What's the best way to take a picture at night?

Question

Every time I drive down Pacific Coast Highway at night, I look out over the ocean and see the lights from boats and what not, and I would love to take a picture, but I know since its so dark it wouldn't come out very good. How would I go about making it look decent?

Every time I drive down Pacific Coast Highway at night, I look out over the ocean and see the lights from boats and what not, and I would love to take a picture, but I know since its so dark it wouldn't come out very good. How would I go about making it look decent?

I forgot to mention all I have on hand is a fairly new digital camera. (as in within the last two years)

Answer 1

1) Your camera must have a Manual Mode

2) Your camera must have a tripod socket (a small threaded hole on the bottom of the camera - see NOTES)

3) Your camera has to accept a cable release or have at least a 15 second shutter speed (If using a cable release set your shutter to "T' or "B" - either of these allows you to keep the shutter open as long as you want)

4) Your camera has to have different ISO settings

5) If your camera has Noise Reduction (NR) circuity turn it on

6) Read the "NOTES" below

Choose a really calm and clear night. Find your favorite place to look at the scene you described. Place your camera on the tripod and compose the scene. Make sure your position doesn't allow lights from passing cars or other light sources to hit the lens. Use a lens hood if you have one.

The settings I'm using are from my FotoSharp (fotosharp.com) "Day & Night Exposure Guide" and have worked for me when photographing a city skyline across a river.

At ISO 200:

f5.6 @ 8 seconds
f8 @ 15 seconds
f11 @ 30 seconds

At ISO 400:

f5.6 @ 4 seconds
f8 @ 8 seconds
f11 @ 15 seconds

At ISO 800:

f5.6 @ 2 seconds
f8 @ 4 seconds
f11 @ 8 seconds

Depending on the actual amount of subject motion, choose an ISO and try the suggested exposure. Obviously at higher ISO settings you have a shorter exposure and that will minimize subject motion. The trade-off with a higher ISO is increased "noise" which is why you use NR circuitry. If your camera doesn't accept a cable release but does have settings for long shutter speeds you're good to go. Use the camera's self-timer to release the shutter. If your camera doesn't have a tripod socket, you'll have to find a solid support for your camera. You can make a "beanbag" to support it on an uneven surface. Just take an old sock and fill it with dried beans (if you get it wet you'll have to discard the beans) or the little pellets used in beanbag chairs. Just tie a knot in the open end of the sock or sew it shut. A "twist tie" would also work. Don't "over stuff" it - you want the camera to nestle in it.

NOTE: Your actual conditions may require slightly longer shutter speeds - you'll have to experiment. Start with the settings shown and decide if they are acceptable or not. DO NOTchange anything else, just shutter speeds. I learned long ago that its best to only change one variable at a time - its less confusing and easier to repeat the results. Might be worthwhile to take notes if you do experiment.

I have 2 examples posted on flickr. Both were at ISO 200, f8 @ 15 seconds. In one I zoomed in from 70mm to 210mm.
flickr.com/photos/8184104@N06

Answer 2

First, turn off the flash. Useless.

Second, you have a choice to make. You can either use a "slow" (less light-sensitive) film and take a long exposure, or use "faster" film and a shorter shutter speed.

The advantage of the first choice is that if your camera has a manual shutter setting (where you decide when to open and close the shutter), you can definitely get an exposure if you wait long enough. (I once got a kick-donkey picture of a comet out in the desert. The exposure took about five minutes.) You'll also get a nice, crisp picture with good color. The disadvantages are that the camera (and ships and whatnot) have to be absolutely motionless. The camera would have to be on a tripod, and you would use a cable or some sort of shutter release mechanism so your hand doesn't jiggle the camera. You'd also have to experiment with a whole roll of film, trying different exposure lengths to get the right one. You'd get your picture, though.)

The advantage of the faster film is that motion is not as much of an issue. The disadvantage is that the picture will come out granier,and you might not be happy with the color.

...All of this is assuming that you're not using a digital camera. If you are, there simply may not be enough light to register. You'd have to check with the camera shop about that. If you *can* get an image, but not a good one, you may be able to "fix it in post" with image manipulation software.

You might get a more interesting picture if you wait for a night with a full moon. You'd definitely get an exposure then, if only of the moonlight on the water.

(I said "donkey" because I'm not allowed to use the word "***," even though I'm 46 years old.)

Answer 3

The best way to get that effect is with a fast film, in an SLR with a wide aperture on a tripod at twilight.
At twilight you have enough light to open the shutter at a reasonable speed and still get a night life effect without the obligatory movement of light across the negative.
You can get a film with an ISO of 1600 colour. But the most common one is the Kodak or llford 800 ISO.
Ilford in my opinion is the best film, they are the ones that sell the 1600 ISO film.
The danger in colour film with these kind of shots is that the negatives have a tendency to turn against themselves if exposed too long, that is start to deteriorate in quality. You end up with a very grainy film, resulting in a very grainy photograph.
The most important point in getting this kind of a photo is to take the shot at twilight. Not dusk, but twilight. Also if you can afford it buy a high quality lens with superior optics. The optics will catch more light and do it better.
All the best to your endeavours.

Answer 4

You have great answers already, I will just add unless there are LOTS of lights in the water, you might want to shoot at twilight, while there is still some light in the sky. Having a dash of color might add an extra little zip.

Answer 5

use a tripod and adjust the camera settings to keep the shutter open for a long time