Color Changing Fountain in Zrenjanin (constructive help needed)

[emilsi]

Just a week ago I have purchased my first digital camera. For the first time I have seen so many different settings and functions so I have decided to take few photos of one color changing fountain in Zrenjanin.

Here are few photos that I have made:


Color Changing Fountain in Zrenjanin - Photo 14
by emilex from Fliiby
Settings:
Exposure: 5 sec at f/14
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed Rating: ISO 800
Lens: E PZ 16-50 mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Camera: Sony a6000



Color Changing Fountain in Zrenjanin - Photo 13
by emilex from Fliiby
Exposure: 5 sec at f/14
Focal Length: 42 mm
ISO Speed Rating: ISO 250
Lens: E PZ 16-50 mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Camera: Sony a6000



Color Changing Fountain in Zrenjanin - Photo 09
by emilex from Fliiby
Settings:
Exposure: 30 sec at f/9
Focal Length: 40 mm
ISO Speed Rating: ISO 100
Lens: E PZ 16-50 mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Camera: Sony a6000

Since it is first time that I have tried to make few night, long exposure photographs I hope that you will help me a little bit with advice's to improve them. In my folder I have uploaded 16 photographs, so if you have time check all of them.


Thank you all

 

[JPM]

My suggestion is to watch your backgrounds. With the small aperture you are using, they are in focus and distract from the main subject (the fountain). Try to move your point of view so that the buildings, cars, and so on are hidden. Particularly the very bright ones.

I would also suggest using a larger aperture and lower ISO. That should give you the same length of exposure but will reduce the depth of field so any background objects become blurred and will distract less from the main subject.

Having said all that, I do kind of like Photo 09 with the purple fountain and church in the background. The colours are nice and vivid.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Just a week ago I have purchased my first digital camera. For the first time I have seen so many different settings and functions so I have decided to take few photos of one color changing fountain in Zrenjanin.

Here are few photos that I have made:


Color Changing Fountain in Zrenjanin - Photo 14
by emilex from Fliiby
Settings:
Exposure: 5 sec at f/14
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO Speed Rating: ISO 800
Lens: E PZ 16-50 mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Camera: Sony a6000



Color Changing Fountain in Zrenjanin - Photo 13
by emilex from Fliiby
Exposure: 5 sec at f/14
Focal Length: 42 mm
ISO Speed Rating: ISO 250
Lens: E PZ 16-50 mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Camera: Sony a6000



Color Changing Fountain in Zrenjanin - Photo 09
by emilex from Fliiby
Settings:
Exposure: 30 sec at f/9
Focal Length: 40 mm
ISO Speed Rating: ISO 100
Lens: E PZ 16-50 mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
Camera: Sony a6000

Since it is first time that I have tried to make few night, long exposure photographs I hope that you will help me a little bit with advice's to improve them. In my folder I have uploaded 16 photographs, so if you have time check all of them.


Thank you all

Biggest improvement I could suggest for the first 2 is to check your horizon. Neither are straight which is pretty easy to fix with most software.
Shooting wide open (smaller f stop number) would help to blur the backgrounds (which are generally quite distracting), but you would lose the star trails from your street lights which add to the composition nicely.
With this sort of shot (which I don't do an awful lot) the best bet is trial and error. See what works. Here's a video I watched recently that might be useful on long exposures at night.

 

[emilsi]

Thank you so much for suggestions I will try next time to play with larger aperture and lower ISO. Also, I will pay more attention for my horizon, it is truly off on some photos :/

 

[admwright]

I also like the 'star' effect on the lights - which you only get at small apertures. Like most things in photography you are balancing combinations of settings and getting different effects based on them. It all comes down to your artistic vision for any specific photograph.

 

[TheDrift-]

Nice photo's! If it were me I would.....Straighten,recover detail in church spire, selectively darken,add contrast, but as ever different strokes for different folks

before




after

 

[emilsi]

Thank you for your replies.

@TheDrift - I appreciate that you have showed in the post what could be done with the photograph. I do have Lightroom to edit photos, but I wanted to upload them as they are in order to learn what can be done.