I'm doing a. Night boat parade tomorrow night. I really stink at night photos. Anyone have any settings that I can start with, then tweek.
Tia,
Steve
Please read this section requirement.
Steve, you really need to provide more info.
A boat parade would imply that you'll shoot moving objects, albeit slowly moving ones. It really helps if you can tell us what brand and model of camera, focal length of lenses, etc. There may be a lot of 'Hoggers who have the same gear and can help.
Lacking any other input, I'd sigh high ISO (1600-6400) and the largest aperture lens that you have.
I guess it's too late to suggest practicing last night...
Gene51
Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
fcijaxfl wrote:
I'm doing a. Night boat parade tomorrow night. I really stink at night photos. Anyone have any settings that I can start with, then tweek.
Tia,
Steve
General rules which may or may not apply to your situation - use high ISO, fast shutter speed, and shoot some tests with optical stabilization turned on and off. Practice your slow panning. Find a spot near a bright streetlamp. Shoot raw. Tweak away!
fcijaxfl wrote:
I'm doing a. Night boat parade tomorrow night. I really stink at night photos. Anyone have any settings that I can start with, then tweek.
Tia,
Steve
A good start would be to have a lens that works well in low light. A f2.8 or faster. Not absolutely necessary though.
Follow Gene's advice, although if this is on the water don't spend too much time looking for a street lamp.
Once it starts chimp early and often and adjust as necessary.
Good luck.
G Brown
Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK
Take a shot or two in full auto including auto ISO......see the figures for Fstop and speed....that should give you the ball park.....The more lights reduce ISO the more people jumping about the greater the speed .
Shutter speed is going to be the key...there will always be movement.
Distance from you, and what you want to see may mean a lens change ....again a couple of full auto shots will make any adjustments for the lens change. then get creative.
It is not a case of 'camera and lens' it is a case of 'in that situation'.....and only you are there with what you've got.
have fun, enjoy the show and maybe use the camera
Gene51
Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
fcijaxfl wrote:
I'm doing a. Night boat parade tomorrow night. I really stink at night photos. Anyone have any settings that I can start with, then tweek.
Tia,
Steve
Actually, I took a look at previous year's parades, and you will have a combination of brightly lit boats and fireworks. ISO 1600-3200 and hand-held at 1/30-1/60 sec should be more than fine for the boats. Just like shooting Christmas lights. Try F8-F11 2-5 sec exposures for the fireworks. A larger aperture will make the fireworks brighter, but you risk losing the colors if you go too wide.
You won't need to find a streetlamp - the boats will be nicely lit on their own.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.