comment, criticism and help required

[beanie1983]

Hi All

I took this photo last night of my bike near the Humber bridge using a normal point and shoot camera (panasonic DMC-FX33), I had it on starry sky setting which left the shutter open for 30 seconds, the bike was near a street light which lit the bike up a bit. I’m planning to go back again with my other camera, a cannon powershot s2 is, is there any settings I need to apply to make this image come out better? Do you think I need to be in the same position using the street light to light up the bike or would I be better off moving the bike away from the light?

I’m completely new to all this so sorry for all the questions


Cheers

John

[markmullen]

I would change the light balance to stop it looking so orange, and light the bike up, there are a good few on here into lightpainting (it isn't something I've tried so I'll defer to them) who could give you tips.

[beanie1983]

markmullen said:

I would change the light balance to stop it looking so orange, and light the bike up, there are a good few on here into lightpainting (it isn't something I've tried so I'll defer to them) who could give you tips.

I think the orange light will have something to do with the street light? it was very orange, Would changing the white ballance override this?

[markmullen]

beanie1983 said:

I think the orange light will have something to do with the street light? it was very orange, Would changing the white ballance override this?

Yes, it will change the whole colour.

[Simpo Two]

beanie1983 said:

I think the orange light will have something to do with the street light? it was very orange, Would changing the white ballance override this?

Changing WB can make it go anywhere from red to blue via white in the middle. Whether you decide to make it look 'as it was', or tweak to something else, is entirely up to you. I have a similar dilemma sometimes when leaving wedding venues - the exteriors are often lit this way and sometimes I make two versions so the client can choose which they prefer.

[mattdaniels]

What's the subject of your photo? Is it the bike or the bridge? Maybe think about exposing for one or the other. I suspect what you want to do is expose for the bike and have the bridge in the background.

[mattdaniels]

ps. don't suppose you have a separate flashgun do you?

[beanie1983]

mattdaniels said:

What's the subject of your photo? Is it the bike or the bridge? Maybe think about exposing for one or the other. I suspect what you want to do is expose for the bike and have the bridge in the background.

Yeah the subject is supposed to be the bike, I will have a go at exposing for the bike.
Just to give me a push in the right direction, if you was to take this photo what settings would you be using? it was taken at about 9.30pm so it was pretty dark.

No I havent got a portable flash, I will have to rely on street lighting. Daft question but there will be another bike with me, if i shine its lights on the bike will this work?

Do you think its just going to be a case of start with an empty memory card and take photos with different settings until I get the right image or fill it?

[mattdaniels]

beanie1983 said:

mattdaniels said:

What's the subject of your photo? Is it the bike or the bridge? Maybe think about exposing for one or the other. I suspect what you want to do is expose for the bike and have the bridge in the background.

Yeah the subject is supposed to be the bike, I will have a go at exposing for the bike.
Just to give me a push in the right direction, if you was to take this photo what settings would you be using? it was taken at about 9.30pm so it was pretty dark.

No I havent got a portable flash, I will have to rely on street lighting. Daft question but there will be another bike with me, if i shine its lights on the bike will this work?

Do you think its just going to be a case of start with an empty memory card and take photos with different settings until I get the right image or fill it?

Can your camera do aperture priority? You'd get some nice images with the headlight from one bike lighting the side of the other and using the biggest aperture you can get away with in the light (ramp up the ISO if you need to) you should be able to get a soft impression of the bridge in the background. It's tricky to be more prescriptive as to the actual settings you need without actually being there but have a play around and show us the results.

[beanie1983]

mattdaniels said:

Can your camera do aperture priority? You'd get some nice images with the headlight from one bike lighting the side of the other and using the biggest aperture you can get away with in the light (ramp up the ISO if you need to) you should be able to get a soft impression of the bridge in the background. It's tricky to be more prescriptive as to the actual settings you need without actually being there but have a play around and show us the results.

Yes it can, I'll play about with the ISO settings when im there.

Yeah I will do, im going down again on friday night.

Ill post up the results when i get back

Thanks for all your help

[AndWhyNot]

beanie1983 said:

Daft question but there will be another bike with me, if i shine its lights on the bike will this work?

Good idea. The first time I used off-camera lighting was car headlights to illuminate some poppies (on film, c1997). It came out good and there's no real reason yours wouldn't.

I'd start by using shutter speed (and aperture if necessary) to get the light on the bridge how you want it. Then position the other bike beyond yours so its light is shining more along your bike rather than side on. You'll want it nearby but out of frame to avoid flare in your lens. Repeat using the same settings but add in the headlight. If your bike looks too bright, move the other bike further away to reduce the impact of its light. If your bike looks too bright, move the other bike closer. Same would go for a torch in place of the other bike.

[mattdaniels]

AndWhyNot said:

I'd start by using shutter speed (and aperture if necessary) to get the light on the bridge how you want it.

Interestingly, I'd do it the other way around, and light the bike how you want it to be and expose for the bike, as that is the subject of the photo. Using aperture priorioty you should be able to get some nice DoF and bokeh of the bridge softly in the background with a sharp brightly lit bike in the foreground. Even better if the light on the bike is low angled upwards, but given the light source is another bike's headlamp probably not possible.

edit: sort of like this, but with a nicer background: http://www.edwud.com/2009/05/23/sv650s-motorbike-a...

Still, just goes to show there are different creative possibilities and you can just go an experiment if you know what you are trying to achieve with your image.

Edited by mattdaniels on Wednesday 28th September 13:31

[AndWhyNot]

mattdaniels said:

AndWhyNot said:

I'd start by using shutter speed (and aperture if necessary) to get the light on the bridge how you want it.

Interestingly, I'd do it the other way around, and light the bike how you want it to be and expose for the bike, as that is the subject of the photo. Using aperture priorioty you should be able to get some nice DoF and bokeh of the bridge softly in the background with a sharp brightly lit bike in the foreground. Even better if the light on the bike is low angled upwards, but given the light source is another bike's headlamp probably not possible.

edit: sort of like this, but with a nicer background: http://www.edwud.com/2009/05/23/sv650s-motorbike-a...

Still, just goes to show there are different creative possibilities and you can just go an experiment if you know what you are trying to achieve with your image.

Edited by mattdaniels on Wednesday 28th September 13:31

Generally speaking, long exposures don't mix well with the wide apertures required for shallow DoF. At longer focal lengths you can use a more narrow aperture and still get some bokeh but the comp posted by the OP looks pretty wide angle so will have front - back sharpness from probably f/5.6.

You're right about the different perspectives and creative possibilities. FWIW I shoot full manual all the time and go much more on what looks and feels right than what the meter says (which would be relevant if shooting in shutter/ aperture priority) so my approach is always "how long do I need for this lighting effect" followed by the calculations how to achieve that shutter speed. Wouldn't work for everyone though.