getting rid of light flares


alancwr

New Member
Sep 23, 2007
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hi guys,

took this picture yesterday night at abt 1am along esplanade

is there anyway to get rid of the "glowing flare" at the bottom left of the picture?the art science museum, seems pretty exposed i feel..


picture is taken at
Aperture: f10
Shutter Speed: 25"

please advise me on how to better adjust the lighting n reducing the glowing flares :)
thanks in advance
 

I get a feeling that you are using a filter...remove it and try again.
 

use a black card, block out the art science museum to expose the surroundings 1st.
 

I get a feeling that you are using a filter...remove it and try again.

i've a UV filter attached on, point taken will try again :)
and the UV filter is lousy 1 haha
 

Or use HDR. If your camera has it built-in, even better.
 

use a black card, block out the art science museum to expose the surroundings 1st.

i dun really understand this method...

so i use a black card to so-call put in front of the lens n cover the art science part?
 

i dun really understand this method...

so i use a black card to so-call put in front of the lens n cover the art science part?

Yes, this is actually one of the night exposure trick to reduce the brightness of the very brightly lit areas.
 

Or use HDR. If your camera has it built-in, even better.

HDR is way beyond my skill for now...i cant even take this normal picture properly, :(
plus i dun really have a PP software for HDR
 

Yes, this is actually one of the night exposure trick to reduce the brightness of the very brightly lit areas.


great thanks thanks :) interesting :D
 

i've a UV filter attached on, point taken will try again :)
and the UV filter is lousy 1 haha

Cheap Filters are more likely to cause lower contrasts when it flares. This does not mean that those expensive ones don't flare, just more resistant to flare.

And also, this museum (imo) is a PITA as it's too bright and may either cause you to overexpose the museum and underexpose the background. You should try the methods recommended by Rashkae and MatCH.
 

Cheap Filters are more likely to cause lower contrasts when it flares. This does not mean that those expensive ones don't flare, just more resistant to flare.

And also, this museum (imo) is a PITA as it's too bright and may either cause you to overexpose the museum and underexpose the background. You should try the methods recommended by Rashkae and MatCH.

thanks very much i'll probably take out my filter n use the black card method, HDR is way beyond my skill for now, i wanna get the basics right 1st :)
 

If you want to get into details on how to do it, here is how:

1. Meter the darker area without the bright area. This will give you an exposure value, e.g. f/8, 4"
2. Meter the brightest area with it almost filling up the view finder. This will give you another exposure value, e.g. f/8 0.5"
3. Now you simply set your camera to manual mode, set exposure to f/8 4". Put the black card to cover the bright area (but don't touch the lens) and release the shutter while keeping the time. when time reaches 3.5", remove the black card.

Cheers and have fun. :)
 

this is nice, will try out, so basically i use the exposure time of the darker area minus the brighter area??
any particular metering modes??
im on canon 1000D

If you want to get into details on how to do it, here is how:

1. Meter the darker area without the bright area. This will give you an exposure value, e.g. f/8, 4"
2. Meter the brightest area with it almost filling up the view finder. This will give you another exposure value, e.g. f/8 0.5"
3. Now you simply set your camera to manual mode, set exposure to f/8 4". Put the black card to cover the bright area (but don't touch the lens) and release the shutter while keeping the time. when time reaches 3.5", remove the black card.

Cheers and have fun. :)
 

If I were to take multiple readings from the same scene, I will use Spot metering. But knowing 1000D don't have it, I guess Partial Metering should be the best choice...
 

If I were to take multiple readings from the same scene, I will use Spot metering. But knowing 1000D don't have it, I guess Partial Metering should be the best choice...

okay point taken...
another question...given the situation that i have to fill up the entire frame to take a reading, do i have to zoom in to the MBS building to fill up my frame, followed by i zoom in to the museum to fill up my frame??

keeping my aperture/iso the same at all time?
probably i'll need to set my focus point to the centre 1?if im using the partial metering?
 

If I were to take multiple readings from the same scene, I will use Spot metering. But knowing 1000D don't have it, I guess Partial Metering should be the best choice...

Actually for newbies I would recommend using matrix/evaluative metering instead of spot, becuase with spot metering you need to know how to compensate for the exposure.
 

Actually for newbies I would recommend using matrix/evaluative metering instead of spot, becuase with spot metering you need to know how to compensate for the exposure.

no worries, i'll read up on the different metering n see what i can do abt it
 

another question...given the situation that i have to fill up the entire frame to take a reading, do i have to zoom in to the MBS building to fill up my frame, followed by i zoom in to the museum to fill up my frame??

keeping my aperture/iso the same at all time?
probably i'll need to set my focus point to the centre 1?if im using the partial metering?

Yes something like that, but actually you only need to zoom in to the museum. For MBS and the sky, you just need to point the camera up to get rid of the bright areas at the bottom. And yes, maintain ISO and aperture and watch the shutter speed. I recommend using matrix/evaluative metering instead of spot/partial metering. This is because when you spot meter a very bright area, the camera will try to make the bright area mid tone (grey), so you'll need to know how to compensate that back to have the right exposure (otherwise the result will be underexposed). Same goes if you spot meter a very dark area (overexposed if not compensated).
 

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okay, by te way, any particular WB settings to be used?i tried a few setting, seems like AUTO gives the closest colours, the rest are either too orange or too blue
Yes something like that, but actually you only need to zoom in to the museum. For MBS and the sky, you just need to point the camera up to get rid of the bright areas at the bottom. And yes, maintain ISO and aperture and watch the shutter speed. I recommend using matrix/evaluative metering instead of spot/partial metering. This is because when you spot meter a very bright area, the camera will try to make the bright area mid tone (grey), so you'll need to know how to compensate that back to have the right exposure (otherwise the result will be underexposed). Same goes if you spot meter a very dark area (overexposed if not compensated).
 

Actually for newbies I would recommend using matrix/evaluative metering instead of spot, becuase with spot metering you need to know how to compensate for the exposure.

hmm, noted...Normally I'll trial and error using the spot metering...I guess I should try the evaluative metering sometime too...Haven't been using this metering for quite sometime (esp during day time)


okay, by te way, any particular WB settings to be used?i tried a few setting, seems like AUTO gives the closest colours, the rest are either too orange or too blue

Use the one closest to what you want to project in your image. Some like it more blue or some like it more orangy. But personally, I shoot raw, therefore I leave it at Auto and finetune it during PP.