if i was taking a night shot of a building...?

Question

that had some lights on it.

maybe like a school.

what shutter speed would i set it at?

Answer 1

Meter the lighting inside the building first and open your camera up by 1-1.5 stops. This will mean the details will record but be set as the highlights / still retaining some details.

Get your camera set up on a tripod to shoot the scene outside and wait until just after sunset - the sky will become a rich dark blue (it's best if the scene is not COMPLETELY overcast by clouds - but some clouds are fine).

WAIT until the sky and building meters the same as your camera setting - within a stop either way - take a few shots...

You should get it 'in the bag' first time! ;-)

Your shutter speed and aperture depend on the ISO rating you set and on the brightness of your subject - so DON'T use formulas is my advice, learn how to meter the light instead.... and shoot at the optimium time of day.

As Fhotoace says, avoid f22 and f16 - any other setting will produce sharper results, especially if you're using a wide lens as you'll get some decent depth of field.

Answer 2

Its more than shutter speed you need to be concerned with. You will need a tripod and your camera must be capable of long shutter speeds. You will be in Manual Mode since you will set the f-stop, shutter speed and the ISO.

If the building is floodlit, try these settings:

ISO 200

f2.8 @ 1/4 sec.
f4 @ 1/2 sec.
f5.6 @ 1 sec.
f8 @ 2 sec.

The settings are from my FotoSharp (fotosharp.com) Day & Night Exposure Guide. Owning one is a good idea IMO.

Answer 3

I would start at about 1/2 second and work from there.

The image on the LCD screen if you use adigtal camera will give you some idea of the results.

It does depend on the brigthness of the lights so some experimentation is called for.