Shooting in clouds/mist

[woofie]

Just wondering if someone can help me out.

Went for a drive today to a nice little spot up in the mountains, and well it's nothing unusual for there to be low clouds thus giving a mist/fog look & feel. I was wondering though what would be the best settings for me to try and shoot this? Today I found I was using a high ISO (1600/800) due to be semi dark 1/80s and F/8 to F/11.

I know I couldn't use a flash as it's just to bright with the reflection from the cloud/mist. I was happy with the lighting when using 1/80s & F8 but the photo looks grainy.

What is a good way to make it look more sharp when shooting in these conditions?

Thanks for any hints/tips in advanced.

[old dog]

as far as I can tell, probably the only way is to use a tripod, thereby allowing you to use lower iso`s.

[dbax]

always difficult shooting in mist/fog, longer exposures mean a tripod as OD mentioned, best advice is to post one or two shots that you took and get specific feedback.:D

[woofie]

Here is two of the shots it that helps. Any help to make them sharper/clearer next time I go up would be great.

[wideangle]

Invest in a good sturdy tripod, as that will then take your mind off having to use a high ISO that will introduce noise into your shots as well as negate the issue of camera shake due to slow speeds. Shooting in misty and cloudy conditions can be difficult because of the reflective light that can play havoc with the light metering. Using digital is of benefit here as you can check the histogram to make sure that your are pushing it as far to the right as possible without losing highlight details.

[Mikepaus]

In these conditions it is almost a must to use a tripod and set your iso to 200. If possible a remote or use your timer to fire your camera. Another thing I use in these situations is to braket your shots changing the aperture then use one software High Dynamic Range (HDR) software. Their are a number of free HDR software sites just type it into google. This site offers free software and a good description of using HDR.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-high-dynamic-range-hdr-software.htm

Have fun

Mike

[Freya]

I agree, a tripod will help greatly! I must say that your two photos are very atmospheric though!

[ZedEx]

In these conditions it is almost a must to use a tripod and set your iso to 200. If possible a remote or use your timer to fire your camera. Another thing I use in these situations is to braket your shots changing the aperture then use one software High Dynamic Range (HDR) software. Their are a number of free HDR software sites just type it into google. This site offers free software and a good description of using HDR.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-high-dynamic-range-hdr-software.htm

Have fun

Mike

This is actually quite bad advice. You do NOT change the apeture in HDR imaiging, as this changes the depth of field between each bracketed shot, and also image sharpness will vary throughout the apeture range.
You must only adjust the shutter speed, and the shutter speed only (set camera to A or Av mode, turn off auto ISO if your model has this feature). Focus on something, then lock, the lens to manual focus and do not adjust focus between each bracketed shot.

To the OP, just get a tripod. That's what will help. If you could get it down to 200ISO from 1600ISO that will knock off 3 stops so you'd have been shooting at 1/10th. I'd then get the image into photoshop and have a play with Levels to get the contrast back into the foreground a bit

[SerenityGate]

When I'm unsure of the lighting, I use bracketing, but i use the AE in 1 stop high and low just in case.
On a tripod and use the timer.
Unfortunately, the D300s doesn't use the wonderful $30 IR remote that the D80 uses.
Very moody, good-looking shots nevertheless.

Peace & Happiness
Geoff

[swifty]

And if u don't have/want to use a tripod, drop your shutter speed to 1/40th (should be adequate for hand holding for the focal lengths in your example), drop the iso to 200, open up the aperture 1-2 stops. In your examples I don't think dof is a problem so eg. f5.6 should be adequate. At iso 200 there really shouldn't be much noise and select the minimum shutter speed u can hand hold.
Don't think hdr is necessary since foggy shots usually means lack of contrast rather than too much.
There's no one good setting for fog. It'll depend on your light conditions. Avoid flash cos u'll just light up the foreground fog and see nothin behind it.

[franko]

Contrast in these situations is relatively low so HDR is completely unnecessary. Do bracket your exposures and capture in RAW and you'll have more than enough latitude to post produce a complete dynamic range in your final image. Also I don't know from your post whether or not you use auto ISO (don't!) or one of the auto exposures (again, don't). Also if you were shooting at 1/80 at f8 you could have used 1/160 at f5.6 for the same exposure and less camera movement.

[Steve Axford]

Mist/fog is one of the best lighting conditions you can get! Use a tripod or rest the camera against a tree to keep it steady and then use the aperture you would normally use. I agree with franko - forget HDR, but do shoot in RAW (with or without clothes :) )