Nightphotography on shiny objects

wise · Aug 27, 2008

I recently tried to capture a scene with a lighted clock outside. Whatever shutter time or aperture I chose I just couldn`t get the clockface, only a shiny surface without contours. I already had the same problem when taking pictures of the moon. Why is that? And how do I fix that?

Garbz · Aug 27, 2008

Dynamic range. Our eyes are incredibly versatile using different sets of sensors to see dark and light objects, cameras definitely have no where near that kind of dynamic range. This is why your moon blows out in the night, (and why in nasa's photos of the moon landing you can't see any stars)

You have 4 options:
1) Decide what you want more. The moon is small and bright against a dark background. The camera's lightmeter gets confused with this so you will need to under expose the photo. Same with your clockface.
2) Darken the bright subject. Can your clock be dimmed?
3) Brighten the rest of the scene, either with flash or other light source to balance the image.
4) And by far the worst in my opinion. Do HDR photography (just search HDR on this forum or in google and you'll get no end of hints on how to do this)

wise · Aug 27, 2008

Hmm, I already tried the first option: to underexpose the photo. But it didn`t work. Maybe I still haven`t underexposed it enough? The other options won`t work with the setting. HDR won`t work cause I am shooting moving objects aside from the clock. What am I supposed to do now?

roadkill · Aug 27, 2008

up your iso

Dao · Aug 27, 2008

Since I do not know how the clock look like so I do not know for sure. However, for moon, you may need to treat it as a bright object. Just like a ball that reflect the sun light during the day.

In that case, you may want to switch to manual mode and use the settings that you usually use during the day. Ignore the meter in your camera. And try it with a tripod if possible.

wise · Aug 27, 2008

Thanks so far. I already tried with a tripod. Maybe I still haven`t underexposed the picture enough. I`ll see.

Dao · Aug 27, 2008

wise said:
Thanks so far. I already tried with a tripod. Maybe I still haven`t underexposed the picture enough. I`ll see.

I believe so. Taking a photo of the moon is like taking a picture of an ball under the sun. In both cases, moon or the ball, you are capturing the reflected light from the SUN. And your camera meter do not know about it. So, just ignore the meter. And if you just using the exposure compensation to under expose your shot, it is not going to be enough.

Do this, go meter an outdoor object now (daylight) and remember the shutter speed and aperture settings for ISO100. And try to use the setting tonight and see if you can get a better image of the moon. If not, then adjust the setting based on that. (like change the shutter speed)

wise · Aug 27, 2008

You`re right. I just checked it out. (It`s already night here)
But it`s a pity. Then the picture I planned to take is just impossible due to the low dynamic range.

Iron Flatline · Aug 27, 2008

I do not have the time to offer a lot of detailed help right now.

Try to composite the shot - expose for the clock, which will make everything black, and make another exposure for the rest of the environment. This will require a tripod so the shot is exact.

In Photoshop, there are a dozen different ways to combine these two shots. You could simply cut and paste the well-exposed clock into the shot of everything else. You could also explore HDR.

Good luck.

manaheim · Aug 27, 2008

Would you mind posting the pic you got? I'd like to see it.

kundalini · Aug 27, 2008

Iron Flatline said:
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Good luck.

Word

wise · Aug 28, 2008

I do not have the time to offer a lot of detailed help right now.

Try to composite the shot - expose for the clock, which will make everything black, and make another exposure for the rest of the environment. This will require a tripod so the shot is exact.

In Photoshop, there are a dozen different ways to combine these two shots. You could simply cut and paste the well-exposed clock into the shot of everything else. You could also explore HDR.

Good luck.

Thanks. Why didn`t I think of it myself. It is so simple.

Would you mind posting the pic you got? I'd like to see it.

It`s nothing fancy yet. When I saw that you can`t see the clockface I canceled my try. I will have to do it all over again.

manaheim · Aug 28, 2008

^^^ the reason why I asked for the pic is it's often easier to give you feedback on your methods based on the picture than it is based upon your description of the problem.