Tips for photographing people and city scenes on an evening boat cruise
Asked 9/1/2011
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I’m taking a boat cruise in London in the evening and would like general advice for photographing both people on board and the surrounding landmarks/city lights. I’m comfortable with indoor night photography using bounced flash, but outside on a moving boat I won’t have ceilings or walls to bounce from, and both the boat and background will be moving.
My gear:
- Nikon D7000
- Nikkor 35mm f/1.8
- Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6
- Nikon SB-400
- Yongnuo YN-465
What shooting techniques and camera settings are useful in this situation, especially for portraits on deck and general night scenes from the boat?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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For shooting people - try using a light modifier on your YN-465 like a Gary Fong Lightsphere (or similar product) that will create a more even spread of light. You won't need to bounce your light off anything in this case. Or get a small softbox for your YN-465. Set your flash to 1/2 power or lower to both increase recycle time and conserve batteries. Then shoot in manual mode with an exposure that works.
For example, pretend that you've figured out that your YN-465 at 1/2 power produces enough light for a group portrait at 4 feet away at F2.8, 1/100s, ISO 400 (those are arbitrary settings). Call that your baseline. You can then adjust your settings up or down as the situation changes from your baseline of 4 feet. After a few tries you get pretty good at estimating... i.e. notice your subject is 8 feet away and open up to F1.4, etc...
Originally by user6605. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user6605
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
For people on deck, use the flash directly with a diffuser/modifier rather than relying on bounce. A small softbox or Lightsphere-type modifier on the YN-465 can give a softer, more even spread. Keep flash power around 1/2 or lower to improve recycle time and save batteries, and shoot in manual exposure once you find a workable baseline.
A practical approach is to test a starting combination for a typical distance, then adjust from there. For example, establish settings that work for a group a few feet away, and change aperture/ISO/shutter as subject distance changes.
For the cruise overall, try to shoot more around sunset/twilight if possible—the light is often better than full night and city views can look more colorful. Look for reflections and open views from the water.
Don’t be afraid to raise ISO. On a night boat cruise, higher ISO is often necessary to keep shutter speeds usable and get the shot.
Also, don’t spend the whole trip photographing—take a few strong images, then enjoy the cruise.
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