Can I get some advice, I'm doing something wrong

[pOrk]

I opened up the shutter on the camera and threw it on a tripod to try out some stuff at greenfield park. Every photo I took came out blurry. Tripod is pretty sturdy too. Now when I go to regular photo mode, the shutter still stays open all long. Heres three that I took that I am not happy with, at all. What am I doing wrong?

http://www.the-aken.com/photos/d/3364-1/greenfieldpark1.jpg

http://www.the-aken.com/photos/d/3367-1/greenfieldpark5.jpg

http://www.the-aken.com/photos/d/3370-1/greenfieldpark4.jpg

[Cryptic]

1.)Use the "self-timer/remote" function
When your pressing the shutter, your shaking the camera ever so slightly.

2.) You might not have enough light to auto-focus, perhaps try manual focus. Or artificially light up your subject, auto-focus (press shutter halfway), then flip lens to MF, kill your light source, and take your pic


or do both...

[johnny--2k]

First one looks pretty good actually, considering the minimal amount of light.

Second one has too much light, hence the slight bluriness in the tree and flag.

Third one it looks like the white-ish light from the left is conflicting with the orange-ish light from the right. Hard to tell on that one.

Next time i'm doing a night shoot, I will give you a call. i've got some good places for night shots that will give you a lot of practice. Otherwise, I'm always game for something on the weekends and such....just let me know, I'll be more than happy to help.

[johnny--2k]

oh yeah, another thing....just try playing with the Aperture settings. When you do night shoots, i'm assuming you're putting the camera in AV mode right?

[Cryptic]

yeah, crank up the F-Stop to bring down those light sources. You get a sunburst effect versus a huge glow.

[Waver]

I take it that the camera that you are using dosnt have auto stabilization on it eigther...night shots are hard, because of the lighting that is needed.....just follow what everyone else says....

[pOrk]

I was using the timer, will be using that until I can find a remote


I take it that the camera that you are using dosnt have auto stabilization on it eigther...night shots are hard, because of the lighting that is needed.....just follow what everyone else says....

I dont know, its a Canon Rebel if that helps?

[pOrk]

oh yeah, another thing....just try playing with the Aperture settings. When you do night shoots, i'm assuming you're putting the camera in AV mode right?

I messed with that one with the shot with the flag / parking sign. It took liek 45 seconds to take the shot, I really dont know what I'm doing I am just playing around with everything trying to figure out what does what. Would love to go out with somebody that knows what they are doing for info, so let me know next time your headed out.

[jamest]

First image with the stairs:
The reason the bricks on the left appear blurry is that you experienced what is called depth of field. The higher the fstop the sharper the background and the foreground will be. The focus is on the stairs on the background and you were probably shooting at f.2.8 therefor foreground will be blurry. To correct this you need to increase your f-stop or what commonly referred to as stop down. So if you are shooting in AV mode increase your fstop from 2.8 to 5.6 8 etc till you get the result you are looking for. Keep in mind however there is a limit of how far you can go with the fstop. Usually f. 22 is the limit on most lenses. Also keep in mind that as you increase or stop down your f.stop you will also increase the amount of time that the shutter will be open.

Second image with the flag:
What you are seeing there is part flare from the street lamp and part overexposure. If you have a lens hood use it or take a sheet of paper, cardboard, whatever and hold it over the lens to block any of the light from bouncing into the lens. This will cut down on that flare but keep in mind where your hand is so it doesn't end up in the shot.

Third image with the park bench:
This appears to be a focusing problem. Auto focus relies on contrast from the subject to pick a point to focus on. When you have low light situations like this it is difficult for the processor to decide what to focus on. My suggestion here along with CrypticGTX is to turn it to manuel focus and do it the old fashion way. As a suggestion carry a flashlight and shine it on the object you want to focus on. Focus on the specular highlights (the bright spots) and this will provide you with an accurate focus everytime. However if you bump the tripod or move the camera remember to always re-focus.

Finally to prohibit camera shake you can buy a plunger. It is usually a cord that attaches itself to the camera and has a little tab or other type of button that will release the shutter. It is a great piece of equipment as it keeps your hands off of the shutter and will prevent camera shake. Also be aware of where you are standing and the service you are standing on. If you are setup on a flexible service such as wood, vibrations from your movement can cause camera shake.

[Slow Joe]

I take it that the camera that you are using dosnt have auto stabilization on it eigther...night shots are hard, because of the lighting that is needed.....just follow what everyone else says....

Autostabilization don't work well with night shots... From my understanding the shutter stays open too long and any slight bit of movement will throw it off...

[pOrk]

First image with the stairs:
The reason the bricks on the left appear blurry is that you experienced what is called depth of field. The higher the fstop the sharper the background and the foreground will be. The focus is on the stairs on the background and you were probably shooting at f.2.8 therefor foreground will be blurry. To correct this you need to increase your f-stop or what commonly referred to as stop down. So if you are shooting in AV mode increase your fstop from 2.8 to 5.6 8 etc till you get the result you are looking for. Keep in mind however there is a limit of how far you can go with the fstop. Usually f. 22 is the limit on most lenses. Also keep in mind that as you increase or stop down your f.stop you will also increase the amount of time that the shutter will be open.

How do I adjust that? And I wasn't referring to the stone on the left, the entire image is blurry. It could be this old ass monitor I am using though I guess, mine was sent in for repair and I still haven't gotten it back


Second image with the flag:
What you are seeing there is part flare from the street lamp and part overexposure. If you have a lens hood use it or take a sheet of paper, cardboard, whatever and hold it over the lens to block any of the light from bouncing into the lens. This will cut down on that flare but keep in mind where your hand is so it doesn't end up in the shot.

I set the shutter to stay open longer to get the funky effect with the light, is that why the rest of the image appears blurry because there was too much light? And as for the paper thing your talking about, you'd position that so the lens itself would be shaded from the direct light?


Third image with the park bench:
This appears to be a focusing problem. Auto focus relies on contrast from the subject to pick a point to focus on. When you have low light situations like this it is difficult for the processor to decide what to focus on. My suggestion here along with CrypticGTX is to turn it to manuel focus and do it the old fashion way. As a suggestion carry a flashlight and shine it on the object you want to focus on. Focus on the specular highlights (the bright spots) and this will provide you with an accurate focus everytime. However if you bump the tripod or move the camera remember to always re-focus.

Will definatly try this out, I was having a very hard time getting it to auto focus on the bench, not real good with the manual focus especially since it was soo dark, I could barely see anything at all through the viewing window. These photos had the shutter open for some time, so the photos appear much brighter then what was there.


Finally to prohibit camera shake you can buy a plunger. It is usually a cord that attaches itself to the camera and has a little tab or other type of button that will release the shutter. It is a great piece of equipment as it keeps your hands off of the shutter and will prevent camera shake. Also be aware of where you are standing and the service you are standing on. If you are setup on a flexible service such as wood, vibrations from your movement can cause camera shake.

I was using the cameras timer, I want to get a wireless remote for the camera just haven't been able to find one locally. Then again I am not real sure what I am looking for either, weather it needs to be a certain brand or if I need to program them, or whatever.

Thanks for the advice, the time you took to explain is much appreciated :thumbsup

[Cleveland Dave]

i have a wireless remote...i got it at a local camera store no need to program..i bought the canon one. or just order it from b&h photo

[jamest]

How do I adjust that? And I wasn't referring to the stone on the left, the entire image is blurry. It could be this old ass monitor I am using though I guess, mine was sent in for repair and I still haven't gotten it back


An old monitor can do some weird things. Not only effecting how you color balance the image but also how the image is viewed. I pm'd you my email so I can take a look at the file and tell you if it is sharp or not. Also if your focus was a little off that can effect the entire image as well which wouldn't surprise me if you are using AF during these long exposures.

You can adjust your f.stop by turning the top dial to AV. Then move the other dial that is located on the top of the camera left or right. You should see the numbers on the back of the display go either up or down depending on the direction.

"I set the shutter to stay open longer to get the funky effect with the light, is that why the rest of the image appears blurry because there was too much light? And as for the paper thing your talking about, you'd position that so the lens itself would be shaded from the direct light?"

I think the biggest reason that shot looks blurry is due to the flaire you were getting from that light. However you are correct that the lens should be shaded from the light.

"I was using the cameras timer, I want to get a wireless remote for the camera just haven't been able to find one locally. Then again I am not real sure what I am looking for either, weather it needs to be a certain brand or if I need to program them, or whatever."

That will work. Go to Mike Crivello's in Brookfield if you want to try the product out before you buy. I believe they are an authorized dealer for Canon so they should be able to get you the best deal locally. Calumetphoto.com also carries it http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CA7300.html and they are out of Chicago so usually you get it the next day.

[pOrk]

An old monitor can do some weird things. Not only effecting how you color balance the image but also how the image is viewed. I pm'd you my email so I can take a look at the file and tell you if it is sharp or not. Also if your focus was a little off that can effect the entire image as well which wouldn't surprise me if you are using AF during these long exposures.

You can adjust your f.stop by turning the top dial to AV. Then move the other dial that is located on the top of the camera left or right. You should see the numbers on the back of the display go either up or down depending on the direction.

"I set the shutter to stay open longer to get the funky effect with the light, is that why the rest of the image appears blurry because there was too much light? And as for the paper thing your talking about, you'd position that so the lens itself would be shaded from the direct light?"

I think the biggest reason that shot looks blurry is due to the flaire you were getting from that light. However you are correct that the lens should be shaded from the light.

"I was using the cameras timer, I want to get a wireless remote for the camera just haven't been able to find one locally. Then again I am not real sure what I am looking for either, weather it needs to be a certain brand or if I need to program them, or whatever."

That will work. Go to Mike Crivello's in Brookfield if you want to try the product out before you buy. I believe they are an authorized dealer for Canon so they should be able to get you the best deal locally. Calumetphoto.com also carries it http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CA7300.html and they are out of Chicago so usually you get it the next day.


Thanks for the link :thumbsup I ordered it up, should be here in a day or two