Jump to content

Long exposure and subject focus


Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

I’m after some insights. I tried doing a nighttime shoot with the aim of long exposure and using my wife as the subject however she kept turning out blurry but the background worked as expected. 

I was using a tripod, changed the auto focus, lowered the ISO down to 80 but couldn’t get it to work on the X-S20.

Using the 18-55 it maxed out at F4. Is it that the lens wasn’t strong enough? Should I have added some extra external light? 

I’m wanting to try and achieve something like this 

Thank you in advance 

 

Edited by Olaf W.
Photo removed due to copyright reasons
Link to post
Share on other sites

Your lens is okay for this. One common technique is to use a flash in taking the photograph. The light from the flash freezes the subject while the longer shutter speed allows the background motion blurring. It takes a lot of practice and patience.

Use your search engine to look up long exposure portraits. You should find many articles with examples and probably quite a few demonstration videos. Best wishes.

p.s. Welcome to the forum.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Jerryy - that’s amazing ! 
 

Would the built in flash be sufficient or should I explore a 3rd party flash?

I tried searching YouTube previously but were using the wrong search terms so I’ll defiantly try again using your suggestion.

And thank you, looking forward to spending time on the forums 

Link to post
Share on other sites

You might also try searching using the expression: dragging the shutter.

I do think you will get better results using an external flash, but the built-in one can give you an idea of how things like that work.

Let us know how your results go.

edit: corrected spelling mistakes.

Edited by jerryy
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • It is really easy to find out if the wifi is on. Your computer or tablet or cell phone will have a network settings dealing with wifi, bluetooth, ethernet or “other”. Open that up and go into the section for wifi, and take note of which networks are listed. Turn on the camera and keep watching the list of networks. If your camera’s wifi is turned on, a new network should suddenly show up in your computer/tablet/phone’s network listings. Now go into the camera’s menus and start a wireless connection (the x-app or camera remote app can help you with this). You should see a network show up now. It is not hidden because it has to be visible so that your computer/tablet/phone can join the camera’s network to transfer images. Turn the camera off and that network should disappear. Turn the camera back on and see what happens.
    • Sweet Creek Falls, Oregon. X-H1, Viltrox 13mm F1.4, Acros.

      Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

      Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

    • I think my Fuji 150-600 F8 is a brilliant wildlife lens in terms of sharpness, portability and value but the small aperture does cause issues at the start and end of the day - even pushing the ISO as far as I dare, I can see shutter speed down to 1/25s - stabilisation isn't an issue but asking a deer to stand still for that is too much! In the same situation, an F4 would give 1/100s so the difference to the success rate would be phenomenal... and that's without the other improvements like shallower depth of field. I also find that the Fuji's subject detect AF gets pretty iffy in low light - I keep updating to the latest firmware but it doesn't seem to get any better. I was originally looking at the Nikon 500mm F4 E but good examples secondhand are still reasonably expensive but like-for-like Sigma lenses are around half the price. Reviews I have read suggest that they are as good optically, AF performance and IS-wise but you gain a few hundred grams of weight (but less than the older Nikon model). For a couple of grand, I can live with that. Does anyone have any experience mounting one on an XH2S? What about with the 1.4 teleconverter? It feels like that is pushing it anyway - hefty lens + TC + Fringer all sounds a bit...wobbly? It is on the Fringer approved list but I am wary about AF speed in particular. I had also considered looking for a used Nikon 400mm F2.8, which would be even faster (and heavier) and could couple with a TC to give 560mm F4 but again, it is that lens+TC+Fringer combination that worries me as being just too many links in the chain. Of course, what I really want is a native Fuji prime but that doesn't seem to be on the horizon - and if you look at what Nikon and Sony are doing, if Fuji do ever bring out a 500mm prime, it will probably be a small, light and cheapish F5.6, which is only 2/3 stop better than my zoom at the same focal length. Any thoughts anyone?
    • The Amazon link is an annoying feature of this forum - its automatic and is applied to every post for advertising purposes. My question was - how do you know the camera wi-fi is on and requires turning off? I would have thought this would just use up the battery for no purpose if you aren't specifically using a function that requires wi-fi.
    • I've made a point to push Angelbird memory products as they are the best performance cards you can get, The sustained write speed is important.
×
×
  • Create New...