New to Night Photography

dmanning11 · Jul 13, 2012

I'm relatively new to photography and have been using my Panasonic DMC-LX5 for all my shots as this is the best camera I have ever owned.
I find I really only like to take 4 kinds of pictures. Nighttime, Macro, Water, Landscapes :mrgreen:

I just wanted to share some of my better shots so far and get some hints and tips from any who care to share their experience.

Sorry but there are a few.....

Skyclad · Jul 13, 2012

First off, only put 3 to 5 photos max per post, otherwise its just too many to give good C&C on.

Now I am only an amateur at best, and these opinions are strictly mine but hopefully it will get the ball rolling on a few more C&C replies.

1, 2 & 3 All have have an odd kinda greenish tint to them or something. Not sure what it is. White balance is on the wrong setting or the shutter speed was a little too long. Setting that aside, I can see what you were going for with the first photo, but it doesn't look like it works quite well in the end. I think the 2nd photo would be a little better if the man's back was against the border that way you wouldnt get that little bit of city between him and the border - kinda distracts the eye. The third one I do like composition wise, but its that color issue that faults it. Hopefully someone else will know what is causing that.

4. I really like this one. I think its the strongest of the bunch. Nice composition and the colors are warm.

5. Nice shot of the stars, but thats about it. Doesn't really do much for me

6. I see that odd greenish tint again in this one for some reason. I think it would look better if you cropped out the buildings on the right. The branches and pole on the left side sort of get in the way of the picture overall.

7. Interesting shot, but not a fan of the angle though.

8. Another interesting shot, though I would have taken a few steps back and gotten the entire tree in frame

9. This one I like as well. Probably the 2nd strongest shot in the bunch.

10. Nice shot, but I think I would have left out the bridge.. Or at least the land on the left.

11. I see what you were doing with this one, but the tilt hurts it as well as cutting off the top of the building. I would have either stepped back a little or changed the angle just a bit, gotten a better shot of the fountain foreground and top of the building, then I would crop out the building on the left and palm tree on the right.

12. I'm just not feeling this one for some reason.

13. It's a moon! Nice clear shot, little soft on the top right. I would use PS and sharpen it just a touch.

Frequency · Jul 13, 2012

Welcome Home...By the time people evaluate all those images one by one you might have turned an old member of the forum....

I mean please don't post too much of images at a single stretch like this...may be you said "few" in comparison to the thousands of your stock images

.... there are many lovely shots in your collection; some are really excellent :thumbsup:

dmanning11 · Jul 13, 2012

Thanks heaps Skyclad and Frequency will limit the number of pics next time, it looks like the ones with the greenish tint are the ones that were originally shot in RAW with no noise reduction, I will go back to the originals and see if I can adjust the white balance or temp in PS.

The one thing I have found hard is getting the composition right and having the courage to crop post processing, I'm a bit of a hoarder and I guess that goes for pixels as well...just can't bare to let them go.

It appears that the accidental shots are getting the best ratings, shows I have a lot to learn.

4. was just me trying to work out how to set the exposure so that the full moon didn't blow out the shot.
9. Was a test from my balcony trying to work out ISO settings

The majority of the critics about angle and composition I totally agree with, I find I would take a bunch of pics that look great on the back of the camera get them home and find they look rubbish. When I think back on many of these shots I know I still couldn't have done them different due to being on a bridge or having my back to a wall, or lacking a tripod such that the angle and position is defined by the nearest rock on which my camera rested. Just a case of me being unprepared.

I was thinking of possibly upgrading to a Panasonic DMC-GX1 so that I could have a larger sensor, interchangeable lenses and more options to get a better shot. Do you think this is a wise choice or should I just go for a Full mid range DSLR.

dmanning11 · Jul 13, 2012

I have just corrected the green tint on the 3rd pic and used a better jpg compression, is this better?

Skyclad · Jul 13, 2012

dmanning11 said:
The one thing I have found hard is getting the composition right and having the courage to crop post processing, I'm a bit of a hoarder and I guess that goes for pixels as well...just can't bare to let them go.

It appears that the accidental shots are getting the best ratings, shows I have a lot to learn.

4. was just me trying to work out how to set the exposure so that the full moon didn't blow out the shot.
9. Was a test from my balcony trying to work out ISO settings

The majority of the critics about angle and composition I totally agree with, I find I would take a bunch of pics that look great on the back of the camera get them home and find they look rubbish. When I think back on many of these shots I know I still couldn't have done them different due to being on a bridge or having my back to a wall, or lacking a tripod such that the angle and position is defined by the nearest rock on which my camera rested. Just a case of me being unprepared.

Apparently you did something right with your settings on those. Hopefully you remember what you did and why. As for those awkward angles, I understand how that is. Even if you got home and the pictures turned out to be rubbish, the main thing is you kept your eyes open and took the shot cause you saw a possibility there. You never know when it will be a better shot than expected. Also, don't bee afraid to crop a picture a little. Sometimes a simple crop can improve a picture 10 fold.