shooting in the dark?

[Brian001]

alright, well i was photographing some of my friends bike today and it got dark real quick. i was no where near prepared so most of the shots were horrible, although i did get a couple of good ones.

here are the good ones, can you guys tell me what needs to be changed?







out of 21 pictures these are what turned out, the others were blured. the shutter speed seemed real slow. you guys know what needs to be changed?

[Christian Simpson]

yea, your ISO needs to be higher, but that will only do you so much good...

[Christian Simpson]

also...speedlight=ability for higher shutter speed

[Brian001]

also...speedlight=ability for higher shutter speed

speedlight?

and i had my iso for a couple of shots everywhere between 200, and 1400...it seemed to slow the shutter speed down.

this is my first camera with all these different settings...i am so confused right now. wensday we are shooting again....probably till dark so i will exeriement tommorow and maybe tuesday, but i am still confused.

[JamesV]

Brain,
What kind of camera are you shooting with? I looked in your profile and it just said P & S. It might help others here that have the same camera to give you a few pointers. Also what mode, ie. sport, portrait, were you shooting in.

[Chrislowshow]

i love the first pic, but try to sharpen 3 a little. and yes a higher ISO will only do as good as you make it.

[Sebastian]

#3 is so out of focus sharpening unfortunately won't do anything.

Higher ISO allows for faster shutter speeds because it turns up the sensitivity of the sensor. BTW, a speedlight is just another name for flash. My suggestion with a P&S is set the ISO as high as it will go, open the lens up as much as you can (smallest possible f/number) and prefocus. SInce you have a P&S the AF will have a hard enough time keeping up in the daylight, at night it will be next to useless. Focus on a pole or set of steps, and just try to nail the timing.

I like the pan in the first one.

[Brian001]

alright, my profile is incorect...i just bought a canon digital rebel XT. this is why im confused, i used to own a crappy digital camera and im not used to changing settings...i will probably get out tonight and practice.

i was shooting a mixture between auto (the green square) and sport. thanks for the advice guys

[Sebastian]

Brian,

Sports mode tends to stop down the lens, at least it did on the original Rebel.

Set it on manual, set the ISO to 800 or 1600, set a shutter speed of 100-200, prefocus and keep practicing. Even with a fast lens, without enough light you won't be able to focus in complete darkness.

[Brian001]

alright, thatnks guys....this thread has helped me alot :thumbsup: