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Shooting Holiday lights / Christmas lights
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I was looking on Flickr for tips for shooting holiday lights... I didn't see many tips, so I thought I would share.
Here's some information about how I created this image:
I used a tripod, which allowed me to keep my ISO on its lowest setting (200 on Nikon D40) to reduce noise.
I shot in RAW.
I don't know if the details in the shot would have been improved if I had my aperture at f/10 or f/13... I set mine at the widest aperture. (Since it's at night... then slow shutter speed, but wider aperture would allow for a slightly faster shutter speed.)
I did not use spot metering. Maybe I should have?
I set white balance on tungsten.
I did not use a flash.
I bracketed my shots (manually -- Nikon D40 doesn't have autobracketing) and took several at 1/3 stop apart.
In photoshop, I started with my lightest layer, and then layered gradually darker layers on top of them and erased parts away to leave me with the detail I wanted. (No post-processing with an HDR action or software, but by hand.) In all, there were five layers.
Does anyone else have advice for how they approach shooting holiday lights?
Any critiques of this particular image? I have only owned my D40 since April... I've learned a lot in a short time, but I still have a lot to learn! Thanks.
(p.s. This is NOT my house.)
[Cross-posted at Beginners' Digital Photography.]
Originally posted at 7:08AM, 7 December 2007 PDT
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Mandy_Jansen edited this topic 54 months ago.
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There are some good tips here also:
strobist.blogspot.com/2006/12/how-to-photograph-christmas...
Posted 54 months ago.
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Yes! I like that set of tips. I did find that on Flickr, but didn't remember the link. Thanks for linking to it here. Unfortunately, this house did not turn on its lights until well after sunset... I did lower the tripod to get a better angle (one of the tips I learned from that site).
Posted 54 months ago.
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You shot RAW so it does not really matter, but I'd probably go for warmer WB, maybe Automatic -2 or something similar...
Posted 54 months ago.
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I see you added a little post processing. I like the image as it has nice colors. What really makes the photo I think is the perspective and those letters NOEL. That is a really nice touch.
Posted 54 months ago.
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Thanks. I kind of like that the "L" is falling over slightly.
I tend to prefer my images to be cooler, but I have been learning that a lot of people like warmer shots.
Posted 54 months ago.
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My wife is the same... I like the less saturated look she likes the super warm skin tones.
Posted 54 months ago.
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"I don't know if the details in the shot would have been improved if I had my aperture at f/10 or f/13"
EXIF data shows f/4.5 ??
Posted 54 months ago.
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Yep. I had the shot set for f/4.5, but I wondered if the shot would have been better at a smaller aperture to let in more detail.
Posted 54 months ago.
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At 20mm I don't think closing down the aperature would make that much difference.
Posted 54 months ago.
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hmm... Good point.
Posted 54 months ago.
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