What settings should I use for nite shot?

[sclau19]

Will be heading to universal studio tomorrow for a evening shoot with family.

Can any bros out there suggest your favoured settings to get good exposure though its gonna be very subjective depending on lighting and objects distance.

Gonna take some family photos with hand held and probably tripod for group shoot.

My stuff: Canon 40D mount on 17-55mm f2.8 lens with 580EX.
Would appreciate your kind input. Thanks alot.
Mode: ?
F stop: ?
Shutter speed: ?
Any special settings for the lens?

Appreciate alot.
Simon

 

[ovaltinemilo]

Just my rough thot...There is really no magic no.s coz you also know everything depends on the lighting there...

Mode: M
F stop: At least f8 for your whole family...
Shutter speed: 1/15-1/30
Any special settings for the lens? at widest 17mm

Why is ISO left out? Iso:400-800....

*adjust as deem fit if under or over*

 

[zac08]

depends on the light.

you may need to fill-flash depending on the angle of light and where you are placing your family

 

[gymak90]

Simon, there is no 1 setting that works wonderfully for all night situations. Every night scene is different, and will require different settings to get the shot right.

But as rough gauge, you can..

Mode: Av
F stop: F5.6 - F8
ISO: 400-1600

Make good use of your flash by tilting the head. If there is a ceiling above you (not too high), you can point the head up to bounce the flash. As far as possible, try not to use direct flash.

If you're taking pics non-moving objects, a tripod will help greatly.

 

[Octarine]

But as rough gauge, you can..
Mode: Av
F stop: F5.6 - F8
ISO: 400-1600

In Av mode the flash metering in Canon is done based on background light, possibly resulting in quite low shutter speeds. (Again, it all depends on the actual situation and everything else is tea leaf guessing.) Bumping ISO can help, but also dialing in -1EV to -2EV (or both together). This should help to get shutter speed into a range suitable for handholding but still getting the automatic adjustments of Av mode.
TS: help yourself by learning some basics and reading your camera manual. In addition, the EOS Flash Bible will provide additional details. Don't expect it to be simple, though.

 

[Rashkae]

Read your manual and learn how to use your light meter. Then, practice practice practice. You have a digital medium, there's no need to worry about getting 1 or 2 or 10 shots wrong. Just try and try again instead of thinking there's some magic formula.

 

[Reportage]

seriously, rather just take a PNS camera since that way easier to take picture with yourself included. Because to do that, either

a) got maid to do for you?
b) can ask the passer by/ staff to take for you?
c) bring a tripod?

now imagine the above scenarios if you brought a dslr.

just my 5 cents.

 

[nathaniel]

some things you can consider trying as a starting point and adjust accordingly after a few test shots:
1. if handheld+variable lighting conditions: ISO auto, shutter priority mode, using 1/15-1/30 or faster speeds, depending on how good the lens image stabilization is, whether you are using flash, and whether your subjects are moving.
2. for not moving subjects, or group shots with night background: with a tripod, try aperture priority, f/5.6 to f/7.1, to get better depth of field.

... after some test shots, can fine-tune your settings from here.

 

[sclau19]

thanks all for the advise. will be bringing along my olympus pns mostly for video and some snapshots....

thanks again for all the input and most likely will have to play around settings....

Cheers guys ...do keep your comments coming in though which may be beneficial to others who liken to my topic....

 

[ovaltinemilo]

thanks all for the advise. will be bringing along my olympus pns mostly for video and some snapshots....

thanks again for all the input and most likely will have to play around settings....

Cheers guys ...do keep your comments coming in though which may be beneficial to others who liken to my topic....

Don't use Pns for photos if you are keen to find out what is the proper setting for your Dslr.. anyway, just make sure you use "closest focus" if you do pass your cam to sm1 who doesn't operate one coz they might treat DSLR as PnS and just shoot(no focus + recompose technique)...u nv know when the focus is on something in the background....

 

[Octarine]

[...].. anyway, just make sure you use "closest focus" if you do pass your cam to sm1 who doesn't operate one coz they might treat DSLR as PnS and just shoot(no focus + recompose technique)...u nv know when the focus is on something in the background....

Afaik, Canon doesn't have this feature. But multiple AF points should capture that properly as long as the persons cover the main part of the image.

 

[VainKid]

seriously, rather just take a PNS camera since that way easier to take picture with yourself included. Because to do that, either

a) got maid to do for you?
b) can ask the passer by/ staff to take for you?
c) bring a tripod?

now imagine the above scenarios if you brought a dslr.

just my 5 cents.

Tripod with shutter remote for self portraits. Cannot let passby handle the system unless u sure that passerby does not have weak hands