What setting to use to shoot night Photography without using flash for outdoor landscaping lighting company?

Question

I'm using a Canon SLR 10D. I have a buddy who has a lighting landscaping company and he wanted to shoot some stuff for his website. I have an image stablizer on it and I set it to ISO 800 around 1 sec f4 and shooting with no flash. If I set it higher than that it becomes more blurry because some parts are dark and some are lit from the lights. Some of these places that I'm shooting isn't going to be great for a tripod. Would a IS still work in this case or try to go with the tripod?

Answer 1

You can pick early dusk where it will look and photograph dark, lights will be on and you will have enough ambient light to have a descent shutter speed. Also use a mono pod if you can not set up a full tripod.

Answer 2

well first itd be helpful to know what kinda camera you have.

DSLR:
definetly use a tripod.
set your aperature to something low, typically, cameras can stop down to around f/4 max, though if you have a faster lens, you can go down to around f/1.8
then set your shutter speed to something really slow, setting it to "bulb" like the previous poster mentioned might be overkill, because that would be leaving the shutter open for about 40sec(this number could vary depending on camera) which would most likely make the lights come out as bright blots on the final print. id say anywhere round 10-15 sec ought to do the trick. You might have to experiment a little.

Consumer camera:
you might be outta luck, most don't offer manual settings. Instead they offer programed settings for different situations. Try out the night photography settings or just leave it on whatever you normally shoot with, but with the flash off.

Update:
in reply to your addition, do you have a meter on your camera? your settings don't sound quite right for night time photography, especially the shutter speed setting because,(Im assuming that f/4 is the lowest you can set it), in this case, your shutter speed will have to be even slower then what you set it due to the nighttime conditions. Everything else should be ok. if theres a ISO setting higher then 800, but lower then 1600, you could try that too, but I wouldn't push it past there because you will most likely get grain in the shot.
what do you mean exactly when you say "If I set it higher than that it becomes more blurry because some parts are dark and some are lit from the lights. "? whether some parts are dark and some are lighted has nothing to do with blur by themselves. Chances are you just happened to accidentally bumped into the camera during exposure. an image of your previous attempt would help clarify things more.
Lastly, if its incontinent to use a tripod, have you considered a monopod(like a tripod, just with one leg)? And IS certainly couldn't hurt.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

How I do this. Turn off the flash. Then you should have a setting that hold the shutter open as long as you hold down the button. Then with some experience you can monitor the Exposure Time for excellent pictures. I do the same for Night Shots of the Stars, only you need to buy or make a mount that Track as the Earth Turn so your stars are clear and not a swirl of light.
I had to look at my Digital Camera. It sets to Manual and a Syncro Speed to do the open shutter.
On an old 35 mm I think you set the Shutter Speed to B, it been a long time and I would need to look to be sure.
Be sure to use a Tripod with this type of photography.

Answer 5

I still like doing this with film. Sometimes there is just no substitute for film. Some will disagree with me, but that's what I think.

I use the bulb setting on my slr and a detatchable shutter. Make sure you have a tripod. Jarring the camera at all-even to release the shutter-will cause blur. The detatchable shutter allows you to hold the bulb open for as long as you wish, letting in as much light as needed. One of the best night pictures I took this way we left the shutter open for 5 minutes.

Good luck.

Answer 6

Even with a fast lens, you may not get acceptable results without increasing the ISO as well. It typically requires a combination of several settings. You will probably want to use a f/1.4, as that is about the fastest available these days (but Nikon used to make a 50mm f/1.2). A f/1.4 would be a 2 stop improvement over f/2.8, which is still considered a fast lens, and a 3 to 4 stop improvement if you have a kit lens (18-55mm). If you use the kit lens though, zoom out as much as you can as you lose aperture as you zoom in. But if it is not in the budget, a 50mm f/1.8 is not a bad choice, and you can get them for around $100 and up (depending on your camera requirements and lens).

Answer 7

Setting Shutter speed at 30 seconds,aperture at f/19 or f/22,ISO at 200,that good enough.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

get tripod.
shoot 30 minutes b4 sunset and 15 minutes after only!
shoot wide enuff to mae enlargements