Camera Settings

ISO 10000, f/3.2, 1/125th sec exposure / Sony a6000 & FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA lens

Tip 5: Focus on Detail

This is a shot that one of the kids captured, and I LOVE IT!  Instead of capturing the trails of lights, they did something different.  Notice how the light streaks across the night sky in the other images?  But in this one, the light is very sharp and distinct in both shape and definition.  You see all those hundreds of tiny lights in the middle with definition.  To get this kind of result, you need a faster shutter speed to freeze the action.  That’s why the shutter speed is moving much faster.  We’ve gone from 4 seconds to 1/125th sec.  But this also means we have to increase the ISO for enough light.  And yet, at ISO 10000 there isn’t much grain.  And get this, this photo wasn’t taken with an expensive camera.  This one was shot with the Sony a6000.  Yet, look at how good the image quality is at the high ISO!  Here’s another one!