Need help when taking nighttime or daytime long exposures? Comment below! 👉 To Download our Free Long Exposure Photography guide: www.photopills.com/articles/long-exposure-photography-guide
I don't like it when people are know-it-alls in comments, so don't take this as a correction, but rather an addendum. Y'all certainly have more experience with this than I do. I have used all of the methods you mentioned and they all have their uses, but I also use one more. I shoot multiple longer exposures at high ISO and median average them to reduce noise. This is particularly useful because it reduces the time invested into any single exposure. Here's an example. Let's use your example of a good foreground test exposure at 4 sec, ISO 10,000. I could shoot the foreground for 6:40 at ISO 100 but what happens if a car drives by, a plane flies over, or a moth lands on the lens? I have to take that 6:40 shot all over again. Instead, I could shoot 0:30 at ISO 6400 for 13-14 exposures and median average them. If one has an error, then I can exclude it and still have a pretty good result without having to shoot the entire sequence again. In practice, I do this usually with only several (3-5) at high ISO for time savings and the results end up fairly clean. My typical foreground shots here in a Bortle 3-4 sky with some ambient light are for 30-60 sec. Also, I understand that there are dynamic range, color, and other issues with high ISO, but that's a smaller issue than noise and can be ameliorated by shooting at lower ISO on an invariant camera (mine works great at 640). Anyway, great video again. This is just another tool to add to the toolbox with the methods that you mentioned earlier.
Solid advice. Only note from my experience is to err on the side of a possibly just short exposure if it means that many more shots can be taken. Frame averaging helps almost all shots if conditions permit.
Great information Rafael, can’t wait to try it out on my Astro shots. Mind you I’ll have to wait for the clouds to clear here in the west of Ireland though ☹
@photopills Great video, I do have a few questions: 1) if you shoot for appropriate foreground exposure, will the sky portion of your photo be overexposed - perhaps due to clouds and or stars? 2) Do you just do your test on the foreground, or on the scene as a whole? 3) If you do shoot separate photos for foreground and sky, do you use photoshop or another program to make your composite shots?
Yes, this workflow is for the foreground shot only. If you wish to correctly expose the sky and the foreground in one shot, you'll have to add artificial light to the foreground or use the Moon as a light source :)
Shooting at low ISO does NOT lower noise, but it increases dynamic range. Your understanding of ISO and noise is wrong: Noise is mainly caused by the camera electronics (read noise) and the lack of signal. The best way to lower noise is to increase signal, which is only possible by capturing more light. This can be achieved by lowering the ISO (which allows longer exposure times), but on ISO variant cameras this also increases read noise. The best way to shoot (both) foregrounds and skies is therefore to stack as many exposures as possible at the ISO where the camera becomes ISO invariant. Lowering ISO below that point only makes sense if you need the increased dynamic range or cannot stack, as it will cause more noise than a stack of equal total exposure time at the ISO where the sensor becomes ISO invariant.
awesome video, I really enjoy using photocells and this opens my eyes for creativity even more. One question though, how can I combat blurry vegetation and trees when taking these long exposures. Should I focus stack with shorter exposures then stack the photos together? Thankyou :)
An alternative is to shoot a lots of images (at least 50) with the same settings you would use for the sky (eg. 15" ISO 6400 f:3.5) and stack them using Photoshop > open as layers > Convert to Smart object > Stack Mode > Median. The resulting image has the same exposure but you can open the shadows and push the exposure with almost no noise. Then you can use 20 to 25 of you frames to stack for the sky with StarryLandscapeStacker or Sequator and blend the 2 stacks. If you're interested I've made a tutorial on this technique (in french but you can use automatic subtitles) here: czcams.com/video/PsHMfhQ3uqU/video.html
Also a good use for graphics magick. "gm convert -compress zip -average *.tif avg.tif" I save the command to a script file and it streamlines the process. Just make sure to use the q16 version(16 bits per channel) for good quality. For image processes that don't require manual tweaking, graphics magick is quite handy.
With film there was a reciprocity factor that needed to be considered. I never thought much about reciprocity with digital, but is there always an exact relationship between short and long exposures (e.g., no reciprocity failure because of sensor heating)?
Excellent information, Rafael, but I appreciate it if you record an actual practice in the landscape to demonstrate the setting. I find it confusing to do test settings and calculate equivalent settings afterwards. What about the sky (background) setting? Regards Mohammed
I use this myself, works well, but be careful! Make it the last shot of the night because the camera will then take a "dark frame" to subtract from your image to remove the noise so it's out of action for as long again, in this case 6min 40s I think it was. What I do is put the lens cap on and start packing up but it's REALLY important to leave the camera switched on. Hope that helps!
I don't think the video answered the question of what to do if your test shot is under/over-exposed. Do you just repeat taking short-exposure/high-ISO test shots until you get the correct exposure, and then compute the correct long-exposure/low-ISO settings as you describe?
Hi Rodney! What's important with the test shot is that it has to be fast. So push the ISO up if it's underexposed. And push it down if it's overexposed till to find the right exposure :)
I am confused. I think you use the test shot for the foreground to calculate the correct exposure for the same. This has nothing to do with the sky exposure. I thought you were using the sky exposure to calculate the foreground exposure. I have a hard time understanding his accent even w CC
Hi Tom! No sky in this video. The test shot needs to be to get the right exposure for the foreground. The settings will depend on the scene you're facing.
@@PhotoPills Take test shots until you have an ideal histogram? Then plug in your ideal values. The press calculate. SS was about 4 minutes which is way to long. Need to keep learning other methods. Thanks
@@PhotoPills I use a Sony A7iii, and it does suffer badly with hot pixels at, say, 180', or even less. So, for me, taking multiple foreground exposures and stacking is necessary. I've never tried, but next time I might try the in-camera noise reduction, but this obviously doubles exposure time. But it might be worth it. Thanks Rafael!
Hola Rafa, I tried this technique but it never worked for me. I always get noise in my image with Iso 100 and exposure times longer then 3 minutes at night. There are so many hot pixels in my frame.
@@PhotoPills It would be so nice if you could really make a long and detailed video about this topic. A video with explanation for foreground exposure in blue hour or with artifical light. Because this is also very tricky! Also milky way photos mostly are shot with panoramas and here is my big problem with the foreground in a different exposure then the milky.
It’s not as straight forward as you are suggesting. Shooting stars with long exposures over 30 s does not work unless you are trying for star trails. There is a balance and particularly when shooting Milky Way which is typically shot around 1600 - 3200 iso and maybe maximum 20s at f 2.8 say. Best to use topaz de noise or other in post production
Need help when taking nighttime or daytime long exposures? Comment below!
👉 To Download our Free Long Exposure Photography guide:
www.photopills.com/articles/long-exposure-photography-guide
The best $10 I have ever spent
Agreed ❤
Thank you Jeremy!
I don't like it when people are know-it-alls in comments, so don't take this as a correction, but rather an addendum. Y'all certainly have more experience with this than I do. I have used all of the methods you mentioned and they all have their uses, but I also use one more. I shoot multiple longer exposures at high ISO and median average them to reduce noise. This is particularly useful because it reduces the time invested into any single exposure. Here's an example.
Let's use your example of a good foreground test exposure at 4 sec, ISO 10,000. I could shoot the foreground for 6:40 at ISO 100 but what happens if a car drives by, a plane flies over, or a moth lands on the lens? I have to take that 6:40 shot all over again. Instead, I could shoot 0:30 at ISO 6400 for 13-14 exposures and median average them. If one has an error, then I can exclude it and still have a pretty good result without having to shoot the entire sequence again.
In practice, I do this usually with only several (3-5) at high ISO for time savings and the results end up fairly clean. My typical foreground shots here in a Bortle 3-4 sky with some ambient light are for 30-60 sec. Also, I understand that there are dynamic range, color, and other issues with high ISO, but that's a smaller issue than noise and can be ameliorated by shooting at lower ISO on an invariant camera (mine works great at 640).
Anyway, great video again. This is just another tool to add to the toolbox with the methods that you mentioned earlier.
Great tip!
Excellent info as usual. Thanks much.
Thank you Gus!
Thank you! I've been guessing!
Thank you!
Solid advice. Only note from my experience is to err on the side of a possibly just short exposure if it means that many more shots can be taken. Frame averaging helps almost all shots if conditions permit.
Thanks for the feedback!
Great information Rafael, can’t wait to try it out on my Astro shots. Mind you I’ll have to wait for the clouds to clear here in the west of Ireland though ☹
Cool!
Brilliant! That was very helpful and sure beats my trial and error approach!
Thank you Cal!
Thank u Rafael
Thank you Joe!
Just came to comment and like to support you Rafael, would love to have the time to actually see the video.
Stay strong my dude!
Thank you Marco!!
Excellent info Rafael, helpful as always!
Thank you Mark!
Great video. Super informative. Excellent guide. Thank you!!
Thank you!
Many Thanks!!!! Much videos like this!
Thank you!
@photopills Great video, I do have a few questions: 1) if you shoot for appropriate foreground exposure, will the sky portion of your photo be overexposed - perhaps due to clouds and or stars? 2) Do you just do your test on the foreground, or on the scene as a whole? 3) If you do shoot separate photos for foreground and sky, do you use photoshop or another program to make your composite shots?
Yes, this workflow is for the foreground shot only. If you wish to correctly expose the sky and the foreground in one shot, you'll have to add artificial light to the foreground or use the Moon as a light source :)
Superb. Thank you.
Thanks!
Shooting at low ISO does NOT lower noise, but it increases dynamic range. Your understanding of ISO and noise is wrong: Noise is mainly caused by the camera electronics (read noise) and the lack of signal. The best way to lower noise is to increase signal, which is only possible by capturing more light. This can be achieved by lowering the ISO (which allows longer exposure times), but on ISO variant cameras this also increases read noise. The best way to shoot (both) foregrounds and skies is therefore to stack as many exposures as possible at the ISO where the camera becomes ISO invariant. Lowering ISO below that point only makes sense if you need the increased dynamic range or cannot stack, as it will cause more noise than a stack of equal total exposure time at the ISO where the sensor becomes ISO invariant.
Thank you so much for the clarification ;)
awesome video, I really enjoy using photocells and this opens my eyes for creativity even more. One question though, how can I combat blurry vegetation and trees when taking these long exposures. Should I focus stack with shorter exposures then stack the photos together? Thankyou :)
That's what usually done. Take shorter exposures for the moving plants and blend them in.
awesome, thank you @@PhotoPills I really enjoy the app it is my best friend when planning for milkyway photography.
An alternative is to shoot a lots of images (at least 50) with the same settings you would use for the sky (eg. 15" ISO 6400 f:3.5) and stack them using Photoshop > open as layers > Convert to Smart object > Stack Mode > Median. The resulting image has the same exposure but you can open the shadows and push the exposure with almost no noise. Then you can use 20 to 25 of you frames to stack for the sky with StarryLandscapeStacker or Sequator and blend the 2 stacks. If you're interested I've made a tutorial on this technique (in french but you can use automatic subtitles) here: czcams.com/video/PsHMfhQ3uqU/video.html
Also a good use for graphics magick. "gm convert -compress zip -average *.tif avg.tif" I save the command to a script file and it streamlines the process. Just make sure to use the q16 version(16 bits per channel) for good quality. For image processes that don't require manual tweaking, graphics magick is quite handy.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Brilliant info, thanks very much.
Thank you!
Nice one - thanks
Thank you!
With film there was a reciprocity factor that needed to be considered. I never thought much about reciprocity with digital, but is there always an exact relationship between short and long exposures (e.g., no reciprocity failure because of sensor heating)?
This is for digital yes!
Excellent information, Rafael, but I appreciate it if you record an actual practice in the landscape to demonstrate the setting. I find it confusing to do test settings and calculate equivalent settings afterwards. What about the sky (background) setting?
Regards
Mohammed
Yeah! That would be cool :)
foreground of pablo ruiz was taken at blue hour ? 🧐
Maybe...
Thanks Rafael, great info. Would you still recommend using long exposure noise reduction in my camera settings?
You can use it for your final shot for the foreground yes :)
I use this myself, works well, but be careful! Make it the last shot of the night because the camera will then take a "dark frame" to subtract from your image to remove the noise so it's out of action for as long again, in this case 6min 40s I think it was. What I do is put the lens cap on and start packing up but it's REALLY important to leave the camera switched on. Hope that helps!
I don't think the video answered the question of what to do if your test shot is under/over-exposed. Do you just repeat taking short-exposure/high-ISO test shots until you get the correct exposure, and then compute the correct long-exposure/low-ISO settings as you describe?
Hi Rodney! What's important with the test shot is that it has to be fast. So push the ISO up if it's underexposed. And push it down if it's overexposed till to find the right exposure :)
What is the EV setting for at the bottom of the Exposure pill and how does one use it?
It's the Exposure Value. It represents the exposure: www.photopills.com/articles/exposure-photography-guide#step8
Nice demonstration, but when photographing stars with longer than 30 seconds you will end up with stripes ?!
Taking two different exposures, a "short" one for stars and a longer one for the foreground, and then blending together in PS.
I believe the sky shot would be a separate shot and you would blend the 2
Yes! This technique is for the foreground only ;)
The Ultimate Arches video shows how it’s done.
For the foreground shot doesn't f2.8 give you a very shallow depth of field?
You can close the aperture yes
I am confused. I think you use the test shot for the foreground to calculate the correct exposure for the same. This has nothing to do with the sky exposure. I thought you were using the sky exposure to calculate the foreground exposure. I have a hard time understanding his accent even w CC
Hi Tom! No sky in this video. The test shot needs to be to get the right exposure for the foreground. The settings will depend on the scene you're facing.
@@PhotoPills Take test shots until you have an ideal histogram? Then plug in your ideal values. The press calculate. SS was about 4 minutes which is way to long. Need to keep learning other methods. Thanks
Surely in trying to eliminate noise you are going to get savaged by hot pixels instead (with longer exposures)?
Hi Matthew! That will depend on your camera sensor hehehe. You might need to remove some hot pixels in post yes...
@@PhotoPills I use a Sony A7iii, and it does suffer badly with hot pixels at, say, 180', or even less. So, for me, taking multiple foreground exposures and stacking is necessary. I've never tried, but next time I might try the in-camera noise reduction, but this obviously doubles exposure time. But it might be worth it. Thanks Rafael!
Hola Rafa, I tried this technique but it never worked for me. I always get noise in my image with Iso 100 and exposure times longer then 3 minutes at night. There are so many hot pixels in my frame.
Ouch!!
@@PhotoPills It would be so nice if you could really make a long and detailed video about this topic. A video with explanation for foreground exposure in blue hour or with artifical light. Because this is also very tricky! Also milky way photos mostly are shot with panoramas and here is my big problem with the foreground in a different exposure then the milky.
It’s not as straight forward as you are suggesting. Shooting stars with long exposures over 30 s does not work unless you are trying for star trails. There is a balance and particularly when shooting Milky Way which is typically shot around 1600 - 3200 iso and maybe maximum 20s at f 2.8 say. Best to use topaz de noise or other in post production
This video refers to blending two exposures: 1 for the foreground, 1 for the stars. Not sure if that was made clear though.
@@johnoconnell6667 I thought that the blending part was very clear. I just need to relook at it to fully understand how to calculate it.
Yes! That's right... the video is for the foreground only
@@PhotoPills It makes more sense now. Use the sky exposure parameters to calculate the foreground exposure. Thanks