Night shot during Kite Festival Marina Promontory

[eggie87]

1. In which area is critique or feedback to be given?
Any comments or improvements i can make to this kind of night shots? lighting?exposure?composition?
2. What were you hoping to achieve with this image?
I was hoping to be able to capture the serenity of the bay after a happening day of kiting
3. Under what circumstance was the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
During that day itself it was hazy but luckily during the night it didn't affect too much...
4. Thread-starter's personal thoughts about the image.
I think i did pretty alright with this shot..shot with my 60D..on a 17-40mm L.@22mm..exposure time was 8 secs with F13..on twilight mode=)..just an amateur photographer with less than a year's experience with a DSLR

 

[KageV]

Hi eggie87, just would like to share on my opinion of this pic...the architetures (which i presume are your subjects) are underexposed quite badly. Other than exposure, maybe the distracting part will be the distortion of your MBS structure. It may be fixed with pp...
Hope my opinion helps!

 

[eggie87]

Hi eggie87, just would like to share on my opinion of this pic...the architetures (which i presume are your subjects) are underexposed quite badly. Other than exposure, maybe the distracting part will be the distortion of your MBS structure. It may be fixed with pp...
Hope my opinion helps!

Thanks =)..but if i brighten up the buildings it's like i would be using hdr effects already..and what distortion n where is it on the mbs? I'm not sure what to look for?..isit because it's abit blur?

 

[tecnica]

what kind of distortion does the mbs have?

all i see is just a slight bit of keystone effect.

TS, i feel that the photo is about 2 stops underexposed as the mbs is melting into the black sky already.

with the same settings, you can try expose the photo for 30s to bring out more of the buildings.

 

[eggie87]

what kind of distortion does the mbs have?

all i see is just a slight bit of keystone effect.

TS, i feel that the photo is about 2 stops underexposed as the mbs is melting into the black sky already.

with the same settings, you can try expose the photo for 30s to bring out more of the buildings.

Hmmm okay thanks..Will try that next time..don't know why but i tend to like under exposing this kind of shots..it maybe because it looks good in lv..v_v

 

[tecnica]

Hmmm okay thanks..Will try that next time..don't know why but i tend to like under exposing this kind of shots..it maybe because it looks good in lv..v_v

oh, try shooting between 7-8pm(blue hour), to catch the royal blue sky.

 

[eggie87]

oh, try shooting between 7-8pm(blue hour), to catch the royal blue sky.

Yea this was shot abit closer to 8...that days sunset was pathetic i gotta say..hazy n cloudy like anything ..just a ted but if golden sky..the rest..grey..arghfafababa..Oh well

 

[vincybaby]

Tecnica is right, the best shooting hour is around half an hour after the sunset, our eye will not be able to see the blue but if you set your exposure 2 step higher and you will see the fantastic colour of blue

 

[Huney]

Hi eggie87,

You could work on your composition a little by focusing on the subject of the Marina bay waterfront. I got the impression that your focus it on Aualon instead of the 3 MBS hotel blocks. Anyway, it'll also be good if you could capture the whole of Marina bay shopping & convention hall.

My 2cents.

 

[nitewalk]

I suppose the first thing most people would pick up is that this shot is rather under-exposed. Prolong the exposure can fix that to some extent, but I suppose that will also cause the highlights to be blown. In general, I do avoid shooting cityscapes after dark, as the difference between the sky and the highlights is just too much, which risks either the details to be hidden in the shadows or blowing highlights. Therefore, I don't normally shoot beyond 7:30pm unless I'm shooting traffic trails.

It is not easy to spot whether the verticals are well-aligned, but the leaning verticals on the extreme right of the frame should give a bit of clue that the verticals are not properly aligned.

 

[daredevil123]

This picture is way underexposed. The scene is a little tricky though, since the light on the Art Science Museum is quite bright. If the towers are exposed right, the ASM will be overexposed. 2 ways around this problem. One is to use a small strip of black card to cover up that location for sometime while shaking it slightly during long exposure. Another is to shoot 2 shots one with this exposure and a 2nd image exposed for the towers nicely. THen merge the ASM back into the 2nd shot.

You also tilted your camera up slightly, because keystone distortion is evident.

Another mistake is in your framing. You cut off the right side of the MBS. This framing is way too tight.

Hope this helps.

BTW, no one is asking you to brighten up the buildings in post. Everyone is just saying you ought to have a longer exposure.

 

[Kit]

This photo can definitely afford a bit more exposure but that's not the fundamental issue. As nitewalk said, its best if you can make use of ambient lighting to balance out the contrast in different lighting levels happening in the scene. Got to select a timing where there's still some natural light reflecting off the building. When you can get that, you'll find that you need a shorter exposure for the entire scene and high lights will still be under control. MBS can be quite challenging to shoot because of the varied light sources and intensity.

Its right that MBS doesn't really have a clear reference point to line up your camera. Just go with a bubble leveller and double check with the camera's built-in leveller(if you have it).

Composition is a tad too tight and right heavy.

 

[catchlights]

Yea this was shot abit closer to 8...that days sunset was pathetic i gotta say..hazy n cloudy like anything ..just a ted but if golden sky..the rest..grey..arghfafababa..Oh well

no, you don't need HDR, you don't need layer mask, or any ND filters, just shoot at right time will do.

I have lots of photos shot in this area and submitted for editorial stock images, editorial means I can't do too much post processing, the photos must show at it is,
and nobody will buy photos of Singapore skyline with a patch black sky.

 

[eggie87]

no, you don't need HDR, you don't need layer mask, or any ND filters, just shoot at right time will do.

I have lots of photos shot in this area and submitted for editorial stock images, editorial means I can't do too much post processing, the photos must show at it is,
and nobody will buy photos of Singapore skyline with a patch black sky.

Ehh this has no hdr n light pp only

 

[catchlights]

Ehh this has no hdr n light pp only

what I mean is you don't need HDR or heavy processing to get a decent night shot with dark blue sky.

 

[eggie87]

what I mean is you don't need HDR or heavy processing to get a decent night shot with dark blue sky.

Oh..Ok.mm

 

[Jiannn L]

This is one of my shot taken quite awhile but is a example for you to see

For your image, it's underexposed and kinda too centre from what i feel.
Since you have a 17mm.. play around with that ^^

If the day is too hazy, boring sky, dull, etc.. And You couldn't achieve the blue-hour shot you want.. You can always go again until you capture what you want.

No Pain, No Gain

Also, try different aperture.. Eg. F11? F16?
Play around with the speed as well

Have fun! ENJOY!


Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
Manual Mode
Aperture: F11
ISO: 100
Shutter Speed: 3 Seconds
*This isn't a fix setting for you. You can play around with the setting (Aperture & Shutter) and doesn't have to be the same as mine.. But I suggest you to put your ISO as low as possible.*

​

 

[nitewalk]

This is a place where i try nowadays to shoot with single RAW exposure. Go at the right time and u won't need multiple exposure techniques or even GNDs (i avoid GND for MBS).

As for alignment which i think Kit raised, i took me awhile to figure this out. I never liked those levellers as i kept losing them and have to buy. I aligned all the pillars visually (i have a grid in my viewfinder, like cheat code lol), so i try aligning as many as i can. Takes a while to practice and cut down the time i need to level properly.

 

[daredevil123]

This is one of my shot taken quite awhile but is a example for you to see

For your image, it's underexposed and kinda too centre from what i feel.
Since you have a 17mm.. play around with that ^^

If the day is too hazy, boring sky, dull, etc.. And You couldn't achieve the blue-hour shot you want.. You can always go again until you capture what you want.

No Pain, No Gain

Also, try different aperture.. Eg. F11? F16?
Play around with the speed as well

Have fun! ENJOY!


Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
Manual Mode
Aperture: F11
ISO: 100
Shutter Speed: 3 Seconds
*This isn't a fix setting for you. You can play around with the setting (Aperture & Shutter) and doesn't have to be the same as mine.. But I suggest you to put your ISO as low as possible.*

​

Thanks for your example. Although your exposure is better, your composition is actually a lot worst off than TS.

 

[daredevil123]

Sharing a shot from 2 years ago when I shot at the same location.