I'm attending a lantern festival tomorrow evening and I'm a bit unsure which settings I should use. The lanterns will be floating on a lake so I'll probably want to capture their reflections also. I'll be using my Rebel T1i with a 50mm f/1.8 and/or a 70-300mm f/4.0.
I figure my ISO will likely be 800, and a wide aperture. It would be inconvenient to bring my tripod with me since I'll be using public transportation to get there. I'll probably have to shoot with a relatively slow shutter speed, around 1/100 to let in enough light? But then what about camera shake?
If you want to keep some detail in the lantern then I would try underexposing by a stop at least. I've found that at night, when shooting bright lights (candles, camp fires etc) they will just appear as white glowing objects. If you want the background as well then you'll probably need a tripod so you can expose for longer.
Oh and shoot raw. It'll help with getting a bit more detail out of your shot
@attraversi are you doing the Hiroshima to Hope event down at Green Lake..? I have been trying to get down there for the past 2 yrs, but something always seems to come up. I am super excited to see what you come up with! Post please! - - and i don't have any tips......have been struggling in low light lately myself. good luck!
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Oh and shoot raw. It'll help with getting a bit more detail out of your shot
@dtigani @swilde Thank you David and Sue. Both of your suggestions worked out perfectly. I really appreciate it!