My Get Pushed partner has just suggested I "try a long exposure night shot. light trails more specifically". I only have a point and shoot - is this possible? I've done some VERY quick research that said it would be 'difficult and time consuming' - is it something doable? Has anyone got any tips to share? The other challenge for me in this is I live in New Zealand, where nightfall currently happens late, about 10 pm, and I have care of a baby and another small child, getting out and about late can be tricky... So, any suggestions for ways I could achieve this at home? (I sound bit tragic there, 10pm has become late for me! I'm sure I'll be raising the rafters again one of these days... :)
the answer would usually be yes, but you'l need to change your settings to "manual".....not familiar with your camera, but scroll through your "menu" options and play around for a bit. Most cameras, even if they're point and shoot have options to change your shooting preferences. Anything but the "auto" setting.
@mandyj92 I have done that, actually... it just felt too tricky... but then I figured I should do some research before throwing in the towel. I appreciate you think that's reasonable though, I feel like a bit of a nana!
@tjs_world_part_2 Just had a play with my camera, I'll do some experimenting - good to have found those options whatever happens in my challenge this week, thanks for helping me get to know my camera better, I feel a bit silly :)
Even if your camera can get only a 30 sec exposure, there is a program, Photomatix Pro, that will add together many exposures to give you one very long exposure. Tripod is necessary.
You can do it. this was taken on my point and shoot. http://365project.org/stuckinoz/other-things/2012-05-03. have a look at the exif data. you need to put your camera on manual and then set your iso to as low as possible. This means that the camera will give you a slower shutter speed to get the light in. you'll need to rest it on something to stop camera shake. Have a play and see how you go
@tjs_world_part_2@stuckinoz@stuckinoz@byrdlip@tigerdreamer Right! I've had a fiddle with my camera and a play and I'm going to give this a go! Thanks for all the advice, I appreciate it, a great deal. I've learned some things tonight, cheers guys!
look at the exif data on a few of those shots for ideas of settings. You can use a fence or rubbish bin if you don't have a tripod. Use delay shutter if you have one. Good luck with your challenge - light trails are a good way to learn about manual settings!
The first thing that comes to mind is to pick a mode other than auto and just turn the flash off (you usually have a option to cycle between forced flash / red-eye reduction / off). Might work - might not!
It would also help to place the camera on something solid, anything will do as Lyn said if you don't have a tripod, and use the delay timer to help reduce camera shake, and don't touch the camera or the thing it is sitting on until the picture has been taken. The main thing is to have fun, make mistakes, learn.
It looks like you might be able to shoot in "night portrait or night scenery" mode from your camera. (Page 42 of the owner's manual for advanced features tells you how) It appears you can get up to 8 seconds shutter time using that setting with the flash turned off.
This article is great timing for me. Last night I was trying to get a nightime shot as it was so light out there. I put it on manual mode and played around alot until I got a almost decent shot. Not sure it's good enough to put on here though. But I also appreciate all the tips, thanks for this discussion.
during the first one-night stand challenge in 2012, one of the shots required was a slow shutter speed. this was my entry using my point and shoot camera:
A Kiwi can over come any challenge :). That's just our nature. I don't have any advice apart from what's already been said but please tag me in your shot. I can't wait to see it. Good luck. I'm off to look at your album now :)
Automobilie light trails are a lot easier to experiment on, as you get your results right away. I'd learn those first, then work towards star trails (which I have yet to try... there's a disadvantage to living downtown).
Here are a couple of car trail shots I took before my 365Project started:
Setup near a curve, corner, or intersection to get the most interesting trails, otherwise they'll just be straight lines. Tail lights are far less bright, so they'll make better subjects. Headlights can burn out your exposure pretty quick.
If you have an iphone you can use the app called "slow shutter" It takes shots from 1 to 15 seconds. I do use the two second timer on it and prop my phone so it will be still. They have a bit of graniness to them, but it works quite well.
make sure you use a tripod or at the very least sit your camera on a solid surface and try to minimize any movement you make when clicking shutter...I have done a couple long exposures with a point and shoot
@ltodd@iii) @loztsoul@phillyphotos@cameronknowlton@k1w1@summerfield@fannyb@bristolrose@mikehamm@ltodd Thanks so much for all the tips and ideas... I feel I can have a go at this - at first it definitely felt impossible, so THANK YOU. I have learnt more about my camera in the 12 hours since I posted this, which has been great. I think I'm going to try messing about with a torch and see what I can produce, seems more manageable at home. I really appreciate you taking time to help me out... I can do more with me little camera than I ever thought!
@fannyb Sure do love 'em! It's nice to be able to ask a silly question and get so much support. I'm a little embarrassed I know so little about my own camera - it's exciting to learn more, in such a positive environment.
i wouldn't worry we are all embarrassed but thanks to this site i now have a camera and am learning something.......all good!! Onwards and upwards......best of luck my friend!!
You can, but you need to trick your camera a bit. If possible, set your iso low, then focus (half press shutter) on something dark, about where you want your light movement to be. When you press the shutter the rest of the the way you should get an exposure of about a second or two. This maybe isn't long, but it's possibly the best you'll manage with a point and shoot. Forgot to say, you'll also need to set your flash mode to never fire else your camera will flash to get enough light.
@wormentude Thanks - that's pretty much what I played with last night, (once I, um, realised I could manually change the iso). Luckily I never have my flash on unless I've purposefully turned it on, I don't like how it flattens everything, so that wasn't an issue!
Well done, congratulations on working it through. @bristolrose You can move the camera, but there is a whole upside down in reverse thing that happens. Or you can move the light.
@spankyjane That looks great! It's amazing what you can do with a point and shoot camera if you know how to trick it into doing what you want. Even bokeh is possible!
@bristolrose My partner held a torch and moved it figure-8-wise, (sideways). I'm still puzzled though... this is the only one that turned out like this, the others were just wee snippets of light. I'm not sure why this one did what I wanted and the others did not, to be honest! I tried with the iso at 100, on fireworks and night scene setting - they all did snippets except for this one shot, it was on nightscene. @k1w1@tigerdreamer@fannyb Thank you guys! Heaps, for all your help. @wormentude Hmmm, that could be my next learning curve... how the heck do I do that? Any bokeh I've got has been pure accident so far!
Use macro mode, which on a p&s isn't technically macro, but gives the illusion of macro by using the widest as the illusion of macro by using the widest aperture it can, focus on something close to the camera (eg a pencil) with your lights in the background, then remove the pencil before you release the shutter fully. You'll need the lights to be a long way from you though and will probably only get little bokeh, but it's fun to try. :-)
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
An example:
look at the exif data on a few of those shots for ideas of settings. You can use a fence or rubbish bin if you don't have a tripod. Use delay shutter if you have one. Good luck with your challenge - light trails are a good way to learn about manual settings!
The first thing that comes to mind is to pick a mode other than auto and just turn the flash off (you usually have a option to cycle between forced flash / red-eye reduction / off). Might work - might not!
It would also help to place the camera on something solid, anything will do as Lyn said if you don't have a tripod, and use the delay timer to help reduce camera shake, and don't touch the camera or the thing it is sitting on until the picture has been taken. The main thing is to have fun, make mistakes, learn.
Here are a couple of car trail shots I took before my 365Project started:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/igods/7366031726/in/set-72157630050893021
http://www.flickr.com/photos/igods/7366031726/in/set-72157630050893021
Setup near a curve, corner, or intersection to get the most interesting trails, otherwise they'll just be straight lines. Tail lights are far less bright, so they'll make better subjects. Headlights can burn out your exposure pretty quick.
Gave it a try, not great... but a lot more than I thought I could do 24 hours ago! Thanks so much for all your help and support :)
@bristolrose You can move the camera, but there is a whole upside down in reverse thing that happens. Or you can move the light.
@k1w1 @tigerdreamer @fannyb Thank you guys! Heaps, for all your help. @wormentude Hmmm, that could be my next learning curve... how the heck do I do that? Any bokeh I've got has been pure accident so far!