Time lapse photography newbie...help!
Jstein
I have recently started experimenting with time lapse photography. I
have successfully shot sequences during the day & during the night but
where I'm having trouble is shooting a time lapse that runs during
both. Last night in fact, I set up to shoot the sun rising over the
street from my window. I set the program to start from 4:30 to
10:30. About half way through, the images started gradually getting
washed out and unreadable. I was under the impression that when
shooting time lapse the camera should be set to manual exposure with
white balance locked in. If this is the case, and you are not around
to adjust the camera, how does one take long time lapses? I am
shooting a Canon Rebel XTI with DSLR photo software for Windows. Any
help you can provide would be much appreciated. Thanks,
-Jesse
Matt Ion
When I was taking an Audio Production program many years ago, I had an
instructor who from day one indoctrinated us with this piece of wisdom:
"There are no rules, only guidelines."
Manual exposure in this instance, is only a guideline, not a rule. Rule
may be made to be broken, but guidelines are just that: guides. They
can be ignored at will when necessary to your situation or desired results.
The dynamic range of what you're trying to shoot is simply far too wide
for a locked-in manual exposure. WB range may also be too wide for a
locked-in setting. You'll probably want to at least go to an automatic
exposure program... depending on your results, you may find AWB helpful
as well. You may even want to babysit the rig and adjust exposure
manually with each frame.
The beauty of digital is that you can do all the experimentation you
want without having to worry about film costs :)
bugbear
Alternatively, shoot bracketed shots, and either select, or correct,
or use HDR.
White Balance is a non issue (IMHO), since it can be post corrected.
Include a test item in frame (e.g. white card) if you want accuracy.
BugBear