1st Proper Attempt at Night Time Photography

[michele1004]

Hi, I am pretty new to photography, I only started taking pictures this year and until this week with this photo I have always chickened out and used the camera's auto settings when out at night. Would really appreciate some feedback and any hints/advice for the future. I have a Panasonic Lumix G5 and I do not own a tripod. The camera was set at

Aperture - 4.0
ISO - 1600
Shutter Speed - 0.4
Focal Length - 14mm

 

[RichieTee]

Considering this was done by hand then it's a very good effort.

If you had a tripod you could have upped the shutter speed to a few seconds a got so much more detail and possibly a nice reflection. You may also have blown the highlights so it possibly would be a balancing act.

 

[michele1004]

Thanks Richie

I was really frustrated that I couldn't get more of the mast detail into the reflection or better define the background lights but I literally couldn't hold the shot long enough.

A tripod has been put to the top of the necessary purchase list.

 

[RichieTee]

Thanks Richie

I was really frustrated that I couldn't get more of the mast detail into the reflection or better define the background lights but I literally couldn't hold the shot long enough.

A tripod has been put to the top of the necessary purchase list.

It's frustrating times like this that push purchases like a tripod higher up the priority list.
A lot of my night time photography is done at a minimum of 15 second exposures so it just is t possible without a tripod

 

[droopsnoot]

A tripod has been put to the top of the necessary purchase list.

An obvious thought, but every time I walk around a car boot sale near here there are tripods galore, often for £1-£2, which might be perfectly adequate while you experiment. One thing to look out for with a used one, though, is that if it has a quick-release bracket rather than a captive screw, that the quick-release bit is present. Many that I see have that bit missing, and they can be expensive or impossible to source. Car boot season is closing here, though, for the winter, but charity shops may also yield similar stuff.

 

[michele1004]

Thanks I managed to pick up a relatively cheap one on ebay. I prefer black and white street photography so it definitely doesn't make sense to spend a lot on a tripod at the moment but I'm definitely wanting to experiment more with Night photography to get better control of the camera.