Night Photography
Just because the sun goes down doesn’t mean you have to put your camera down! Night photography is a hoot. With a little preparation you’ll enjoy a whole new area of creativity with your digital SLR.
Taking photos at night usually means keeping your lens shutter open longer – to let more light in. Following are a few tips for getting started:
Use a Tripod
I’ve blogged about the virtues of using your tripod for capturing sharp photos. Shooting at night means you’ll have to use your tripod to keep your camera nice and still while you leave the shutter open a bit longer, maybe even a long bit longer.
Turn off image stabilization (VR)
If you’re using a tripod (even during the daytime) it’s a good idea to turn off the image stabilization (VR – vibration reduction) on your lens, if your lens has it. It’s a little switch on the side. If you leave it on, the lens may inadvertently try to mistakenly stabilize the image and cause some unintended blur.
Keep the Shutter Open
You’ll be using shutter priority mode, or manual mode. You may have to bust out your instruction book (gasp) but it’ll pay off. Experiment with a variety of shutter speeds. If there’s not much light you may have to leave your shutter open for 30 seconds, or even longer. Sometimes it’s fun to leave our shutter open for a few minutes to see what you get. Depending on what you photograph, you’ll discover some fun colors and streaks of light.
The city scape to the right was taken in Shanghai, China. It was 2008, right after the Olympic Games and I was visiting my friend Andy and his lovely wife Pallas when they lived there. I used a tripod, my Nikon D80, my 18-200mm zoom (but only at 24mm – still wide angle), and I left the shutter open for 13 seconds (here’s a link to the detailed information on the Shanghai photo). See all the beautiful colors that were captured? Yes, the colors were all there, but leaving the shutter open “soaked in” all of the goodness and made for a spectacular shot.
Remote Control Shutter Control
Both Canon and Nikon make remote controls for their digital SLR cameras. It’s a like a mini garage door opener for your camera! Only the “door” it’s opening is your shutter. Using a remote control will reduce any kind of jiggle or wiggle that may be caused if you press the shutter button with your finger.
Right After Sunset, or Right Before Sunrise
If you try some “night shots” right after sunset, or right before sunrise, when the sky still has some light in it there’s a dramatic effect. You’ll get color in the sky, but the man-made lights will still be pronounced.
Use Different Sources of Light
- If you use a flash at night you’ll get an interesting effect too
- Try a longer exposure and “paint” your subject with light while the shutter is open
- Try a little lamp shining light on your subject
- Light a match
- Whip out that laser pointer and get creative
Crank Up Your ISO
Another technique for shooting in low light is to use a high ISO. What’s ISO you ask? Here, read my blog post on “What is ISO?” Basically, ISO is your DSLR’s sensitivity to light. So if you’re shooting at night, you want your camera to be sensitive to light, right? There’s a trade-off between higher ISO and graininess (also called “noise”) so if you choose a lower ISO and leave your shutter open longer you’ll still get a clear shot. Play around with it.
Low Light? Use “Fast Glass”
If you’re shooting in low light, or event at night, it can be helpful to use “fast glass.” What’s fast glass you ask? It’s slang for a lens that has a low f-stop number, like the “Thrifty 50.” The low f-stop allows you to shoot at faster shutter speeds with lower light.
So you can see that there’s a wide variety of techniques that will allow you to shoot at night, or in low light. I hope you have fun experimenting with night photography!
