First attempt soon

[EJRPhotos]

I am going to be making my first attempt to get a shot of a church in very low light conditions. this is the first time i have tried anything in this low of lighting except for the one time i was attempting lightning (got one bolt and not even good).

Any suggestions on settings? I will be shooting with my Nikon D50 later i can say what lenses i will try to use at the moment i dont have my bag so i cant say. i only have 2 digital lenses that were both kit lenses for my camera and my wifes camera. never had the money to buy more. but i also have a few old lenses that are not digital.

Thank you in advance for any help in advance.

 

[fjrabon]

Tripod, mirror up, remote shutter release.

 

[EJRPhotos]

Tripod, mirror up, remote shutter release.

Forgive me "photo noob" mirror up? what does this mean?

And the remote that i have is IR. and beyond sucks outdoors and is crap at best indoors unless i am standing in front of the camera. and the trypod that i have at the moment is a very unstrudy $10-$20 job from i think wallmart. (i have not had the money to start investing in equipt. as of yet)

so low ISO. what WB settings should i be looking at?

 

[fjrabon]

Mirror up is a shooting mode that locks your mirror up first and then shoots, so you don't get vibration from the mirror clanging up and down. Consult your manual for the details on how to use it.

You can also use the timer if you have a crappy remote.

Crappy tripods are better than handheld. Usually.

Shoot in RAW, fix white balance later. Night shots are notoriously difficult to white balance, since it depends a lot on the atmosphere an what lights are around.

 

[EJRPhotos]

Mirror up is a shooting mode that locks your mirror up first and then shoots, so you don't get vibration from the mirror clanging up and down. Consult your manual for the details on how to use it.

You can also use the timer if you have a crappy remote.

Crappy tripods are better than handheld. Usually.

Shoot in RAW, fix white balance later. Night shots are notoriously difficult to white balance, since it depends a lot on the atmosphere an what lights are around.

So WB does not matter as much as i thought then? it can be delt with in Post-Production? is this always true if shooting RAW / NEF or just in some cases?

i am going to try a couple of tricks i have learned in a couple of books to sturdy up the trypod to see if i can get a little less shake (esp if it is windy)
and i dont think that my D50 has the feature of mirror up. at least i dont remember reading that in the manuel "which i just re-read about a week ago"

thank you again though.

 

[KmH]

Raw files don't have a white balance, per se.

However, the color temperatures of what ever light sources light the image do matter.

The camera white balance setting is used to tell the camera the color temperature of the dominate source of light in the photo. Understanding White Balance

 

[EJRPhotos]

This just keeps getting more confusing. Just means I need to study more

 

[Designer]

i am going to try a couple of tricks i have learned in a couple of books to sturdy up the trypod to see if i can get a little less shake (esp if it is windy)
and i dont think that my D50 has the feature of mirror up. at least i dont remember reading that in the manuel "which i just re-read about a week ago"

If there is noticeable wind, pick another day. Your cheap tripod probably can't be made sturdy enough. Most DLSR's have the mirror up feature, unless they have no mirror. The corded type remote (a small electrical cable, actually) is available for around $15, or even less for an off-brand.

 

[EJRPhotos]

If there is noticeable wind, pick another day. Your cheap tripod probably can't be made sturdy enough. Most DLSR's have the mirror up feature, unless they have no mirror. The corded type remote (a small electrical cable, actually) is available for around $15, or even less for an off-brand.

Didn't know corded remotes were that cheap. Ty. If there is more than 3mph constant I would not trust my pod.

 

[bratkinson]

In all likelihood, the kit lenses with your camera won't cut it without a flash in dark settings. Their maximum aperture (lowest f-stop number) isn't sufficient to let in enough light in 1/100th of a second and faster necessary to stop motion, to make a reasonable exposure. Cranking up the ISO speed to 1600 or 2400 might get the shot, but might come out with too much noise (graininess, etc).

A VERY steady platform is needed for the longer exposures you'll be making. Slower than 1/100th will have some subject movement resulting in a slight-to-moderate blur. Having the camera on a tripod will stop camera shake sufficiently. But a tripod in church would likely be too clumsy. I typically use a monopod, and am fully leaning/braced against a wall/pillar/pew for stability.

Ideally, pick up a faster lens (f2.8 or faster (lower f-number)). That will get more shots properly exposed without a flash.

 

[jamesdak]

Well the good news its you are shooting digital so you can play with settings until you get what you want. I assume a tripod is being used. If so and what you are shooting is not dynamic (moving) you can keep the ISO down and go for a slow shutter speed. With this method you'll be driven by aperture control to get the depth of field you need to get proper focus.

Can I address one other comment you made about only having two digital lenses? There is a lot of mainly hype about about using only lenses coated for digital to keep reflections on the sensor from ruining the shots. Now I mainly shoot with old lenses some as old as the 70s and I shoot a lot. I'm talking easily several hundred thousand images since going digital. I've yet to come across any of my images where using lenses not "digital" has caused problems. So, if those old lenses mount to the camera then by all means use them.

 

[thetrue]

In all likelihood, the kit lenses with your camera won't cut it without a flash in dark settings. Their maximum aperture (lowest f-stop number) isn't sufficient to let in enough light in 1/100th of a second and faster necessary to stop motion, to make a reasonable exposure. Cranking up the ISO speed to 1600 or 2400 might get the shot, but might come out with too much noise (graininess, etc).

A VERY steady platform is needed for the longer exposures you'll be making. Slower than 1/100th will have some subject movement resulting in a slight-to-moderate blur. Having the camera on a tripod will stop camera shake sufficiently. But a tripod in church would likely be too clumsy. I typically use a monopod, and am fully leaning/braced against a wall/pillar/pew for stability.

Ideally, pick up a faster lens (f2.8 or faster (lower f-number)). That will get more shots properly exposed without a flash.

Did you even read the original post???? I didn't know that churches move, let alone fast enough to necessitate 1/100 shutter at 2400 ISO. A monopod would hinder the project.

The kit lens will be fine, you can even shoot at base ISO and depending on how low the light and what kind of exposure you're after, I'm sure you can go with a 5-10 second shutter. Yes lock up the mirror (or compose in live view on the LCD) and if you don't want to use a remote, just set a 2 or 10 second timer depending on how crappy your tripod is. Good luck with it.

EDIT: How low is that light we're talking about? Is it hidden in the woods and doesn't get moonlight?

 

[EJRPhotos]

Did you even read the original post???? I didn't know that churches move, let alone fast enough to necessitate 1/100 shutter at 2400 ISO. A monopod would hinder the project.

The kit lens will be fine, you can even shoot at base ISO and depending on how low the light and what kind of exposure you're after, I'm sure you can go with a 5-10 second shutter. Yes lock up the mirror (or compose in live view on the LCD) and if you don't want to use a remote, just set a 2 or 10 second timer depending on how crappy your tripod is. Good luck with it.

EDIT: How low is that light we're talking about? Is it hidden in the woods and doesn't get moonlight?

It's low light but has floods pointing on it and I will more than likely have cars lighting it up as well (beyond my control) delayed timer will work. Come to find out my camera does have mirror up (never knew that) and as soon as I have done even a practice round I will post my findings have to go to work now.