeth said:


> i was standing in between sets of poles. if i had to guess, id say they were 20 feet apart so i was about 10 feet in either direction from an overhead light.


 

I would say those are the reason for the glare you pointed out. I would still work with the settings I gave you as well. A lens hood should cut down on the lens glare. Also, did you cover up your view finder? with your face, or did you pull back for the shutter time.. Light can get on the sensor through the view finder......


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## spiffybeth (Jan 29, 2008)

i had backed away from the view finder. ill stay closer.
thanks for the help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 29, 2008)

spiffybeth said:


> i had backed away from the view finder. ill stay closer.
> thanks for the help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


 

I think if you combine that and possibly a lens hood you should be in good shape.....good luck.


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## D-50 (Jan 30, 2008)

How much light actually gets through the viewfinder, doesn't the mirror flip up and block where the light would come through.  I would find having to cover the viewfinder for 6 to 30 seconds a real pain.


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## MarcusM (Jan 30, 2008)

D-50 said:


> How much light actually gets through the viewfinder, doesn't the mirror flip up and block where the light would come through.  I would find having to cover the viewfinder for 6 to 30 seconds a real pain.




Not only a pain...but not to mention I don't see how you could possibly hold your head up to the camera to block light coming in the viewfinder without bumping the camera and causing shake during the exposure.

I've never heard of light coming throught the viewfinder...is that true?


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 30, 2008)

D-50 said:


> How much light actually gets through the viewfinder, doesn't the mirror flip up and block where the light would come through. I would find having to cover the viewfinder for 6 to 30 seconds a real pain.


 


MarcusM said:


> Not only a pain...but not to mention I don't see how you could possibly hold your head up to the camera to block light coming in the viewfinder without bumping the camera and causing shake during the exposure.
> 
> I've never heard of light coming throught the viewfinder...is that true?


 

I use my thumb to cover the view finder....MY camera also came with a cover for the view finder as well....................


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## MarcusM (Jan 30, 2008)

Tennessee Landscape said:


> I use my thumb to cover the view finder....MY camera also came with a cover for the view finder as well....................



wow, you must be really steady. I wouldn't dare even breathe near my camera during a long exposure, much less touch it.

I thought the cover was to protect the viewfinder when not in use.

Also, I just tested my camera and the viewfinder is blocked out during exposures.


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## D-50 (Jan 31, 2008)

I think the idea that light can leak onto the sensor through the viewfinder is a miconception, yes the viewfinder is a tunnel to the sensor but the mirror will block it. maybe if yuou held s flashlight directly up to the viewfinder light would get through but I doubt a light ten feet from where your camera is is going to leak onto your sensor


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## Tennessee Landscape (Jan 31, 2008)

MarcusM said:


> wow, you must be really steady. I wouldn't dare even breathe near my camera during a long exposure, much less touch it.
> 
> I thought the cover was to protect the viewfinder when not in use.
> 
> Also, I just tested my camera and the viewfinder is blocked out during exposures.


 
Don't know your equipment, but in my Nikon manual, it says that the view finder cover is to prevent light from entering into the viewfinder during a self protrait ......when using the timer.....


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## whistlingelk (Feb 1, 2008)

Im new to photraphy, just learning. But i think I see the outline of her head in between the starburst .


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## AluminumStudios (Feb 2, 2008)

Not every flare comes from the front of the lens.  In digital you can often get reflections between the hotmirror (the blue'ish glass filter in front of the sensor) and the rear lens element.  There's not much you can do about these other than change the angle you are shooting from with respect to the lights and cross your fingers.  The flares you are getting may very well be reflections between your hotmirror and the rear lens element, especially if they are inverted matches to light sources in the image.


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## Turn (Feb 2, 2008)

Um...why not just pp it out?


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## spiffybeth (Feb 2, 2008)

whistlingelk said:


> Im new to photraphy, just learning. But i think I see the outline of her head in between the starburst .



first, welcome to TPF!
and second, i dont think you're seeing the outline of my head. im not sure where you're talking about though, so maybe i'm wrong?



Turn said:


> Um...why not just pp it out?



i can (when i get better with PS), but id rather understand what's causing the lens flare so that i can avoid it in the future.


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