RE Loc: California

I have a D5100 with two lenses (18-55 mm and a 55-300 mm). I previously just used ps cameras. I have had this one for about 6 months and am trying to now step it up so to speak. I would love take night photo's of the stars, woods etc without lighting everything up. I've read the manual, watch videos and I cannot figure it out. If someone could help me with some tips I can try so that I can get a handle on this I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks for reading my plea! :-)

JPL

You need a tripod.
Focus manually.
Set the camera in manual mode.
Set ISO to 200
Set aperture to f/8
Set shutter speed to 20 sec.
Set the camera shutter to timer 2 sec.
Take the pic.

If the pic is too dark, then try higher ISO or longer exposure. If it is too light try shorter exposure.

This is something to start with. If this looks promising for you go on from there, if not, try what others here will recommend.

RE Loc: California

Thank you! I do have a tripod so I will give this a try, again thank you!

Bret Loc: Dayton Ohio

Sounds like a good starting point. You mite also think about getting a cable shutter release...just makes things allot quicker...you wont need to mess with release modes or timers. If you have noise reduction software on your PC then you also may want to turn off the in-camera long exposure noise reduction utility...you wont have the processing delay between shots.

RE Loc: California

Here are a few examples of what I am trying to achieve. These are not great as I was just learning on my ps camera when I upgraded and now I am lost! I have been unable to duplicate night shots with the flash turning them into bright shots which loses the mood of the moment and changes the scene drastically. Anyway, I am going to try what has been suggested and see if that works for me, thanks again.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

And don't forget that your camera has different metering modes. If you have it on spot metering and the campfire is near the center of the image you will get a completely different image than if you have average metering. For still-lifes you can "bracket" - plan on shooting different exposures. You absolutely need a cable release when using the tripod - it is a cheap accessory that minimizes shaking the camera when you push the shutter release.

craggycrossers Loc: Robin Hood Country, UK

I'd go about it slightly differently to JPL ......
1. Always use a tripod.
2. Turn OFF image stabilisation on your lens (that's for hand-held shots).
3. Set ISO to 100 or 200. Keep it low because as you move up the ISO range pics can become more "noisy" (looks like old film grainy pics !)
4. For subjects which are static (no movement), as appears to be your initial target, switch camera mode to Aperture Priority. Nikon DSLR's have an excellent exposure meter and the camera will then choose the correct shutter speed.
4. Choose your aperture depending upon how much depth of field you want in focus - landscapes from f9 to f16.
5. Set your self-timer to 2 secs (to avoid camera shake from you as the shutter is released)
6. Look through the viewfinder and focus on the main part of your subject you want in focus. Nikon cameras are terrific at focusing in low light. If necessary take a torch with a good beam that will light up your subject sufficiently for your camera to be able to autofocus. Switch it off as soon as you've attained focus !!
7. Press the shutter

NB - if you find it impossible (it's gotta be real dark !) to focus with the autofocus system change to manual focus and set the focal length of your lens to infinity.

dave sproul Loc: Tucson AZ

You may want to consider these links:

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-111393-1.html

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-60610-1.html

There may be other links on the UHH that can be found using the above search function.

I typically do not look at topics that do not have indicators in the subject line on what type of help is being sought. In the future please add some information in the subject line relative to what you want help with.

Thank you.

Kingmapix Loc: Mesa, Arizona

Good advise from craggycrosser.

RE Loc: California

Thank you for the tip Steve, I'll look into getting one as I can see the benefit!

RE Loc: California

craggycrossers thank you for taking the time to help me out, you've given me even more to work with and I appreciate it!

RE Loc: California

Hi dave sproul, thanks for the links I will check them out! You are right it probably would have been clearer if I had said what I needed help with. :-) Thanks for looking anyway, I appreciate it!

fst415 Loc: New York & East Hampton

If I might just add one additional setting to your comprehensive list, namely, set the manual focus to infinity.

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

It's called twilight photography. Very popular in the luxury home real estate photography market. Google "twilight photography" and you'll find a ton of references and amazing shots people have taken. It can be done single RAW shot with a tripod and a lot of software post editing or it can also be done with HDR processing which still requires a tripod but you'd be shooting more like 5 or 7 JPGs of the same scene to combine. It works best if nothing is moving and there isn't even a breeze to move tree limbs and leaves because they will blur during long exposures.

These two examples were taken at about 6:10 p.m. last November (I'm in Florida so it's like a northern summer in November). There's a short span of time right between sundown and complete darkness that is optimum and it only lasts about 20 minutes so all your preparations, spots you want to shoot from, etc. need to be setup before that span of time occurs.

One of my lame attempts but the realtor was thrilled


Enclosed pool at the same house

RE Loc: California

Very nice photo's, thank you so much for your help
.