# Looking for some advise on these few photos.....



## Wm (Jul 20, 2021)

So im very much a beginner and am trying to figure this out. I took a bunch of pictures in this sunset/night trying to get a few good ones. I think I may have even tried Auto - cant remember.... Anyhow, can anyone give me a few pointers on what settings can yield better results? 

I was shooting in M mode.

I exported these from LightRoom as .jpeg and hope the exif info is available. If not, please respond and ill put it up.

Thank you much.


----------



## Jonathan Thill (Jul 20, 2021)

With that light you will likely need to exposure stack in order to expose for the sky and the landscape. 

Basically (very basically) you take a shot with the landscape exposed the way you like and then take another shot with the sky the way you like and then blend the two images in LR or PS(better)

There are lots of good tutorials online about doing this.


----------



## Wm (Jul 20, 2021)

Ramage said:


> With that light you will likely need to exposure stack in order to expose for the sky and the landscape.
> 
> Basically (very basically) you take a shot with the landscape exposed the way you like and then take another shot with the sky the way you like and then blend the two images in LR or PS(better)
> 
> There are lots of good tutorials online about doing this.


Humm, thats too bad. I was hoping to keep it simple, i.e., exposure settings, iso, etc.. So, even in the church building shot, with not a huge sky interference, tripod and setting alone would not yield a good shot either?


----------



## Jonathan Thill (Jul 20, 2021)

You can try and just expose for the church and then add a grad filter to the sky masking for luminosity but the 7DMkII is not the best for dynamic range (highlight and shadow recovery) so I would still recommend exposing for the darkest areas and lightest areas in 2 exposures. With static subjects this works best.


----------



## Wm (Jul 20, 2021)

would a 6DMKII make any difference?


----------



## Czardoom (Jul 20, 2021)

You've done a good job exposing for the sky - which in a sunset photo is the main thing. I would just try and lighten the shadows in post production. I don't have lightroom, but I am sure they have a lighten shadow slider of some sort. I shoot a lot of sunset photos and have never phot stacked, nor do I have a ND filter, so neither of those methods are necessary. You might get very good results, but if you, like me, just want to keep things simple, then with today's cameras, you can lighten shadows considerably. I have Photoshop elements and was able to take your test-3 photo and lighten the shadows with just the one command, then added just a touch of brightness and contrast. So, I think your camera settings are fine as long as the sky is exposed well, which in your case, they are.


----------



## Wm (Jul 20, 2021)

Tks Ramage - sounds a bit more complicated than I had hope for.


----------



## Wm (Jul 20, 2021)

Czardoom said:


> You've done a good job exposing for the sky - which in a sunset photo is the main thing. I would just try and lighten the shadows in post production. I don't have lightroom, but I am sure they have a lighten shadow slider of some sort. I shoot a lot of sunset photos and have never phot stacked, nor do I have a ND filter, so neither of those methods are necessary. You might get very good results, but if you, like me, just want to keep things simple, then with today's cameras, you can lighten shadows considerably. I have Photoshop elements and was able to take your test-3 photo and lighten the shadows with just the one command, then added just a touch of brightness and contrast. So, I think your camera settings are fine as long as the sky is exposed well, which in your case, they are.


Ok. Thats helpful. So in your opinion, with the church photo, the sky is the best to have exposed "correctly" ? In general , yes?? Tks much


----------



## AlanF (Jul 20, 2021)

Czardoom said:


> You've done a good job exposing for the sky - which in a sunset photo is the main thing. I would just try and lighten the shadows in post production. I don't have lightroom, but I am sure they have a lighten shadow slider of some sort. I shoot a lot of sunset photos and have never phot stacked, nor do I have a ND filter, so neither of those methods are necessary. You might get very good results, but if you, like me, just want to keep things simple, then with today's cameras, you can lighten shadows considerably. I have Photoshop elements and was able to take your test-3 photo and lighten the shadows with just the one command, then added just a touch of brightness and contrast. So, I think your camera settings are fine as long as the sky is exposed well, which in your case, they are.


I did similarly with PS, using Image - Adjustments - Shadows and Highlights (PS standard setting). For the second, I lowered the brightness a tad as the sky became a little bleached.


----------



## Jonathan Thill (Jul 20, 2021)

Best I could do with a Jpeg, personally I do not like the amount of noise in the shadows but I did what I could with the file. @Wm you can get decent results with a single exposure but for the cost of a few bits of data and a little time you can expand what you can do in post.

I like the composition and the people in front add scale. The glow from the windows matches the sky nicely.


----------



## Wm (Jul 29, 2021)

Thanks all for the tips. All good ideas for next time..... I also did not notice the small halos next to the bell tower until I started messing around here. I guess they are distortions from the clear filter?? May I impose for more suggestions please? Here are a few more pictures I took and now notice they are out of focus. they are indoor shots from inside a museum which ive done before but never had focus problem. These are .jpeg from original .cr2 converted to .dng and then .jpg for export here. I only applied remove chromatic aberration and enable profile corrections inside LightRoom (don't even remember what that is).... what's the focus issue from???? Maybe I did not wait until the AF was done before shooting? I have a bunch like this
.



Tks!


----------



## becceric (Jul 30, 2021)

Wm said:


> Thanks all for the tips. All good ideas for next time..... I also did not notice the small halos next to the bell tower until I started messing around here. I guess they are distortions from the clear filter?? May I impose for more suggestions please? Here are a few more pictures I took and now notice they are out of focus. they are indoor shots from inside a museum which ive done before but never had focus problem. These are .jpeg from original .cr2 converted to .dng and then .jpg for export here. I only applied remove chromatic aberration and enable profile corrections inside LightRoom (don't even remember what that is).... what's the focus issue from???? Maybe I did not wait until the AF was done before shooting? I have a bunch like this
> .
> View attachment 199266
> View attachment 199267
> ...


Can you check what shutter speed was used on these? They all have the blur evenly “smeared” in a given direction. I assume motion blur is the culprit. Unfortunately I know of now way to correct that issue in post.


----------



## Wm (Jul 30, 2021)

becceric said:


> Can you check what shutter speed was used on these? They all have the blur evenly “smeared” in a given direction. I assume motion blur is the culprit. Unfortunately I know of now way to correct that issue in post.


Thanks for looking. Its been awhile since ive shot.... and am beginner. So, in order, all f5 and .5 sec, .8 sec, .5 sec.


----------



## old-pr-pix (Jul 30, 2021)

Camera shake. Unless using a tripod or some other solid support most people would need to keep shutter speed faster than 1/30 sec. or so to avoid camera shake with a 7DII. Assumes 'normal' focal length lens. Newer cameras with IBIS allow most shooters to go down to ~1 sec. hand held with acceptable results.

Longer focal length lenses would necessitate faster shutter speeds. Rule of thumb is 1/focal length for full frame (i.e. for 200 mm lens slowest recommended shutter speed would be 1/200 sec.) Crop body needs faster shutter speed to avoid camera shake (or a tripod). Many say 1/(2xfocal length) or 1/400 sec. for 200 mm lens.


----------



## Wm (Jul 30, 2021)

Tks oldprpix. That’s good info. Would you have any suggestions as to what the tiny halo circles next to the bell tower are caused by? I’m guessing sunlight and filter interference - for lack of proper terminology.


----------



## Joules (Jul 30, 2021)

Wm said:


> Tks oldprpix. That’s good info. Would you have any suggestions as to what the tiny halo circles next to the bell tower are caused by? I’m guessing sunlight and filter interference - for lack of proper terminology.


Rule of thumb for the right exposure time is 1/(crop factor*focal length) so for a 50 mm focal length on an APS-C camera, you shouldn't expose for longer than 1/(1.6*50) = 1/80 s. Any longer than that and you'll either need a tripod, great image stabilization or enormous luck to get a sharp image.

As for those bright circles, is it possible you just accidentally clicked on the image with a brush a few times while editing in lightroom?

They look like dusg spots, but it is weird that they are brighter than the surrounding image.


----------



## Wm (Jul 30, 2021)

the ones I posted have not been edited. Cant figure it out. Light shadow??


----------



## Joules (Jul 30, 2021)

Wm said:


> the ones I posted have not been edited. Cant figure it out. Light shadow??


Could they be drops of water, be it from light drizzle or maybe condensation?


----------



## privatebydesign (Jul 30, 2021)

Joules said:


> Could they be drops of water, be it from light drizzle or maybe condensation?


Probably not, they are most likely on the sensor. If water or dust is on the front element of the lens it is out of focus so won’t have any definition or defined edge, those rings/circles do have definition so must be closer to the point of focus. Most probably dirt or oil on the sensor.


----------



## Wm (Jul 30, 2021)

Don’t think. It was hot and dry. I did have a clear filter on but it was clean. Maybe a reflection of light?


----------



## Wm (Jul 30, 2021)

Would it hurt to blow a little air towards sensor with air bulb? May be a topic for a new thread??


----------



## Valvebounce (Jul 30, 2021)

Wm said:


> Would it hurt to blow a little air towards sensor with air bulb? May be a topic for a new thread??


Hi Wm. 
For a pretty definitive lesson on sensor cleaning have a look at this post.
Roger and lens rentals are well respected and they have gone to great lengths to earn that respect. There are tons of great info in most every post on the blog and a little humour to make reading it more fun! 








Guide to Cleaning Your Camera Sensor


A fair amount of unease comes with interacting with one of the most fragile parts of a digital camera. Automatic sensor cleaners help but haven’t replaced the need for sensor cleaning entirely. However, cleaning camera sensors is not as delicate of an operation as it seems. You still might...



www.lensrentals.com





Cheers, Graham.


----------



## old-pr-pix (Jul 31, 2021)

Joules said:


> Rule of thumb for the right exposure time is 1/(crop factor*focal length) so for a 50 mm focal length on an APS-C camera, you shouldn't expose for longer than 1/(1.6*50) = 1/80 s. Any longer than that and you'll either need a tripod, great image stabilization or enormous luck to get a sharp image.


Hi Joules - I agree with your rule of thumb, I was just trying to keep it safe and simple for OP. Since I use crop bodies with crop factors of 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0 it's easier for me always use the 2X factor. Plus, I have read it argued that the smaller pixel pitch of crop bodies actually needs faster shutter speeds than the old rule of thumb to minimize blur. Final reason I tend to use the 2X factor is that I find it hard to do the math quickly in my head. If I've got a zoom lens set at 45 mm I can multiply by 2 in my head in an instant. To multiply by 1.6 isn't so fast. In truth though, if I know I'm going to face a situation where camera shake might be an issue I just grab a body with IBIS or a tripod.


----------



## Joules (Jul 31, 2021)

old-pr-pix said:


> Hi Joules - I agree with your rule of thumb, I was just trying to keep it safe and simple for OP. Since I use crop bodies with crop factors of 1.5, 1.6 and 2.0 it's easier for me always use the 2X factor. Plus, I have read it argued that the smaller pixel pitch of crop bodies actually needs faster shutter speeds than the old rule of thumb to minimize blur. Final reason I tend to use the 2X factor is that I find it hard to do the math quickly in my head. If I've got a zoom lens set at 45 mm I can multiply by 2 in my head in an instant. To multiply by 1.6 isn't so fast. In truth though, if I know I'm going to face a situation where camera shake might be an issue I just grab a body with IBIS or a tripod.


Hm, I had somehow completely skipped reading the second part of your post that already mentioned the rule of thumb. I totally agree that 2X for a modern APS-C body is more practical, both in accounting for the high megapixel counts and how to calculate it. Sorry for the redundancy in my post, I didn't mean to correct you are anything along those lines.


----------



## Wm (Jul 31, 2021)

So I have a 7x magnifier but all i could really see was a little dust on the mirror. I blew some air in with an air bulb. Before and after pretty - pretty much no change. Currently see the obvious on this attachment.


----------



## privatebydesign (Jul 31, 2021)

Dust on the mirror means nothing and can’t appear in your final image.


----------



## Wm (Jul 31, 2021)

right. so I was thinking the attachment shows sensor dirt/contamination or whatever???


----------



## Wm (Jul 31, 2021)

update - sorry for lack of info. I saw some dust on mirror and used air bulb to blow off. I had taken a picture, the one I attached right above before hand ( white blank paper). I then put camera in manual clean mode and blew some more air. Released mirror and took another test shot and it appeared the same as the 1st shot - no change. So I assumed the "dirt" is on the sensor. Yes / No ?? Also, the magnifier I have is 7x. Is that enough to see dirt on sensor? Just following The Dust Patrol - on YouTube after looking at the link from above.


----------



## Joules (Jul 31, 2021)

Are we even certain there is dirt/dust on the sensor?

Shooting against a bright, even background like a clear or grey sky with a narrow aperture is one way to make spots from dust on the sensor more apparent.

Also don't mess with dust on the mirror. It should not impact any property of the camera and if you touch the mirror with anything, odds of damaging the silver coating are pretty high I think.


----------



## Wm (Jul 31, 2021)

ok, so here's one more shot from outside. iOS 100, f22, manual focus. If you magnify the image a few times there is actually a few small rings that show and some other "something".... I dont know what any of these are or means. Very much a beginner and was just trying to figure out what the circles showing up in the 1st church picture are form. Tks


----------



## JPAZ (Jul 31, 2021)

Wm said:


> ok, so here's one more shot from outside. iOS 100, f22, manual focus. If you magnify the image a few times there is actually a few small rings that show and some other "something".... I dont know what any of these are or means. Very much a beginner and was just trying to figure out what the circles showing up in the 1st church picture are form. Tks
> View attachment 199296


IMHO, a blower can be helpful but I suspect you need to clean the sensor. You have two options: Take it to a reputable shop and have them do it; or, do it yourself. I know that sounds a bit scary but it really is not that difficult, with the right tools. Look at a few videos and get some appropriate swabs, a magnifier and the right fluid. Either way, I think that a sensor clean would help this issue.


----------



## Joules (Jul 31, 2021)

Doesn't look dusty to me though. Maybe I just have a larger tolerance but my sensor looks worse than that  

I also have a hard time believing the bright dots in the church image are from dust. Certainly haven't seen sections of my images getting brightened from dust yet.

I have had accidents were my mouse went crazy and only after exporting the images I noticed streaks of brightness from lightroom brush in places where they shouldn't be. That's why that was my first guess.

Pretty weird, but unless it shows up in other images than the church one, I wouldn't worry about it.


----------



## Wm (Aug 2, 2021)

so there was one camera store left in my area and I believe they no longer sell or work on equipment. Anyhow, ive had issues with them before. I have carepak w/ canon so I decided to send it in for a cleaning. Getting it all ready led me to my paperwork and I had forgotten this - when the camera was new, i had to send it in for "spots" , twice.... I dont ofter shoot at a high f stop and im kinda new at post processing so I guess it hasn't been an issue.... just brings back bad memories having been the carepak route before. oh well.... off it went.


----------

