How to photograph at night ...

[cmezoom56]

I have seen some really nice photographs taken at night where the street lights appear to be shaped like stars. Whenever I photograph at night, my street lights are one big white blob. Am I leaving my shutter open too long? What kind of settings should I use in order to achieve the star shaped street lights?

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

[Niresangwa]

it's a screw on filter*...

...or added in PP.



*other brands of filter available, and other vendors sell these.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

it's a screw on filter*...

...or added in PP.



*other brands of filter available, and other vendors sell these.

Not necessarily.

Some lenses can get the sunstars with just stopping down to f/16 or f/22. In fact that's something a lot of people look for if they plan on doing lots of night work.

If you cant get your lens to do that, then you can use a star filter.

[Izzy]

I can get 8 points if I stop my lens down all the way.

[Athas_orm]

Yeah the number of points the lens produces depends on the lens. Actually on the iris of the lens.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Athas_orm

Yeah the number of points the lens produces depends on the lens. Actually on the iris of the lens.

Number of blades and shape of the blades when stopped down.

[cmezoom56]

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

it's a screw on filter*...

...or added in PP.



*other brands of filter available, and other vendors sell these.

I just ordered a star filter and can't wait to give it a try! Thanks for the link.

[candance]

The screw on filter some are saying is a bokeh effect. You can make them yourselves you just have to know how big your iris is in order to get the effect just right. This will explain how to make it and get the image you want. It's also a lot of fun so I definitely suggest trying it out

DIY - Create Your Own Bokeh | DIYPhotography.net

[RichardTaylor]

Here is an example.
No filters.
A 1531x9o0 pixel version is available via the Flickr photo page.

Camera Canon EOS 5D + Canon 24-105 F4 L IS lens
Exposure 3.2
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire