| | Lance Keimig and Chip Forelli: Nighttime Exposure Guidelines for Film
The exposure guidelines that follow are teaching tools used by Lance
Keimig and Chip Forelli, both of whom are highly experienced
instructors of night photography workshops. As one may note by
comparing the divergence between the two lists, these settings are
merely a rough starting point. When shooting at night, the best results
can often be had not by consulting a list but by going with what feels
right. Unless otherwise noted all times are for an aperture of f/8. In
all cases, for snow scenes, cut exposures in half!
Lance Keimig Guidelines |
Chip Forelli Guidelines |
Street Scenes, Urban Areas |
Average Brightness, High Contrast Lighting (try metering first) |
ISO 64 - EPY, RTP - 5, 10, 20 seconds |
ISO 64/100: EPY, RTP, TMX, Delta 100 - 15, 30 sec., 1 min. |
ISO 100 - Acros B&W - 3, 6, 15 seconds |
No data |
ISO 160- Pro color negative – 5 - 10 seconds |
ISO 160: NPS, NPL, Portra - 30 seconds, 1, 2 min. |
ISO 400- Pro color negative – 3 - 10 seconds |
ISO 400: HP5, TriX, Color Negative - 10, 20, 45 sec. |
No data |
ISO 400: TMY, Delta 400 - 5, 10, 20 seconds |
ISO 800- Pro color negative – 2 - 6 seconds |
No data |
ISO 3200 (rated at 1600) - .5, 1, 2 seconds at f4 |
ISO 3200: (rated at 1600) - 1, 2, 4 seconds |
Bright Lights in Scene, Very High Contrast Lighting |
ISO 64- EPY, RTP - 2, 4, 10 seconds |
ISO 64/100: EPY,RTP, TMX, Del. 100 - 5, 10, 20 sec. |
ISO 100 Acros - 1, 3, 10 seconds |
No data |
ISO 160- Pro color negative - 2, 8 seconds |
ISO 160: NPS, NPL, Portra -10, 20, 45 seconds |
ISO 400- Pro color negative - 1, 5 seconds |
ISO 400: HP5, TriX, Color negative - 4, 8, 15 seconds |
No data |
ISO 400: TMY, Delta 400 - 1, 2, 4 seconds |
ISO 800- Pro color negative - .5 - 2 seconds |
No data |
ISO 3200 (rated at 1600) - .25, .5, 1 seconds at f4 |
ISO 3200: (rated at 1600) - .5, 1, 2 seconds |
Darker Urban Area, No Direct Light |
ISO 64- EPY, RTP - 3, 5, 10 minutes |
ISO 64/100: EPY, RTP, TMX, Delta 100 - 2, 4, 8 min. |
ISO 100 Acros - 1, 3, 10 minutes |
No data |
ISO 160- Pro color negative - 1, 2, 5 minutes |
ISO 160: NPS, NPL, Portra - 3, 6, 12 minutes |
ISO 400- Pro color negative - 30 seconds - 3 minutes |
ISO 400: HP5, TriX, Color negative - 2, 4, 8 minutes |
No data |
ISO 400: TMY, Delta 400 - 30 seconds, 1, 2 minutes |
ISO 800- Portra, NPZ - 30 seconds - 2 minutes |
No data |
ISO 3200 (rated at 1600) - 2, 4, 10 seconds at f4 |
ISO 3200: (rated at 1600) - 4, 8, 15 seconds |
Moonlight: |
ISO 64 - EPY, RTP 20-30 minutes |
ISO 64/100: EPY, RTP, TMX, Delta 100 - 20 - 30 min. |
ISO 100- Acros 10 - 15 minutes |
No data |
ISO 160- Pro color negative 8-12 minutes |
ISO 160: NPS, NPL, Portra - 15 - 20 minutes |
No data |
ISO 400: HP5, TriX - 15 – 20 minutes |
ISO 400- Pro color negative 5-10 minutes |
ISO 400: Color negative - 10 – 15 minutes |
No data |
ISO 400: TMY, Delta 400 - 5 - 10 minutes |
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