Car shots at night...

Zach · Jun 22, 2008

I haven't been on here in a while, so I hope I'm posting in the right section. I've been trying to get some night shots of my Chevelle lately. The lighting is from street lights/the flash and I'm using brick walls for the background.

Needless to say, all of the pics are coming out horrible. I'm using a Nikon Coolpix 4600 (more than likely my problem.) I've tried using all of the different preset modes and this is the best I could do lol.

When I go back, I'll be sure to position the car better. I don't want gutters growing out of the trunk... Does anyone have a clue what I'm doing wrong? All suggestions are welcome.

K_Pugh · Jun 22, 2008

Not sure what control you have over your camera. One thing would be to adjust the white balance if you can, you may find a better WB setting in there to get rid of the sodium tint. A tripod is essential at night to get rid of camera shake.. if you can sort those two out they should come out a lot better.

T8TERS · Jun 22, 2008

it looks like you have a good background and setting and the lighting could be good i think its just the angle cause it looks like a normal photo i think you can grab some real attention on the subject if you try another approach

Zach · Jun 22, 2008

K Pugh, I have the WB setting on Auto now, but I have the options of: Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy and Speedlight. Which one should I use?

T8TERS · Jun 22, 2008

try out daylight i think that might come out good but if i were you id try em all so you can choose from the best

bethanyb · Jun 22, 2008

Two simple fixes: get a tripod/something to stabilize the camera to fix the blur, and shoot on Tungsten/Icandescent White Balance to fix the orange.

Rachelsne · Jun 22, 2008

a tripod or a steady surface AND your self timer that way you wont shake the camera when you press the button-also put it on night mode to see how that effects it too

Zach · Jun 22, 2008

Thanks everyone, I'll go out again this week and do that.

Parkerman · Jun 22, 2008

As others said.. Get yourself a tripod before attempting any shots at night.

RKW3 · Jun 22, 2008

Zach said:
K Pugh, I have the WB setting on Auto now, but I have the options of: Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy and Speedlight. Which one should I use?

Cloudy seems to be a great general WB and it's what I use 90% of the time (I fix the wb in PP when needed). For night shots you will probably want to try incandescent like bethany mentioned. Click HERE for a good white balance guide.

Another flaw with the shot is that there is motion blur. As Bethany & others already mentioned, get a tripod or put your camera on a stable surface. It will get you a much sharper lookin shot.

Zach · Jun 22, 2008

Thanks everyone, I'm going to head out tomorrow night and try again. I have a tripod, I just didn't know night shots were so sensitive to motion.

Senor Hound · Jun 23, 2008

Zach said:
Thanks everyone, I'm going to head out tomorrow night and try again. I have a tripod, I just didn't know night shots were so sensitive to motion.

Yeah. I'm still a newbie myself, but I understand it doesn't take much AT ALL to take a photo from sharp to fuzzy, especially at night. But look on the bright side, at least your subject can be reposed. I shot a photo of a deer that turned out fuzzy, and I've been waiting for another deer for a month now

But with such a beautiful subject (is that a 70?), a tripod, and a little understanding of how your camera works, you'll get a beautiful photo in no time. Have fun!

P.S. If your camera has a timer on it, use it. Even with a tripod, your finger pressing the shutter can cause blur. If you find this to be the case, use your self-timer so you can remove your hand and the camera can shoot. I know you didn't ask for this, but I thought I'd give you a bit of unsolicited advice from a fellow newbie (I learned this when taking photos of the moon).

KD5NRH · Jun 23, 2008

Zach said:
When I go back, I'll be sure to position the car better. I don't want gutters growing out of the trunk... Does anyone have a clue what I'm doing wrong? All suggestions are welcome.

From the EXIF data, it's showing a 2 second exposure, which would explain the blur, but it's almost certainly also running a wide open aperture, which could also cause problems with getting the whole car in focus.

Fiddling white balance and brightness can help a bit, but mostly you're going to need more light on it and a stable tripod for those long exposures. Of course, shooting a shiny car in full sun has its own problems, but if you can get it out on a day with light to moderate overcast, that can work well.