Cityscape

[sphygmoidicalz]

Hi.. I'm new, both in ClubSnap and photography.. This is the first time I'm posting an image in the Critique Corner.. Here's a photo of my first outdoor shoot..



Click here for a larger image.

The equipments / settings are:
Camera: 400D
Lens: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO: 100
White Balance: Auto
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 4 sec
Focal Length: 18mm

What I'm trying to achieve here is a picture of Singapore's Lighted Up Cityscape.
Most of the photos turn out to have reddish sky.
And I feel the lights from the buildings, lamps, etc, are not bright enough.
Hope you guys could give some comments / opinion on the picture and how should I improve it.. Thanks in advance..

[ovc17m]

I'm still a newbie myself... can comment? Hee...

Composition wise, it's pretty good for a start. But do you have one that was taken in portrait? Cuz cropping away the lower part of the bridge & the background buildings makes the photo somehow incomplete.

I guess you set a slower shutter speed in an attempt to create light trails from the traffic? Good attempt!

For night landscape shoots, you should push your ISO to min. 400 to "bring out" the colours from the surroundings.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Keep on trying! Gambete!

Cheers,
Vincent

[chrisljh]

hi there. i m a 400D user myself.

composition of pic is good. nicely exposed. actually ISO 100 is good to take night portraits..your aperture u might wanna try at F13-F16, as people normally will use these settings to take night views. then exposure time will be around 20 to 25 secs.

anyway. good shot bro. u might wanna try the settings i mentioned
happy shooting

[Bcool]

Excellent composition from a very good viewpoint.
You have a nicely lit bridge in the foreground which leads the viewers into the scene.
However, you are losing details beyond the bridge.
This picture would be much stronger if it is shot earlier in the evening when there are still sufficent light to lit up the buildings in the background.
Just my newbie two cents worth.

[sphygmoidicalz]

Originally Posted by ovc17m I'm still a newbie myself... can comment? Hee... Composition wise, it's pretty good for a start. But do you have one that was taken in portrait? Cuz cropping away the lower part of the bridge & the background buildings makes the photo somehow incomplete. I guess you set a slower shutter speed in an attempt to create light trails from the traffic? Good attempt! For night landscape shoots, you should push your ISO to min. 400 to "bring out" the colours from the surroundings. Just my 2 cents worth. Keep on trying! Gambete! Cheers, Vincent

Hi Vincent.. Sure anyone could comment and thank you for your views.. I don't have this picture in portrait.. Never thought of taking one, but will try the next time.. The reason why I didn't use higher ISO is I don't want the photo to be "grainy".. Btw, thanks again for your opinion..

Originally Posted by chrisljh hi there. i m a 400D user myself. composition of pic is good. nicely exposed. actually ISO 100 is good to take night portraits..your aperture u might wanna try at F13-F16, as people normally will use these settings to take night views. then exposure time will be around 20 to 25 secs. anyway. good shot bro. u might wanna try the settings i mentioned happy shooting

Thanks for your advice.. Will try them out the next time..

Originally Posted by Bcool Excellent composition from a very good viewpoint. You have a nicely lit bridge in the foreground which leads the viewers into the scene. However, you are losing details beyond the bridge. This picture would be much stronger if it is shot earlier in the evening when there are still sufficent light to lit up the buildings in the background. Just my newbie two cents worth.

Thanks..

[C J GOH]

Hey bro.,

I'm a night-shooter too.. and I must say your pic is quite well exposed, but I wouldn't frame it the way you did.

However, as mentioned by others in here, you really should use a higher f-value (f-8 onwards), and looks like you metered the bridge only...anyway that's the only brightest subject in the scene.

[ExplorerZ]

my 2c would be havw a wider angle and probably let it exposed more... maybe f8-11 and 10-20s.

[eastwest]

Originally Posted by ovc17m For night landscape shoots, you should push your ISO to min. 400 to "bring out" the colours from the surroundings.

This is BAD advice and one of the perils of asking for help on forums. People will tell you things that are just plain wrong. Since your first shot was taken with a shutter speed of 4 secs we can safely assume that you are using a tripod. Since you are using a tripod you are best to keep at ISO 100 to minimise noise levels. If you are shooting handheld and your shutter speed is getting too long then you would start to increase ISO to compensate.

The major fault with the picture is the under-exposure of the rest of the buildings. The best fix would be take the picture when there is some ambient light left in the sky, around 7.30pm. There should be office lights on too providing you shoot on a weekday and this will give a much better balance of light in the entire picture. Compositionally the pic is strong.

[chrishon]

Hmm I'm also a newbie around here...overall it's a nice picture,but I felt that the dark area of the image is overwhelming..a longer exposure time or taking the scene at twilight hours would be nicer

Composition is ok,but it could be much improved if you took it at a different angle...don't let your position or your tripod dictate you,explore the different angle and composition you could take..hope it helps

[pogeeako]

it is under exposed. try to change the white balance into tungsten/flourescent then in long exposure into 30 sec & up.

Originally Posted by sphygmoidicalz Hi.. I'm new, both in ClubSnap and photography.. This is the first time I'm posting an image in the Critique Corner.. Here's a photo of my first outdoor shoot.. Click here for a larger image. The equipments / settings are: Camera: 400D Lens: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ISO: 100 White Balance: Auto Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 4 sec Focal Length: 18mm What I'm trying to achieve here is a picture of Singapore's Lighted Up Cityscape. Most of the photos turn out to have reddish sky. And I feel the lights from the buildings, lamps, etc, are not bright enough. Hope you guys could give some comments / opinion on the picture and how should I improve it.. Thanks in advance..

[microcosm]

Did you shoot this image in RAW or JPG? You might be able to save some details if you did shoot in RAW, as it gives you more lattitude to make changes. But even if you have shot this image in JPG, using Photoshop, you can still bring out some details.

I have used Photoshop's "Shadow and Highlights" function to try to bring out some details in your shot (a quick and dirty job) and managed to brighten the dark areas and then deepen the bridge a little to balance out the image. As I am not in front of a calibrated screen, therefore I cannot gauge correctly the colours and brightness. But you get the idea.

[sphygmoidicalz]

Originally Posted by microcosm Did you shoot this image in RAW or JPG? You might be able to save some details if you did shoot in RAW, as it gives you more lattitude to make changes. But even if you have shot this image in JPG, using Photoshop, you can still bring out some details. I have used Photoshop's "Shadow and Highlights" function to try to bring out some details in your shot (a quick and dirty job) and managed to brighten the dark areas and then deepen the bridge a little to balance out the image. As I am not in front of a calibrated screen, therefore I cannot gauge correctly the colours and brightness. But you get the idea.

I shot in JPG. I only had 1gb CF Card back then. But I do have more now. Will try to shoot with RAW the next time. Thanks..