What’s Your Preference?

private · #21 (**permalink**) 10-01-2008, 06:58 PM

Well, I finally got my act in Gear and my son wants to put the tree outside, so that is what I did....Now all I have to do is wait till night fall - its a real simple tree. We will not hang decorations this year - the wood will get ruined by the rain...

FocalFrenzy · #22 (**permalink**) 10-02-2008, 12:56 PM

Hi Pat. Another possibility would be to try using a small flashlight to show the details on the tree. I would suggest a black background, a 3 second exposure, and a quick "On and Off" of the flashlight. I've found that my onboard flash is just way too bright for orange or purple Halloween lights. I've tried bouncing the flash as well as using a diffuser. I've found the flashlight to work best. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I spend all year making my own props for the house and yard displays. (This explains why there are paper-mache' corpses lying around my livingroom in July. LOL) Anyway, alot of my display is designed to be viewed in low light. Some of the items are lit by blacklight and some by LED lights only. Using any type of "Strobe" flash would defeat the desired effect. I have some colored gels, that came with a "Mini-Mag-Lite" in red, green and yellow. This year I plan on trying to see what effect I can get using them instead of the standard flashlight beam. Good luck and let us know what you find works best for you. I'm with the others in hoping you will post a shot of your tree.

sybren · #23 (**permalink**) 10-02-2008, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FocalFrenzy

I've found that my onboard flash is just way too bright for orange or purple Halloween lights.

That's something you have a lot of control over. If you open up your shutter, you give the Halloween lights more time to burn in. You can diminish the amount of light from your flash, and if even the tiniest flash burst is too bright, you can close down your aperture to reduce the effect of the flash even more.

By playing with the ratio between aperture and shutter speed you can gain full control over the ratio between continuous light and flash light.

midwestslp · #24 (**permalink**) 10-05-2008, 07:38 PM

Hi Pat. I may not be able to offer any tips on photographing a Halloween tree, but I can tell you this: You are not alone. My sister also puts up a Halloween tree and we live in Mexico! She's done so since she bought an orange one at Walmart three years ago. I took a few pictures of it last year, but they're not worth posting. I'll try again this year taking all these tips into account. I look forward to seeing yours, though.

Mystique · #25 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by private

ah ha - yes, i was using a flash.... What can I use to get light in the room? We have some floor lamps, should I open the blinds and take the pic in the day so I can get natural light?

P.S. I just used Christmas b/c most people would think I am crazy b/c I also have a Halloween tree...(sheepish grin)

You want to set your settings to P (program mode but not automatic mode) use a tripod and do it in a half dark room. You need to have the lights on for focus (you may have to do manual focus) but once it is focused turn the room lights off and the christmas tree lights on and take your picture. You can also put your camera on manual mode and do 1/4 1/2 1 1.5 2 2.5 second exposures and see which one comes out best but I would use a f/stop of 8 - 11 to kepp it sharp with DOF

private · #26 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 03:02 AM

I have not shot in Auto for some time now - I mostly shoot in Manual. And I of course put the tree outside, I plan on plugging it it bythe middle of the week. I cannot wait to see how it turns out....

wolf21 · #27 (**permalink**) 10-08-2008, 08:56 PM

Found this information about photographing a Christmas Tree...

Quote:

Your camera meter sees the dark green tree and these little light bulbs, and in trying to determine the best exposure, ends up blowing out, or overexposing the light bulbs. Often, the only way it works is to use supplemental strobes and light boxes. Or use your on-camera flash as a fill light. Put your camera on the tripod and compose your picture. Take some test shots on M for manual, not P or A. Adjust your shutter speed and/or f-stop until the Christmas lights look great. Most likely, the rest of the tree will be very dark, and now you use your flash to open up those areas. Turn on the flash on your camera and shoot another. If it looks too "flashed", then go into the menu and reduce the flash output starting at -1; then if you need more, try -1.3, -1.6, -2. Hopefully, something in there will work.

Here's the link: How to Photograph Christmas Lights and Other Holiday Events

Can't wait to see the tree!

ttosifa · #28 (**permalink**) 10-09-2008, 04:30 PM

Earlier in the thread there was some discussion of how to avoid the star effect on the lights. I just found this discussion thread on Strobist which has some fun and useful information for those interested.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/strobis...7607885201353/