# whats the best way to take "the shot"



## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

Below are some shots I took last night around midnight down at a not too distant Marina. I just happened to be passing through when I saw the view, hardly a movement anywhere and realised that the conditions were favourable albeit I was late and hurrying to get somewhere before heading home.

Now I know about the "rules" of laying out (probably wrong term) and looking at the scene and also I need to play around with ISO's to see ho maybe I can get a better shot with better lighting affects and less noise .. it was cloudy, hardly any wind and the light was all behind me ..

How might I otherwise have improved the picture (no comments about young bikini clad youngsters please :grin: )

camera was hand held in spite of having tripod in my backpack. I know that may have helped but I was resting the camera on a dockside cabinet and aiming it at the view , changing the angle slightly after seeing the results of the shot taken .. 


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I was really aiming at trying to get the height of the masts with mirror affect from the water into a single shot .. landscape style rather than the portrait style that gave the affect I was looking for but it doesn't have the "width" if you understand what I mean ..

constructive criticism please ..


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## Mack (Nov 8, 2004)

I like 4 and 5 because you got the mast in top and in the reflection. I would say a crop of the bottom to even them out. Forget the rules for this shot I would say. A lower iso and a longer exposure may have given more detail, but it depends how calm it was. If the boats are compleetly still then a longer exposure maybe.

I also like the perspective on 7.

A crop of the bottom of 1,2 & 3 i think improves the image IMHO.


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

yea I was thinking about that after I posted .. a longer delay on the shot may have shown that the boats were indeed moving .. 

4 & 5 were the type of shot I was looking for .. but even if I cropped them they wouldn't (IMHO) have the same feel as the others being that little bit wider & more detail .. 

Chances of getting another crack at that are slim .. last night was really calm and tomorrow wind speeds are going way up .. if I am lucky and fast, I might get a second crack at it tonight .. better get the bike out and start pedalling :laugh:


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## Mack (Nov 8, 2004)

When the conditions are right D_F, you will know where to go to get a good shot. The composition is really nice I think. A little more time and light and you will have the image you are looking for.

Get pedalling:wink:


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## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

If you have a separate flash-gun, it might be worth giving a hand-held flash or 2, as a chance to play with 'light-painting' - You could get some interesting results.

Otherwise, as Mack suggests forget the 'rules', although if you can get the camera on the tripod, you could set a lot longer exposure for better clarity and definition, without adding too much noise.


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

If you really wanted it wider - more content in the shot, masts, full width of boats etc - either step back a pace or two or use the wide angle/zoom function to compose the shot you want. You can be pleasantly surprised often at how much difference a pace or two backwards/forwards/sideways can make to a composition. If you can't get it exactly how you want you can always go a bit wider/taller than you want and crop in post. If it were possible, and if it were me I would have attempted to get dead centre of the gap so that the leading lines of the bows of the boats were more symmetrical - I would have tried to be a little to the left of where you took the shot - just me maybe, I'm a kinda symmetrical guy in these instances - love asymmetery in most things but this shot to me almost begs to be symmetrical

If the yellow colour cast is not how it was or how you want it use colour balance options in your photo editing software to adjust it.

Sounds like a lot of criticism from me DF but they're nice shots - love the reflections and calmness of them - I'm always super critical of my own pics too, wanting them always to be as good as they can be - only way to improve I reckon :grin:


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

Thx guys .. got back there again tonight (and just returned at one in the morning :laugh about to check the results .. bad news is that as I was using the Nikon to make a panorama, I was visited by two security guards, arriving separately within minutes of each other, who warned me off for taking photo's .. apparently taking photo's at night is forbidden!!!!

:upset::upset::upset: 

Not the first time I have had this problem either .. 

Good news is that I got in quite a large number of shots using both camera's 

I'll have to upload tomorrow though..


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

@Zulu .. yesterday I was restricted because I didn't want the hassle of getting out the tripod (being late and rushing), today I used it but was restricted to the fact that there were two "metal cabinets" on the moorings plus a lamp-post so I had to squeeze my shots in from" in-between" .. moved back a tad and something started to show .. move left or right and other things started to show .. Nikon was much better than the Sony due to reduced picture width .. but it's late now and have to work in the morning .. already 2:15 am .. yesterday it was about 3am when I got to bed ..


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

These are the shots I got before I was politely told to stop taking photos .. taken with my old Nikon on a tripod .. #2 was taken using Digital zoom. 

As is to be expected a second visit ALWAYS gives different photo's and that boat with the lit up masts was one aspect whilst the other was the guys fishing .. I hadn't noticed them at all whilst experimenting with the Sony, playing with the ISO values, then turned my head and noticed them on the other side at which point the Nikon came out to play for a panorama .. only had one more shot to make to "close" the semicircle .. but this worked out just fine anyway.

I was most upset to find that the landscape photo's with the guys fishing came out blurred but luckily I had taken a good clean shot in portrait mode that allowed me to add them to the panoramic view

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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

the pano's look good - like the composition of 13 & 14 better than 15, colours are better too
4 is a nice shot too :grin:


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

#4 was the shot I used to replace the fuzzy #6 that should have been the first in the pano series .. I still need to play about a bit perhaps I should crop #4 to the same height as the others used in the pano's and try restitching .. 
the panos were made using shots #'s 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 

#15 is a full pano using all the above photo's ( 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 ) and if you look carefully you'll see the centre has a missing area top & bottom for the curvature .. the masts stop short of the borders. Whilst on a dark background I can get away with it, it not being that noticeable unless you know .. the others were cropped down to remove the effect.

shame I can't go back for some more although I am thinking of writing and asking for permission to visit them occasionally to take photo's, perhaps if they have some idea of the identity of would be photographers they might be more lenient .. give me a permit to do a photo shoot. I hardly even managed to explore the area.


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

This I think is the position you said you would have taken the shot .. same as I had in mind myself .. exposure is a tad over the top .. taken with the other camera 2 ISO 3200

I have taken the same shot with different ISO's .. have yet to upload them

note that I got my shadow in the shot .. noticed it immediately after taking the photo


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## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

Sorry I have taken time to respond

They are a great series of experimental shots where you (and us) have reflected (ouch) in the subject.

A technique that I have used when not being able to get further back, is to turn the camera vertically in the portrait mode and take a series of 'pano' images & then stitch...

I appreciate that night shots over water where movement of masts may make it harder but if it is a really still evening, it may well work.


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## DonaldG (Aug 23, 2007)

Original:









What shadow? :grin:

A small amount of colour shift to reduce the effect of sodium lighting colour cast. A tiny smidgen of sharpening.


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## Done_Fishin (Oct 10, 2006)

apart from my own shadow there is also the extra shadow of the light pole that stretches out in a straight line .. looks like i really must start to learn editing .. but again .. I have the problem in that in like the colouring the way it shows .. all in the eye of the beholder I suppose


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