Glow Effect for Night Shots

With manual controls on a DSLR or advanced bridge camera, you can get some glow effects by setting up your camera for over exposure. What you are doing here is allowing more light to hit the chip than the automatic program mode would allow for. And thereby, you are creating art.

This was shot at ƒ/4.0, 2" shutter, and ISO400

Also, sometimes I like to add a bit of art to my shots by not using a tripod. What, I did in this series was to exhale all my breath and hold the camera tightly against my body while leaning on a rail.

This was shot at ƒ/2.8, 1" shutter, and ISO1600

By doing this you are keeping the camera mostly still. I say mostly, because, no matter how hard you try to keep still, you will move a little bit. And that slight movement translates on camera as movement. And hence makes the shot more interesting.

This was shot at ƒ/2.8, 1" shutter, and ISO3200

The best thing to do is begin to adjust your manual controls and learn what each shot does. Today, you do not even have to log your shot data. Uploading it to Flickr.com will show you the shot data and the camera type. This is an excellent tool for figuring out what works for you and your artistic style.

This was shot at ƒ/2.8, 1" shutter, and ISO3200

Sometimes the same settings on a different subject will yield much different results. The trick here, is that since we are most likely shooting digital, is that you can check your work as you go along and adjust quickly to get the results you want. And eventually, you will be able to figure out what works best for you in whatever condition you face. And by making these technical choices you will be able to create high art by using manual settings.