How do I take this picture?

Question

I wanna shoot this street near were I live thats lit up at the moment with fairy ligts and sodium lamps. It looks amazing. Ive tried taking shots at night of places that were beautiful lit up but the pictures came out in such a way as to appear like everything had doubled or like the lights were all blury. I think the effect is called camera shake, Im not sure though.
My question is how do I shoot at night were the lights arent blurry and theres no ghost like double images? What speed film shoot I use and do I need a camera stand and one of those push button release jobbies? Or can you take shots at night hand held? My camera is a manual one, but its pretty decent. Thanks

Yeah my camera is an SLR

I think its a 35mm lense.......im a bit clueless, havent been taking pictures in a long while. So i should shoot using 400 film, with a tri-pod and shutter release button, setting the camera to f???? And how long of an exposure time should I be looking at? Thanks again

Answer 1

Yes you need a tripod and cable release. Now for how to get the picture you want.

Taken directly from my FotoSharp (fotosharp.com) Day & Night Exposure Guide, Scene 14, City Skyline In Distance:

ISO 200 (or 160)
f5.6 @ 8 seconds
f8 @ 15 seconds
f11 @ 30 seconds

Scene 8, Brightly Lit Street Corner:

ISO 200 (or 160)
f5.6 @ 1/8 second
f8 @ 1/4 second
f11 @ 1/2 second

For the second example you might want to try "bracketing" which means try it at f8 @ 1/4 second and then one at f8 @ 1/2 second and one at f8 @ 1/8 second. DO NOT change anything except the shutter speed. I learned a long, long time ago to only change one variable at a time.

I recommend the Day & Night Exposure Guide.

EDIT: Perhaps if Michael M. had read my answer his would have been better.

Answer 2

when you say manual...do you mean SLR? What you need to do is mount your camera on a tripod (a camera stand as you put it :) )]. It is blurry because at night, the exposure time is longer (even w/ the lights). And you holding the camera will make it blurry. Film speed I would go 400, 800, or 1600. The 400 though means that the exposure would be the longest. 1600 you get faster shutter speed, BUT the image will be much more grainier and noisier. If you had a digital cam you could experiment better, but since you don't, I would probably shoot in 400 and do a LONG exposure.


EDIT: What lens are u using? That is also dependent upon what camera settings to use. :)

Answer 3

The best thing to do to capture this shot would be to use a tripod. You can pick a decent one up just about anywhere -- a discount store, a photo supply shop, garage sales.

It does sound like camera shake is your problem.

Some newer cameras have image stabilization, which can dramatically reduce this shaking or blurring. However, generally you'll need your shutter speed faster than 1/60 or 1/125 to avoid the problem. Whatever ISO or f-stop that would bring you to those numbers for your specific lighting conditions will work fine, although you'll get more grain or noise with higher ISOs.

Answer 4

You answered the question for the most part. Yes, a tripod, cable release will certainly help solve your problem. Watch out if you choose to use a small lens opening (high 'f' stop number) as the street lights may make "star" lines coming off of them (some people actually like this effect).

To maintain quality, use an ISO of about 400 to reduce exposure time.

Answer 5

I can't believe all these fellow photogs don't know how to shoot at night. They are right about using a tripod.

Best film ISo is 400 for night shots and use your flash.
Here's the trick, and having a 35m film camera you should know you need to slow down your shutter speed to capture the lights.
Have your camera set on manual (M) turn the aperture ring to f/5.6 maybe f/8. Have the shutter speed set at bulb (B).
This will allow you to hold down the shuuter release button and control how long the shutter curtain stays open to capture the little lights.
Since you don't have digital and don't have experience to know when to stop you'l need to take multiple pics at various times. If you have one, you should use a shutter release cable so you're shaky hands don't touch the camera.
-quick button push,
-1 second
-3 seconds
-5 seconds
-10 seconds . . .etc.

Answer 6

I have a digital camera, and the only way to take a decent shot of something in the night is to use a tripod. The camera has to be still. and slight movement distorts the pic. If you dont have a tripod, try placing your camera on top of someting steady, like a shelf, or ledge.

Answer 7

A tripod and a shutter release cable will, both, help.