Failed first night shots C&C Please!

[matt62485]

Well, my tripod came today so I figured I'd go try some night shots... I failed miserably. My D40 above ISO400 produces horrible noise, and you can see it here :greenpbl: Is this a normal amount of noise for 400/800 iso?

Also, I'm having a difficult time focusing with lighting at night... trying to achieve bokeh.

For instance, the bridge... lets say I kept the iso200. for tack sharpness, would it not be best to have the fstop as small as possible (wide aperture) and use a fast shutter speed?

Anyways C&C. let me have it. Tell me what I can improve, and how you would do it.

These suck I know, but we all learn from our mistakes, and I plan to grow from these... thanks!

1. Had a real hard time with the light glow on this one... you can see this thing from miles and miles away its BRIGHT

2. noisssyyy ftl.

3.

4. couldnt get focus right and noisy too

 

[eric-holmes]

Your ISO was never below 400. Crank it down and you will be surprised at the noise reduction.

 

[matt62485]

thanks. ill give it a shot next time. otherwise, how are they? i was worried with using iso200 id have to bump up the exposure and then theyd be too soft. i dunno. new to this night stuff!

 

[matt62485]

one more.

 

[fiveoboy01]

Also keep in mind that these are night shots, and a longer shutter will also make the image more noisy. ISO400 in lit conditions shouldn't be too noisy for the D40 at all.

 

[matt62485]

i wasnt aware long shutter speeds produced more noise. thanks for that info. yea a couple i did were iso800 and were horrible

 

[matt62485]

besides the noise, what do yall think? composition wise, etc. the last one im not sure the lean works, but the steps are level?

 

[matt62485]

if i bump the iso to 200 for these shots to reduce noise and im shooting a landscape from across the river and some lighted buildings/their reflections on the water. im trying to get the buildings name sign in focus, however its just one big blob of light. ill have to post the picture if no one understands, but is this an instance where i need a larger fstop and longer exposure time? or fast shutter wide aperture? i couldnt seem to get it right. and i was shooting on the tripod w/ remote shutter release so it wasnt camera shake.

 

[dcmoody23]

Composition wise I love the first four.. You have an eye for sure!
I absolutely love the first one especially...

 

[matt62485]

Composition wise I love the first four.. You have an eye for sure!
I absolutely love the first one especially...

thanks. i feel really embarrassed they came out as bad as they did. luckily all these were taken 10 minutes up the road so i can go back... i really have to work on my settings and crispness in night shots. all were shot with a tripod so its not shake issues. practice and trial/error will help me. and all the reading ive been doing :thumbup:

 

[dcmoody23]

No need to be embarrassed... I'm gonna try and get out for my first shoot as soon as the flu passes me by.. You'll be able to see why I told you not to be embarrassed if you get a look at that :thumbup:.
& also, it's a whole lot easier to learn how to manage the controls better... Having the eye is, arguably, something that just can't be taught.. So in the respect you're way ahead of the game!
Can't wait to see more

 

[matt62485]

thanks again! im going to try to go out tomorrow night and spend some more time if its not too cold

 

[Timothy]

also turn on noise reduction in camera if you have it

i alwasy forget to do it myself

 

[matt62485]

yea ive had NR on since day 1! thanks though!

could someone explain to me if theres a way to make the PPD (building name) clear and defined? i tried many a aperture/shutter combos and this is the best I got... horrible blur of light. Is it possible? This was with my 18-55 at 55mm, f/5.6 @ 3 secs, iso800 (horrible noise), tripod and remotely fired.

 

[Insanity]

yea ive had NR on since day 1! thanks though!

could someone explain to me if theres a way to make the PPD (building name) clear and defined? i tried many a aperture/shutter combos and this is the best I got... horrible blur of light. Is it possible? This was with my 18-55 at 55mm, f/5.6 @ 3 secs, iso800 (horrible noise), tripod and remotely fired.

To get the name to be clear, you're gonna have to go with a fast shutter speed.