Photographers…Long Exposures…Night Photography…Help?
I have a Nikon D80 digital SLR, an 18-55G & 12-24mm Tokina Wide Angle, both with C.Polarizer filters, and an SB-600 Speedlight.
First off, is my camera capable of performing long exposure shots, and second, how do i set up my camera? Do i need a tripod? Do i need a different lens? Whats involved?
I want to be able to take pictures of the stars at night, of roads with moving traffic and get that rear curtain trails effect, and the foamy blurred water effect of moving currents.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Perhaps you can refer me to a forum which discusses this in more detail.
Thanks!
1) You need a tripod since you will be using long exposures. Any movement (however slight of the camera) will result in a blurred picture. I usually use the self-timer to trigger the shutter so the tripod has time to settle down. If it’s windy, your tripod needs to be quite sturdy.
2) Set your camera to Manual mode. Use the exposure assistance to suggest a shutter speed and aperture and use these as your starting point. Take a picture. Review on the LCD and try different shutter speeds (faster and slower) and see which effects you like best.
3) By the way, I don’t think you want the Polarizing filter on your lens for a night shot.
4) You can also play with the aperture. A small aperture can accentuate the star effect of any light source. You may or may not like this effect, but since you are learning, give it a try. Of course, if you use a smaller aperture, you need to compensate by using a slower shutter speed. Experiment.
5) Stars: v-e-r-y long exposures. Be prepared for a long haul: warm jacket, flashlight (to set things up before the shot since everything needs to be pretty dark), warm drink, etc.
6) Car trails: If you want the car to be visible, read your manual on the rear curtain flash sync that will allow you to do that. Basically you want to flash the car and record the image of the car, and leave the shutter open for a while longer to record the trails.
7) Water: experiment with a slow shutter speed (1/30 sec., 1/15 sec. etc.) for the effct that you like. If it’s too bright, you may not be able to get a correct exposure (i.e. you’ll get over-exposure), you may want to purchase a Neutral Density filter that will cut out the amount of light entering your camera.
Above all, experiment… lots.
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