1st attempt night shooting and I have no clue

Rick

New member
Okay, please keep in mind total newbie here....

So just for fun I brought my D3100 out to the sidewalk in front of my house this evening to try some long exposure pics of my Christmas lights. Yes, I had it on a tripod. So I was in shutter priority mode and thought I'd just experiment with some shutter speeds, 5, 10, 15, 30 secs, because again, I have no clue.

I go no further because the camera says "subject too dark". Won't let me take a pic.

What am I obviously doing wrong?
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Well the error message is telling you the camera can't do what you're asking it to do... The reason could be any of a number things; your ISO could be too low, your aperture too small, etc. I would suggest you use ISO 100, instead of "S"hutter Priority, use "A"perture priority mode to meter the shot, and then copy the settings using "M"anual mode. From there, just bracket your shots by using the Exposure Compensation button to get the exposure you like best.
 

Rick

New member
I know the ISO was set to 100. Aperture, I don't know. Since I was in shutter priority mode I thought it would just pick one for me.

Okay, is there a way to practice this inside, with just my Christmas tree? I don't think I'm ready for the sidewalk yet!
 

Rick M

Senior Member
I think for night photography you might want to practice in Manual mode. For whatever reason the camera could not compensate with the other variables.
 

Rick

New member
Okay, I just took several successful pics of my Christmas tree (w lights) in an otherwise dark room. The "S" mode seems to work for this situation and I was able to go up to 30 secs.
 

Rick

New member
_DSC0112_01.jpg

30 seconds, F/18, ISO 100






_DSC0115.jpg

20 seconds, F/22, ISO 100
(with daughter waving flashlight)
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
For night photography it's best to go manual. Then you don't get that error but you do have to understand how to set up the camera.

In regards to your pictures posted:

Open up your aperture to f/8 for that first picture.

Second one is fine to close up the aperture so that you have the long exposure for your daughter to mess with the flashlight.
 

SteveL54

Senior Member
I was baffled by the same error message. Switch to live view.

I took these at f/3.5 15 sec. ISO 400 with my Nikkor 18-55 kit lens.


Stars 046.jpg


Stars 047.jpg
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
Like the others said, you need to decide.

If you really want to know which has less noise on your camera you could do some test shots. Put the camera on a tripod and then try different combinations:

Low ISO longer exposure

transition to...

Higher ISO shorter exposure

Then go through the photos to see which image is the "cleanest."

Somewhere in the middle you will find the right combination. However, it's all up to you and how much night photography you do as to whether it's worth investing the time to investigate it.
 
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