What did I wrong?

[Funkyflame]

I made some pics yesterday night ... the landscape looks so beautiful, but the pics are terrible ... why? ... the light is once more time in the sky, I don`t know why ... there`s no sharpness *OK, I need a stativ*

What must I do, to become a good pic at night??? Please help me ... thanks ...:hug::

 

[ksmattfish]

I think the lights in the sky are lens flare. If so that's pretty bad flare. Whatever lens you are using may not be suitable for night photos with bright lights in them. I'm guessing it's a zoom lens, right?

The blur is caused by moving the camera during the exposure, or it wasn't properly focused in the first place. Are you using a tripod? You may have to set the camera to manual focus, and adjust it yourself.

By the way, this is a pretty tough scene to photogrpah, at least if you expecting it to look the way it looks to your own eyes. Your eyes have a lot more dynamic range than your camera.

 

[Funkyflame]

thank you ...
yes, it was a zoom lens *sigma 28-70mm/2.8*

I will try it, with comlete manuel

 

[xfloggingkylex]

You need a higher f/stop, 3.2 is very low for landscape shots. Try taking the same shot with all sorts of f/ numbers, working up to the max your lense can do. Also make sure that with your tripod you either are using a cable/remote to fire the camera, or set it for a timer delay that way you are not in contact with the camera at all when the shutter opens... This will help prevent any blurring.

 

[Funkyflame]

thank you too ... I even haven`t a tripot but I will buy one as soon ...

 

[xfloggingkylex]

oh if you dont have a tripod than that is the only problem really, aside from the lense flare if that is what it is. Make sure you get a nice sturdy tripod, I cant even begin to tell you how much difference it makes. I had some cheapo 5 dollar tripod and all my night shots came out slightly blurry. Got a new tripod and my night shots became amazingly clearer.

 

[Funkyflame]

ok ... I hope you are right, but I thing so ... thanks alot for your answer

 

[xfloggingkylex]

ok ... I hope you are right, but I thing so ... thanks alot for your answer

of course. Get yourself a tripod, take some more night shots, and post em back up for comparison.

 

[ksmattfish]

A tripod or fast prime lens is essential if you want sharp night images.

My Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 doesn't flare like this when I take night photos downtown. Make sure the lens is clean and use your lens hood. Experiment some more. You'll probably find it's a pretty good lens.

Night photography just takes practice, but it's lots of fun.

 

[Funkyflame]

this was my first night photo ... I have also a UV-Filter on my lens ... should I put them out for night photografie?

 

[joyride]

As mentioned before, go with the tripod. I got mine for about $25, and absolutely love it.

As for as that shot goes, what mode sis you shoot it in? I always shoot night shots in M. On a side note, are digital cameras affected by the reciprosity failure like film?

 

[Funkyflame]

I use alwys the manuell mode ... never the automatic ...

 

[xfloggingkylex]

you say you are using the UV filter for this picture? you may want to try it without the filter, as that may be a cause of the flaring (note: maybe)

 

[fotogenik]

The filter could very well be the problem causing the flaring. and that is definetly flaring in that picture. Notice how the lights in the sky follow the same curve but in an opposite direction as the lights on the street. This suggests to me that you are actually seeing a reflection off the front elemnt of your lens, onto the back of your filter. This is a big problem with cheaper UV filters that do not have anti-reflective coatings on the back of the glass.

My friend and I both took pictures of the skyline in Louisville one night when he came up form Nashville for a visit. Wee took the shots from the exact same vantage point (literally 5 feet between our tripods), the difference being the cameras and UV Filter. He took his shots with a UV filter attached. I did not.

He had a funky reflection in all his shots whereas mine did not. I wish I had shot some that night with my filter (a different one than his) attached so I could see if any filter would have done the same thing. I suspect his filter is very cheap and had no anti-reflective coatings on it. The filter came with a package deal he bought on the internet.

Take the UV filter off and try again and I am guessing a lot of the flare, if not all of it, will go away.

Cheers,