how to shoot this?

Hi whats the best way to shoot this type of image night time indoors lights of, glass backlit with small torch i seem to be struggling to get it just right maybe its an auto focus issue aswell as some setting that i need to learn..


for some reason i can no longer upload pics ive made it smaller to 1000 pixels long, and a size 118.9kb? it is also jpeg????
ive p[osted in the past with no issue in the show us your pics section.
can someone step pint me through adding a pic as i appear to be lost..

trying as an attachment

so as an attatchement it seems to work why not when i use insert picture?

this is the pic in question anyway for the advice

Reduce the aperture to as large as possible eg F/2.8 or... Increase shutter speed to 20sec at f/22 or increase ISO to 5000 to allow light. I would do the first and then adjust for the second leaving the last to be the lowest cleanest ISO.

roughly what shutter speed at 3.6 (lowest my lens goes to ) would you suggest ?

Not sure what your using for lighting but if you increase the exposure with what you have, your going to blow out the highlights pretty quickly. I would play around more with how your lighting it. Try using snoots or the like to aim the light where you want it. That way the background will stay black. Assuming that's how you want it.

I'm lighting from behind with a small torch, shining through the glass which is the effect I'm playing with..

Scott Murray said:

Reduce the aperture to as large as possible eg F/2.8 or... Increase shutter speed to 20sec at f/22 or increase ISO to 5000 to allow light. I would do the first and then adjust for the second leaving the last to be the lowest cleanest ISO.

Click to expand...

also so in contrast of that what settings should I use for long daytime exposures and night car light trails shots?

thanks

Locationnorthwest = Northwest UK, England.

Torch = Flashlight for those of us on the other side of the pond. Try using one of the newer stronger LED flashlight (Torches) They also give a more defined pattern of light. Then just play around with your shutter speed. On a tripod long exposure. High aperture (F16 or higher) so you get the depth of field so it is all in focus. Low ISO (100) so it does not get grainy.

I'm not sure to understand what you want to achieve. This is what I would do. Find the correct exposure for the background, and then with reciprocity calculate the same exposure for 100 or 200 ISO increasing the shutter speed. Finally light the object. Eventually dimming the light of the torch with white paper if it is to bright.
Hope this helps

Honestly I find practicing and trying different settings work for me, getting exact settings for any low light long exposure will not be exact. You need to understand how everything works together and then work out for yourself what you are trying to achieve. If you cannot do this then a photo will never be yours as you are always relying on others to work it out for you, the beauty of digital is that you can make mistakes and see it right there and then, with film you had to wait and then remember what settings were used. Yes we are here to offer advice which we have done, now take this and put it into practice, experiment and enjoy.

CERDelmege said:

I'm not sure to understand what you want to achieve. This is what I would do. Find the correct exposure for the background, and then with reciprocity calculate the same exposure for 100 or 200 ISO increasing the shutter speed. Finally light the object. Eventually dimming the light of the torch with white paper if it is to bright.
Hope this helps

Click to expand...

I'm thinking he wants to keep the background black.

For a black background, find the correct exposure for the highlights and then underexpose by 4.5 stops. Adjust if necessary.

I would use ISO 100 and not more than F/16. Then mount the camera on tripod and take a series of shots - 8, 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 sec. Then depending on what effect you are looking for, either select the shot you want, or merge a few to get an HDR.

thanks a lot to take in I will try them all..

ok I've tried a few with varying results some not too bad some over under exp as expected, some of the best result were using the flash at the rear of the shot, I'll pick a few that I think are the best and post them.
dimmiing the light is something I havnt tried yet but I think it will yield better results also given the shape of the glass.
of course there's always some post process to be done as well.

something I have noticed is at times my kit won't go down to its lowest 3.6 aperture for those shots it wouldn't go bellow 5.5 or there about'so, is this a simple setting I'm missing or part of the triangle ie something in auto that shouldn't be?

To get dramatic effect, you can try position a few point light sources around the object

this is some ive just played with a little in nx2 its getting there but i think a dimmer light source is needed.

external lighting wouldnt work for me here i dont think as ive got 2 much clutter and the surface is quite shiny