Taking Pics at Night

[Alex C. 0]

My camera has a macro setting for nighttime pics, but the only time the setting is helpful is when it's dusk/dawn, doesn't help at all inthis situation cause I don't want the flash. I've been trying to take a picture of a fly in front of the moon for my site, kind of like the ET logo. Anyone have any suggestions on how I can make it work?

[Redwings1 0]

Are you looking to try to do a color picture of the fly in front of the moon, or silhouetted fly?

[Alex C. 0]

Just a sihloette, color might be cool too though

[madkasel 0]

I can't wait to see what that looks like.

 

Full moon tomorrow night, so I'm guessing you're in a hurry to get an answer.

[Guest]

for the fly to be colored you would have to use a flash because the fly would be backlit only by the moon. You have to have light on the front of the object to bring out the color.

 

For the silhouette your gonna need a tripod to mount your camera and some way to hold the fly VERY still. If you can disable the flash and let the camera determine how long of an exposure you are going to need. If you move even a fraction while the picture is being taken it will turn out blurry.....

[Alex C. 0]

I don't know of a way to disable the flash other than a couple other settings, maybe I could just put electrical tape over top of it and block it. :dunno:

 

 

[Redwings1 0]

Probably not Alex because the metering system on the camera will still be attached to the flash, so the shutter speed will be to fast. You may have to do some on line reading on your camera to find out how to disable the flash... :dunno:

[Graham 0]

Using photoshop to make a single image out of two might be easier? Layer a fly over a moon shot...

[Redwings1 0]

Using photoshop to make a single image out of two might be easier? Layer a fly over a moon shot...

 

cheater...

[Graham 0]

I don't know how you would secure a fly into position, and not have that mechanism in the photo as well. Yea, I'd probably cheat to get a nice pic of a fly in front of the moon.

[Alex C. 0]

I was planning to have the fly "fill-up" most of the moon, that way whatever I was holding it with, would be just outside the circle of the moon, then i could photoshop out everything outside of the circle. And then add the circle to a night sky pic with lots of stars. Just gotta figure out how to get the pic in the first place though

[Peterjay 0]

Graham's suggestion is probably the only way to get it done - double exposure - If there's a lens out there that can focus from a few inches to 240,000 miles and maintain any kind of perspective I'd like to get my hands on one. The pros do it all the time - If you see a shot in a newspaper or magazine that says "photo illustration," that's usually what it is.

[JJD 0]

What brand of camera do you have?

 

If it is a Canon, there is a simple method to make your picture work - "Nightshot" mode. In a standard flash picture the subject is usually well lit and the background is very dark. In the "Nightshot" auto mode the camera meters the flash for the subject, but after the flash the shutter remains open for the background to "fill in". A tripod would be highly recommended along with mirror lock-up if you have it.

 

If you don't have a Canon, check your owner's manual and see if there is something similar.

 

As an alternative...set up your fly and put the camera in standard flash mode and read the metering (shutter + aperature). Then put the camera in manual mode with the recommended aperature and gradually lengthen the shutter speed and review your results.

 

ultimately a 'photoillustration" may be the best way to get all of the details and definition you want... moon shots tend to be problematic since the camera is fooled by the large black sky area into overexposing. Good Luck!

 

 

John