My very first attempt at night photography, were have I gone wrong?

[MrGeod]

Hi, as well as my first ever night time snap, other than my intro this is also my first post.

I have been trying to take photos (unsuccessfully) since the end of March this year and tonight was my first foray into the night.
This photo was the first taken (there should've been a moth in there) and definitely the best but it looks wrong to me. Please were did I go wrong?






Nex 5n, 1/60s, f8, iso 3200, focal length 18mm

[Designer]

For me, the foreground is over-lit, completely over-powering the background. Perhaps less light on the foreground would have made the difference.

[Manfred M]

George - I'll have to agree with Jim; the foreground overpowers the background. It looks like you blasted the foreground with flash and the background just drops away (look at the bottom right corner and the background). You should try to aim for a more balanced lighting situation. A sturdy tripod and a longer existing light exposure is more likely going to give you a good result.

Compositionally, I'm not sure it works either; the large clump of grass on the left bottom third is rather awkward.

[MrGeod]

Brilliant thanks for the advice very much appreciated. I did use flash but that was accidental, I was moving too fast trying to catch a huge moth. There is a huge spotlight just behind me too, it is used to light up the side of Blackness castle maybe that would have been enough light?


Same settings no flash, is this better?



If my first 10,000 are the worst I've only got abut 4000 to go :@)

[Manfred M]

Generally landscape / seascape shots tend to be done with existing light. The bright pockets of artifical light tend to problematic. Illumination by moonlight, setting sun, etc. work, but generally require a sturdy tripod and a relatively long exposure. Cityscapes, where there is an abundance of artificial light can sometimes be handheld but a tripod doesn't hurt as the exposures tend to be long at wide apertures.

Using a large lightsource like a spotlight can work too; but you have to balance the foreground and background.