Tips to shoot for low light /night shot photography with digital cameras?

Question

How do i get that beautiful shots of lighted sky or darker subjects.?
mostly without using flash filled light as flash is useless for buildings/ landscapes / sky / horizon.

take any sony/cannon camera as reference.
( i own a 2MP Sony dscpxx and a 5MP cannon S2 IS if that is of help)

Answer 1

I'm not familiar with your cameras, but if you can change your film speed (ISO/ASA), you should put it as high as possible (ie. 1600), and then open your f/stop or aperture as much as possible (ie. 4.5 or another low number), and get a tri-pod to keep your camera still for a long exposure (ie. set your shutter speed to 5 seconds or some other long setting). Check your light-meter as you make your settings.

Answer 2

First and most importantly, use a tripod. You will need to shoot a longer exposure than most people can hand hold without shaking.

Second, shot as close to dusk as possible. If you can shoot before the sky is pitch black then you will have a better chance of a good exposure.

If your camera has manaul settings then play around with the exposure time. Many of the night shots you see are taken with exposure times of several seconds (and possibly f-stops that aren't wide open).

I too have struggled with getting good night shots and have had much better luck with the pictures I took in that short period at dusk.

A reference I would recommend is the Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby. It is easy to read and follow and not that expensive. It is broken down into a few pages for each shooting situation.

Answer 3

Most point and shoot digi's don't have a long exposure time. At most 3 seconds. Best bet you would need an SLR.
But there is some good advice on here so try all that first but I don't know if you'll end up getting the image you are looking for. SLR cameras even have a bulb feature (old models) newer models it comes up in the screen as a dash, at least mine does. You can then keep the shutter open for as long as you'd like. 30 sec or 15 minutes. I took a couple of night sky shots. I need to work on it more.
You can go to plenty of pawn shops and find film SLR's for fairly cheap. If you really want to learn about photography I suggest you invest in one and a couple desent lenses like a wide angle.

Answer 4

For low light you need three things. a large AND good image sensor, you have that. two things you don't have a prime lens with a large aperture to let in more light. The kit lens is useless for low light. Sure you can make it work but only at ISO above 1600 in most cases. Images will be more noisy at those settings. The third thing you need is the knowledge or skill. We can't give you settings because there is no such thing as some magic settings for all conditions. There are free photography tutorials all over the web. Just type 'photography tutorials' in your usual search engine and put in the time. When you understand how the light meter in your camera works, when you understand ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, and how they are all related, you will know what settings you need for any situation or condition.

Answer 5

There is much to do with the CCD's the camera has. If it has one, less light enters the camera. Or it is exposed in a less number of picture elements (pixels). If your camera has 3 CCD's it will be capable of higher res images, thus giving you more "material" to work with.

Lets say you'll have three times the stuff you have with just one CCD.

Then there are other factors, like if you open the iris too much, you'll blow grain, horrible grain everywhere.

If you don't get a correct exposure, you'll get horrible zones where black is supposed to be. It will never be true black, it will be just an interpretation of black by the cameras CCD's.

Then it depends also in what you shoot. It also depends on how many megapxls you have to work with. And then it also could depend on how you shoot. (where are the lights!)

Answer 6

Lighted sky? Lighted by what?
For stars, search answers - as this was covered last week.

Use a tripod, crank up the ISO (speed) and hope.
Night shot as you suggested for building will be tough unless they are extremly well lit since the minimum shutter speed on the canon is 15 seconds (didn't check the Sony).

Answer 7

Try Trick Photography Special Effects - http://tinyurl.com/kN5VNbJi2h

Answer 8

use the cannon the largernumber of pixels will give you less noise with a long exposure. incrase your film speed.use a tripod if you can.be patient some of the best light is just after sunset.have fun.