Night Photography – 5 Quick Tips
View Point by Disco~Stu
So you want to maximise your shooting opportunities and get some shots once the sun has finished setting? Well here are five tips to help you get some good results.
1. To take a photo when there is little or no light about you need to keep the shutter open for a long time to let what light is available into the camera to create an exposure. This means you’ll need to keep the camera rock solid for the length of time the shutter is open or you’ll end up with blurry results. So the you need a sturdy tripod/gorillapod or a stable surface to rest your camera on (such as the floor or a wall).
2. You’d be surprised how much movement you create by pressing the shutter! use the timer mode, a cable release or wireless remote trigger for your camera so that you won’t introduce blur into the final result.
3. Pack a torch! Getting good results at night is difficult enough without trying to set-up and use your camera in the dark the last thing you want to do is break or lose equipment so be prepared. A powerful torch is also really useful for creating highlights over a long exposure by almost painting in lighter areas of the frame.
Forbidden Planet by Myles Smith on Flickr
4. Choose the right subject! unless your going to introduce lots of lighting then it’s probably going to be easier to photograph a static landscape over a long exposure than it would be a small child who can’t sit still for a fraction of a second let alone 15 seconds. Urban landscapes are always interesting as they tend to have lots of lights and traffic trails created over the length of the exposure. Scenes including water are also of interest as the length of the exposure will ‘flatten’ the water and reflections will become very apparent. Special events such as fireworks and bonfires will also look interesting over a long exposure. Try and not forget the basics of a good landscape photograph just because you are concentrating on a night shoot, things like good framing & composition, foreground interest, leading lines etc are all still very important in getting that winning shot!
Bonfire by Paul Broome
5. Pack a spare battery! long exposures will drain your battery fast so make sure your fully charged and ready to roll with spare batteries.
bonus tip…..Wrap up warm and have fun!
Downtown LA at night by Adan Garcia
Weymouth across the mists by Disco~Stu (Stuart Mackenzie)
'Passing By' by Sean McGrath
3 Comments to Night Photography – 5 Quick Tips
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oooh, that’s weird. I was planning on heading out and taking some night shots around town tonight (weather depending)!
very good tips!! I love long exposures, I just hope I can get out soon and try some of these!
Well, I managed to get out tonight… too tired to do it for long though. This is as good as it got:
The best thing about Winter is that you don’t have to wait until 11pm to head out to take night shots! Bring it on, I say!