First Time Trying Non-Tourist Shots - Suggestions?

[proteus]

Obviously these were both done at night. I kind of rushed it so I could have done better composition wise. They were shot using a tripod at F11 with an exposure of 15-20 seconds and auto focus (should use manual I guess). Would a smaller aperture be better or is that overkill and do you lose something if the exposures are too long?

I forget what they are called but I see pros using this lens hood that prevents glare, maybe this would have reduced/eliminated the spots on mine?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I always enjoy seeing shots of WL - thanks!

It's very likely that a lens hood would have been able to block the lens flare (spots) that you got in your pool picture. A quick and easy way if you don't have a hood along is to hold your hand up (out of the frame of the picture of course!) and try and block the flare that way - essentially doing the same thing that a hood is doing.

 

[maitlynn]

I really like the first one , it makes me want to dive right in! I love WL!

 

[Experiment_626]

Very nice!

How late at night did you take these? About seven years ago, I took some in the WL lobby -- at about 3 am! I wanted shots with no guests in them, and I also knew that doing them then meant that I and my tripod weren't likely to be in the way of other guests.

SSB

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Obviously these were both done at night. I kind of rushed it so I could have done better composition wise. They were shot using a tripod at F11 with an exposure of 15-20 seconds and auto focus (should use manual I guess). Would a smaller aperture be better or is that overkill and do you lose something if the exposures are too long?

I forget what they are called but I see pros using this lens hood that prevents glare, maybe this would have reduced/eliminated the spots on mine?

A hood reduces flare by shading the lens. Because you had a bright light in the picture itself, the hood wouldn't have helped much. I would compose so that the light wasn't in the shot. If you wanted it in the shot, I'd be sure to remove your UV filter (if you have one) as they are a common source of reflection problems.

From a composition standpoint, I'd have shot from over or on the rail for the first shot. I don't think you don't want a fence between your viewer and the pool. As I said above, I'd also get the bright light out of the frame. You'll get a better sky if you take that same shot about 30-60 minutes after sunset or before sunrise.

I think the lights work well in the bottom shot, but they are a bit bright. If possible, I'd do it as an HDR shot. I'd also try shooting it from further to the right looking back more towards the left. I'd like to see more of the fireplace area.

Overall, nice shots. You captured some of the "grandeur" of the place and made it look rather quiet and serene.

 

[handicap18]

I agree with Mark. The pool shot is nice, though the light on the top left is kind of distracting and I too would have gotten closer so the railing wasn't in the shot.

As for your settings, they are pretty much on target. I'm guessing you used ISO200 or there abouts. Low is good. f/11 is good for long night shots. It's typically a pretty sharp f/stop.

I like the angle of the lobby shot. That is a great hotel. One of, if not, my favorite.

 

[Amusement]

They were shot using a tripod at F11 with an exposure of 15-20 seconds and auto focus (should use manual I guess). Would a smaller aperture be better or is that overkill and do you lose something if the exposures are too long?

When people talk about shooting on manual, they usually still use auto focus. Nothing wrong with using it. While setting up manual focus in a shot like this wouldn't be too difficult, auto is a life saver when moving people come into play.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

They were shot using a tripod at F11 with an exposure of 15-20 seconds and auto focus (should use manual I guess). Would a smaller aperture be better or is that overkill and do you lose something if the exposures are too long?

When people talk about shooting on manual, they usually still use auto focus. Nothing wrong with using it. While setting up manual focus in a shot like this wouldn't be too difficult, auto is a life saver when moving people come into play.

Manual or autofocus would be fine. While it doesn't matter too much here, consider using manual exposure when shooting on a tripod with a remote shutter release.

When you handhold your camera, you normally cover the viewfinder with your eye. If you put the camera on a tripod and shoot with a remote shutter release, the viewfinder is exposed. It is possible for light to come in through the viewfinder, bounce around inside your camera, and throw off your exposure. The light will get blocked once the mirror flips up (which happens when the picture is being taken), so it won't be in the picture, but it can cause you to underexpose.

There several ways of dealing with the problem. One is to set the exposure manually while you are looking through the viewfinder setting up the shot. Another is to cover your viewfinder before you press the shutter. Most cameras either have a viewfinder cover built into the camera strap or they have a built in viewfinder cover.

 

[Amusement]

You're right! For some reason I tuned out how long the exposures were and was thinking of it being a handheld shot. So many people think being on manual means that everything has to be on manual all the time. But yeah, manual can be good for something with a long exposure.

 

[proteus]

Thanks everyone for the great feedback, this will really help on my next attempt. I was rushing this so much that I forgot about the bright light and the railing was kind of in the way.

It was shot at ISO 200 (nice guess!) around 12:20 at night, still one guest at the pool.

 

[Gdad]

Very nice shots- good job. Makes me want to go back to WL.

The lobby looks a little overexposed from what I remember. I would like to see that brought down a bit which would probably pop the colors in the rugs and such nicely. If you shot in raw you could probably also recover a lot of detail in the lights.