A Guide to Night Photography
Shooting at night is a cinematic experience every photographer should pursue at least once as their skills and portfolio grows. However, as fun and enjoyable as it may seem, capturing photos in the dark also provides a new learning curve to discover.
In this blog I will be sharing a selection of tips and ideas to help you get the best out of your night photography.
Truth be told, there is a series of added aspects and variables involved when taking photos at night compared to during the day, and therefore a further degree of patience is required. On first attempts, your efforts may result in disorientated images and a blurry mess, but with a matter of practice and dedication, the thought of capturing the bright lights and neon glamour will become a worthwhile fixation and pleasure.
Camera Gear
In order to achieve the best possible results, using a fast prime lens is your best bet. Prime lenses offer the best results because more often than not they always shoot at a constant aperture of f2 or below, allowing you to capture stunning images even in low light with no to little possibility of added penalties such as noise or image grain.
Sources of Light
As far as photography goes, the impact of light is one of the biggest aspects you need to consider, especially during the night. Of course for positive results, it’s best to shoot in areas where the lights shine the most and are a part of everyday life. For example, cities such as Seoul and Tokyo are great for night photography because come night they are flooded with lights. Acting as a fly to a light, you will naturally gravitate towards the source.
Light sources can come in the form of shops, signs, modes of transport or street lamps, anything which produces an adequate degree of light. Providing you have enough backlight in order to produce enough contrasts and colour, you have the main ingredients at your disposal to gain those cinematic shots.
Play with ISO
Carrying on from this, if the light source is failing, don’t be afraid to bump up that ISO to adjust the brightness and exposure of the scene. A common myth within the photography world is that you need to keep the ISO as low as possible to avoid poor results, however the noise can be adjusted and fixed post-edit. To combat this, also adjust your shutter speed accordingly, enough to disarm the realisation of motion blur within your shots, which is something that can’t be fixed.
Stabilisation
With talk of motion blur and shutter speeds coming into the equation, this leads perfectly onto the next point, stabilisation. In order to achieve clear and precise results with your night photography, stabilisation is a key element needed to reach these requirements. With the reduction of shutter speeds, the possibility of motion blur will naturally become harder and harder to avoid.
Therefore you can imply multiple techniques and ideas to reduce the risk of unstable shots and a more stable focus within your photos. Using a neck strap, utilising the viewfinder as a stable base against the forehead, something simple as leaning against an object such as a post or a wall, all these ideas will help you to gain more stable images throughout the night.
Variable Shutter Speeds
However, if you’re struggling with stabilisation and can’t avoid the impact of motion blur, instead use that to your advantage to get creative with your imagery. By slowing the shutter speed right down you can create long exposures and light trails, alongside using the technique of panning and other abstract ideas.
Furthermore, I find that black and white night imagery helps to cover the impacts of motion blur, creating a sense of mystery and resolve, along with images that involve a high degree of texture.
Under Exposure
Practically, yet another idea to help bring out the best within your night photography is to under expose your images. Depending on the amount of light you have at your disposal, under-exposing anything down to -1 will help to enhance your images. Naturally, examples of this will vary on a situation basis, and therefore every image in a subsequent location will differ.
Realistically, you want to be aiming to match the level of brightness on your camera display as it is in real life, and if it’s not, adjust accordingly.
Weathering the Storm
As a bonus tip, when it comes to poor conditions, sometimes it’s profitable to use those to your benefit and to weather the storm. Sure, you may get soaked even with an umbrella, however the flexibility within your photography greatly improves, thanks in most to reflections. Think of it as cinematic heaven, the amount of compositions you will be able to create are endless, and all because the rain helps to enhance the surrounding features, creating symphonies of colour and blinding lights.
