Night Photography-Aperture or Shutter Priority

[keethjon]

Hi Folks ,
Do you prefer using aperture or shutter priority when taking pictures at night and why? (without flash) Also, is there any reason to use manual all the time for night shots?

Thanks

 

[BuS_RiDeR]

Niether. I prefer manual mode. So I can control my aperture AND shutter together.

 

[cgipson1]

shooting at night presents several problems. Usually what you are shooting is very contrasty.... bright lights... and dark shadows. Camera meters are famous for either over-exposing or under-exposing shots like this.... so full manual gives you full control of what the camera does, and allows you to compensate for this. Yes.. you can use AP or SP.. but you will still need to use EV adjustment to compensate, and the slightest change in background or movement of your subject can throw things off as the camera sees the change.

You can try to spot meter on a relatively neutral area also... if you can identify one, and compensate in that way. But if things are changing... then your metering will change also, and that will change your exposure.

That is one reason why manual is so great.. it doesn't change unless YOU change it....

 

[unpopular]

If I did not know how to use manual or the slightest clue or desire to learn how the meter is working, then I'd choose time priority if hand held, and set the shutter speed to the longest period I was comfortable with, that way at least I would know that I could handhold the camera.

If you're using a tripod and some kind of release - either cable, radio or self timer - it does not really matter.

Otherwise I'd use manual mode in spot mode, meter off the brightest point you want detail and stop up as close to four and one quarter stop's equivalent exposure as practical, then meter off the shadows in order to determine if it's within suitable dynamic range. For my camera, this would be about 5-6 stops under the highlights.

 

[Derrel]

Nikon. ISO 200. Aperture Priority. Lens at f/8. Use the +/- control to make the finished images brighter or darker, as needed. Manual works pretty well too with a digital SLR...you can literally "see" the exposure results...the thing is though, it is quite possible that Manual mode will not have a long enough shutter speed setting for many "darker" nocturnes...but Aperture Priority will be able to time-out longer exposures, like say, 2 minutes. So...go with Aperture Priority...it's really idiotic to advocate strenuously and or adamantly for one method over the other, especially if Manual can NOT do the job right...

 

[unpopular]

^^ no bulb mode on Nikon???!!

 

[Derrel]

^^ no bulb mode on Nikon???!!

Yes, there is a Bulb mode...but it's doubtful a beginner asking a question like Aperture or Shutter priority auto at night is going to HAVE a release...

I did thousands of nocturnes back in the 1980's...MOST darker scenarios can not be metered by the manual mode unless you use a white piece of paper and multiply the exposure by something like 10x to 20x...the light is quite often simply too dim for Manual metering mode to be used in darker scenarios...Aperture priority AUTO will "time out" long exposures quite easily, and the camera will keep track of the time. It's not a matter of having Bulb...it's a matter of telling a beginner how to actually get some decent exposures without equipment he does not have, without a stop watch, and without trying to meter off a piece of white paper and then figuring out what 10x to 20x times the indicated exposure at f/1.8 or f/2.8 is. Again, nighttime light metering is a scenario in which a modern Nikon typically works BETTER for the beginner, and the expert, in Aperture-priority AUTO mode.

Any other good questions??? Maybe a question about how tightly to tighten the tripod screw?

 

[unpopular]

I don't think it's ever a bad idea to introduce more advanced topics, even if the OP isn't prepared to use the suggestion, provided that a suitable answer is provided. I don't like dumbing information down, it takes one reply to make things "click", you know? And even if people don't end up useing manual mode, knowing how will improve understanding exactly what the auto modes and matrix metering and so fourth is actually trying to accomplish.

Now, I personally just cannot get behind the idea that any auto mode will ever be a better option than manual provided that the circumstances make it feasible. I don't doubt your experience, but it seems you've gotten a bit gadgety without entirely understanding exposure optimization (shoot to the left) - no offense, just what I'm reading between the lines - I could be totally wrong, and have been wrong about you in the past.

---

I don't ever bring a reference out with me, it's not really necessary (white paper, grey card, etc). I try to think of exposure in terms of maximizing data in areas I need it, and, if necessary, discarding data in areas that I don't. It's not so much about the amount of light, but rather about how much exposure I'll need to render a given tonal region in a way that communicates what I had in mind. It's not about getting the one proper exposure, it's about maximizing information into the capabilities of the recording medium.

The auto exposure modes and metering arrays do a darn good job at that, no doubt. But the camera still has no idea what you have in mind for the finished product or what aspects of the image you're interested in. Sure you can use exposure compensation - but by how much? Without knowing what the meter is precisely going to choose over it's array and why it chose that region over any other specific region, it's difficult to predict what effect your decisions will make. The only way to really get this is to have a good understanding of what metering is actually doing.

Call me old-fashioned, but I kind of regret selling my Gossen Starlight.

 

[LightSpeed]

When you have a question like this Bulb mode is surely not on the OP's mind. I would offer that he waits until daylight hours, so we can actually see the remnants of the experiment.

 

[unpopular]

Ok, well. We can either supply the right answer or we can cut corners. I gave him or her a simple answer pertaining to Tv and Av, and some more advanced information which he or she can file away for later when ready.

It has been my experience to preset the exposure and let the camera select the aperture when shooting at night, that way you don't accidentally drop below that which are comfortable handling. With a tripod, it's not as important.

Bad habits start early, and I think shooting in exclusively in auto mode is a bad habit.

 

[bazooka]

I think using Tv is going to cause one of the problems for which I hate semi-auto modes. Let's say he selects 1/20 as his speed because he is shooting handheld and thinks he can pull it off with acceptable sharpness. The camera goes nuts because the scene is mostly black and maxes out the aperture and it's still way underexposed (according to the meter) so the aperture just stays maxed and and blinking indicating that this is not the proper exposure but it can't go any wider. Best case scenario is the camera bumps up the ISO to 230498u23482+++ and makes the streetlit areas in the scene (totally guessing at the scene here) blown out and the rest of the black becomes gray, everything coated with a healthy sticky sheen of rainbow colored noise.

Tripod. Manual. Meter off something that you want properly exposed and leave the settings alone while you recompose. Take as many shots as you want, they will all be exposed the same, no surprises.

Av and Tv = surprises
Manual = no surprises

 

[thereyougo!14 2]

Out of the two semi auto modes I would choose Av (aperture priority). I wouldn't want to surrender control of DOF to the camera. Most of my twilight photos are in bulb mode in any case as longest exposure in Av is generally 30 secs.

 

[Futurelight]

Niether. I prefer manual mode. So I can control my aperture AND shutter together.

Same here. Far better results when you have complete control over your camera.