Night Photography Tips
Night photography opens up a wealth of photographic possibilities!
City streets are at their most colorful when street lights are aglow. Sunsets create dramatic settings that make landscapes a great subject for night photography. Really, the possibilities are endless! You can create beautiful low-light night photos with the basic DSLR camera and kit lens that you’ve purchased. All DSLR’s camera have the essential tools and image quality needed for excellent night photography. “Point and Shoot” cameras with some degree of manual control can also be used for creative night photography. Here are a few basic tips that will have you creating exciting photos at night in no time.
1. Use a Tripod
A sturdy tripod is the best tool for getting sharp photos at night. Yes, I know, they’re a pain to carry around. However, this is the best way to insure that your low-light photos are sharp. Many recent cameras and lenses have Vibration Reduction or Shake Reduction features built in, to give you sharp photos at lower shutter speeds. However, the best way to insure that you obtain the sharpest low light photos is to use a tripod. You can generally find a sturdy model that fits your budget. Just make sure that the model you purchase is rated to carry the total weight of the camera and lens you plan to use.
2. Use Your Camera’s Aperture Mode Setting
By selecting the aperture, you allow the camera to select any shutter speed it requires for the proper exposure. F:8 – F:13 aperture settings on modern APS-C sensor DSLR cameras will insure that the entire landscape or cityscape will be in sharp focus from front to back with typical 18-55mm kit lenses. Most point and shoot digital cameras with smaller sensors should produce sharp images with F:4 – F:5 aperture settings. Here again, a tripod is good insurance against blur as shutter speeds can be one second or longer in night photography. It is also generally a good idea to select your camera’s lowest ISO speed to insure noise free, top quality images. Wikipedia provides a detailed definition of lens aperture to help you better understand this important feature of camera lens.
3. Use A Cable Release, Self-Timer or Remote Shutter Control
Use a cable release, remote shutter control, or the camera’s self-timer to activate the shutter. This eliminates any chance of vibration caused by manually clicking the shutter with your hand. I generally find using the camera’s two-second or ten second self-timer perfectly suitable with a tripod mounted camera. Many DSLR camera have a mirror-lockup feature on the 2-second Self-Timer setting. Check your camera manual for this (DSLR cameras only, point & shoot models do not have mirrors). It is a great feature that insures that the flipping of the mirror before the shutter opens in DSLR camera is eliminated as a potential source of image-blurring vibration. Use it for the sharpest possible photo. You camera manual will show you how to set these features for your model camera. See Wikipedia for an in-depth explanation of mirror-lockup.
4. Set White Balance to Daylight
By default, most digital cameras have white balance set on Auto. However, the Auto setting will not give the most vivid sunset or evening colors as it will try to correct light color to pure white. This will often remove the beautiful sunset hues that you want to see in your photos. The Daylight or Sunny setting will preserve the vivid sunset colors without attempting to adjust them. Here is an excellent tutorial on camera white balance.
5. Shoot In The Best Light
The best night or evening photos are captured when there is still a bit of color in the sky. This produces more colorful and dramatic images than shooting in near darkness in most cases. The image shown above was shot about fifteen to thirty minutes after sunset to take advantage of last light of the day. This time of the day is typically called “the golden hour” by photographers because of the warm hues and tones produced by the setting sun. When dramatic natural light mixes with street lights the results can be quite attractive. The half hour before, during and just after sunset can be great times to shoot.
6. Review Your Images And Adjust
Compose your photo and shoot using the techniques outlined above. Review you image on your camera’s LCD screen. Do you like the image captured? If it is too dark, use the exposure compensation tool to adjust the exposure for a slower shutter speed. If the photo is too light, use the exposure compensation feature to adjust the exposure for a faster shutter speed. There is no perfect exposure. Experiment by shooting at different exposure compensation settings until the results please your eye.
With these tips and a bit of practice, you will improve your ability to capture beautiful and memorable evening photographs!
Photo: New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ. Camera: Nikon D3000 & 18-55mm kit lens. Photo by Donald Peterson.
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