[323d]

Im super newb when it comes to photography, lately i am trying to learn how to do some night photography , and i am having difficulty learning.

i currently have a panasonic lumix FZ-7.. is a regular digital camera, with a 12x zoom , and manual setting that allows me to change the apreture, ISO and shutter speed (F2.8-8.0 / 1/500 - 20. sec time)

anyways, i am trying to learn how to take photographs where i can focus on an object, such as my car, and leave the background out of fous.. This is the part i am having difficulty.. From reading some guides, i try setting my apreture to mostly F. 4.0-6.3 . and depending on lightly, usually at 3.2-8 seconds.. But i cannot seem to get the results.. my AF is at centre but everytime the photograph seems to focus everywhere....


Any help would be appricated.. as to how to improve taking sharp photos during night and day, and the difference of choosing Apreture + shutter speed .

[SoYank]

The lower the f-stop the shallower the depth of focus. This will require a faster shutter for the same exposure since more light is coming through the aperture. Don't go too far down on the f-stop. Otherwise you'll get the wheel in focus but the rest of the car will be blurry.

Also, composition plays a big part in the results. Avoid the bright, central light as in your picture. If necessary, recompose with a different angle or reposition the subject. Possibly moving to the left to where the floodlight is eclipsed by the car body A- or B-pillar might help. Might even have removed the guy wires on the left.

Use your ambient light. In the photo you show there is a lot of street light. Maybe the car could have been repositioned under it. This would have eliminated the floodlight and guy wires at the possible expense of introducint some other undesirable background feature. But this can not be discerned from you photograph.

I bet Nikki could have that foreground lightened up and the floodlight dimmed out and guy wires invisible in no time.

[Sniz]

^+1

try setting your F stop around 3-5 depending on the distance from your car. I have a lens that will go down as low as f1.4 but I basically never use it that low, nothing is in focus.

Try backing up a bit and using a lower f stop, that will keep just the car in focus. Use your zoom if necessary.

At the opposite end of the spectrum use an f stop in the low teens for keeping everything in focus (depends on the lens).

Here is a shot I took w/ a shutter speed around 10 seconds w/ a high f-stop. Just about everything is sharp and in focus.

[TurboFan]

All good advice. Make sure you have a good, sturdy tripod. You don't need to drop a bundle on a ball head, just get a good set of aluminum legs and a pan/tilt head. Should be about $150.

The night shot in my sig is one photo, no photoshop at all. Just cropped. 15 sec exposure, f-stop around f/8 I think. I hit the unlock button w/ about 2 sec to go on the exposure to get the lights on, but not blown out.

White balance will be very critical if you're shooting under street lights. They can be very yellow (sodium vapor) or very blue (mercury vapor). you may need to set a custom white balance.

[TurboFan]

Originally Posted by 323d

Im super newb when it comes to photography, lately i am trying to learn how to do some night photography , and i am having difficulty learning.

i currently have a panasonic lumix FZ-7.. is a regular digital camera, with a 12x zoom , and manual setting that allows me to change the apreture, ISO and shutter speed (F2.8-8.0 / 1/500 - 20. sec time)

anyways, i am trying to learn how to take photographs where i can focus on an object, such as my car, and leave the background out of fous.. This is the part i am having difficulty.. From reading some guides, i try setting my apreture to mostly F. 4.0-6.3 . and depending on lightly, usually at 3.2-8 seconds.. But i cannot seem to get the results.. my AF is at centre but everytime the photograph seems to focus everywhere....



Any help would be appricated.. as to how to improve taking sharp photos during night and day, and the difference of choosing Apreture + shutter speed .

To really blur the background, you need something around f/2.8.

Something else to remember - your depth of field is a proportion of the distance of the object from the camera. The further the object from the camera, the larger the depth of field.