Publication date: 06.12.2013
Many aspiring photographers have trouble shooting at night. Often night shots come out blurry, too dark or too light, with strange unnatural colors. At first glance, the easiest solution is to avoid shooting at night. In fact, night, and especially evening, is a great time of day to capture cityscapes and architecture. This is due to the fact that most of the buildings are beautifully lit in dark time days, and the light comes on in the windows, and it breathes life into the walls of buildings.
There is such a special time of day, so loved by many photographers, it is called blue hour or regime time. Then the light acquires a characteristic blue tint, and the color of the sky becomes deep and saturated. Objects are illuminated with a bluish light, which we associate with the night. At the same time, there is enough light so that we can see the details of objects, which is impossible in the dead of night. At this time, city lights are best combined with natural light.
PENTAX K-500 SETTINGS: ISO 100, F5.6, 1s, 18.0mm equiv.
The blue hour occurs twice a day: before dawn and immediately after sunset. Unfortunately, in our latitudes it lasts only about 20-30 minutes. To catch this time, you have to try a little. It is better to appear at the shooting location 30 minutes before sunset, so that there is enough time for reconnaissance of the area, choosing a shooting point and leisurely installation and configuration of equipment.
PENTAX K-500 SETTINGS: ISO 400, F7.1, 1/5 s, 22.0 mm equiv.
There are photographers who do not go out at night. Many people get the impression that due to the lack of natural light, everything you shoot will come out blurry, noisy or dark. In fact, in most urban centers there are many photographic opportunities just waiting to be exploited, all with just the light available.
Where to start?
First of all, you need to find a suitable location. I would recommend the bustling city center which has a huge variety of potential subjects to shoot and a choice of light sources such as transportation systems, architecture and details like fountains and statues.
Start in a familiar environment, somewhere where you feel safe and know where the best vantage points and views are. It might even be better to bring a friend with you, just to be on the safe side. You should probably plan your itinerary, stopping at various points of interest. This will give your walk a certain structure, and you will be able to work in a variety of conditions.
It's a question of time
So, when you have decided where you are going, you should think about the time at which you will visit the chosen place. Check online when the sun goes down and plan your outing around given time. My favorite time to shoot is twilight, so I arrive about half an hour before sunset. In this way you can work at the twilight hour before it gets dark and you start your work in the dark.
Shutter priority
I recommend that you start by putting your camera in shutter priority mode, which allows you to judge the amount of light needed for specific types of shots based on the availability of natural and artificial light.
Try starting with 1 or 2 seconds, depending on whether you are working with static or moving lights. Since you are letting enough light into the camera by using an adequate shutter speed, you can afford low ISO settings to get a sharp shot.
If you're comfortable working in full manual then I suggest choosing a narrow aperture, around f/12 to f/16, which will allow you to get more depth of field for wide-angle shots.
What is the temperature?
You should shoot in RAW not only because given format provides versatile options for editing pictures taken in difficult lighting conditions, but also because it is extremely useful for changing the white balance. The light sources available in urban environments vary greatly and therefore the color temperature of the light also varies, so it's important to be able to control the white balance in post-production.
Gear Up
Given that you'll be working at slow shutter speeds, handheld shooting will be impossible, so you'll need a few pieces of equipment to get crisp, sharp shots. First of all, it is extremely important to have a stable tripod in combination with a remote control, which will allow you to shoot hands-free and avoid any accidental shake.
It's also good to work with a wide angle lens, mostly because in the city there are restrictions on vantage points and where you can sit, so something like 18mm or 24mm is ideal and will allow you to fit the whole view into the frame. entirely. It is also worth attaching a lens hood to the lens, which is usually used in very bright conditions, but in the city there is a huge variety of light sources, which can lead to unwanted flare.
What is the subject of the shoot?
In a nighttime urban space, anything that emits light can be considered as a potential subject. For starters, you can take pictures of office buildings, hotels, storefronts, and architecture in general. Don't forget to consider architectural details just because it's dark outside.
Through the use of slow shutter speeds, these subtleties may not necessarily be revealed in the way they are perceived in daylight. Street lights will also help you, providing additional lighting in any situation.
Catch the moving lights
In addition to stationary light sources, there are a huge number of moving ones that can lead to extremely attractive images. Cars, trains¸ buses, trams and Ferris wheels can be used to capture light trails on long exposure.
Use shutter priority mode to choose the right amount of time for a given light source to pass through the frame, resulting in a light trail in the image. One useful technique is to calculate the required time before shooting so you know what shutter speed to choose, keeping in mind that there may be some variation depending on the speed of the light source.
With all the talk about shutter speed, it's easy to forget about other elements of the shot, like composition. Once you've got everything set up the way you want it, think about the placement of the elements in the frame, do the light trails lead into or through the frame? Think about the surrounding architecture surrounding your lights and how you can use the rule of thirds.
Playing with zoom
There are also a couple of fun techniques you can try out to enhance your city night shots. You need a standard zoom lens for this, just select your light source and make sure the lens is at its maximum zoom position.
Press the shutter button, and while the exposure continues, move the zoom one full turn, ending as close as possible to the moment the shutter closes. This should give you the effect of light rushing towards the viewer. Now try doing it in the opposite direction, starting as close as possible and gradually moving away.
Night city panoramas
Creating a great panorama depends on finding a good vantage point, so head a little further from the city center and look for a high point from which you can fully see the city skyline. It is definitely preferable to find a vantage point in daylight and wait until dark to avoid searching in the dark.
Look for a strong composition that includes differences in building heights and an element of interest throughout the frame. Experiment with exposure times to get the right exposure to ensure that all light sources are clearly visible, highlighting the outlines of buildings.
Now it's your turn!
So now it's your turn. There are a huge number of methods and options for working at night, especially given the variety of city views to choose from. Once you've photographed cities you're already familiar with, it's time to explore the vast selection of subjects in the new territory.
I find I have much more visual awareness when I'm working in terrain I don't yet know. I am attracted to details and features that I would otherwise ignore if I were just working on the familiar streets of my hometown.
Many thanks to Mike fromManchester photographicfor the inspiration for this article.
Shooting at night or in the dark. Oh yeah.
This is what people think about the least when buying a camera and what they come to very quickly. Night shooting is so romantic.
Technically, shooting handheld in the dark is not difficult, but there are a number of significant limitations that reduce it to the level of impossibility or unacceptable quality:
- Long exposure due to low light
- High ISO due to slow shutter speed
- Digital noise due to high ISO
How do beginner photographers "correctly" take pictures at night ?!
Undemanding young photographers raise the built-in flash and click the shutter with gusto, blinding everyone around. The more attentive, not necessarily the more experienced, frown in displeasure at the sight of flat faces, red eyes, and unnatural grotesque lighting.
Others, who have read photo blogs with answers on how to take pictures and have already bought a tripod, suddenly discover that apparently still people are very mobile when shooting at slow shutter speeds. Say hello to blurry photos and a Manfrotto tripod for a lot of money. :)
Still others joyfully raise ISO, especially if a SLR camera allows you to raise ISO to over 25k +, and then sigh sadly, looking at photographs hopelessly spoiled by digital noise.
Fourth are faced with incorrect autofocus. It seems like the camera is aimed, but not in the right direction and not in the same way, in general. Or it refuses to focus at all.
These are the main problems that our photographer will visit when trying to photograph something at night or just in the dark. However, the good news is that these problems are completely solvable, if approached skillfully.
When talking about night photography, you need to know that there are two main photo accessories that make night photography very easy. It:
- Flash. external or built-in
- Tripod
And now we'll talk about how to photograph at night with and without them. And, since you are a beginner photographer, we will start with their absence.
How to take pictures at night without a flash?!
In this type of photography, the novice photographer has the following choices in how to shoot:
- Using a tripod
- With high ISO(ISO)
The bottom line is to ensure that the shutter speed on the camera is sufficient to exclude a blurry photograph.
What happens if you raise the ISO when shooting at night?!
By raising the ISO, you can reduce the shutter speed to a value that will allow you to get a clear picture, without shaking or blurring.
This method is good for everyone, except for one point:
Raising the ISO leads to more digital noise, and the worse the matrix of your camera, the stronger the digital noise will be in the photo.
By the way, raising the ISO always leads to the appearance and amplification of digital noise. It doesn't matter when and how you photograph: day or night.
How to shoot at night or in the dark with a tripod?!
The smartest thing you can do if you want to photograph something in the dark is to use a tripod.
A tripod can be anything: expensive or cheap, with or without a swivel head. Its task is only to ensure the complete immobility of the camera during night photography. Yes, actually, and not only at night.
Thanks to the tripod, you can use any slow shutter speeds that will allow you to use your digital camera without any fear of blur or movement on the frames. You will not have any need to raise the ISO.
In other words, if you are photographing with a tripod, then ISO can be set to its minimum value.
If there is no tripod, i.e. If you are a completely new photographer, you can use any surface suitable for laying the camera and ensuring its stillness when taking pictures.
How to take pictures at night with a flash?!
To begin with, you must understand that any flash, whether it be mounted or built-in, can only illuminate a few meters and, therefore, it will not work to illuminate the entire Moscow Kremlin with a flash.
Flashes are good for night photography of portraits, small interiors or buildings, and the like. In general, all that is enough lighting from this very flash.
The process of shooting night photography with a flash is simple.
We raised the built-in / turned on and set up the external one and take pictures to your health. As a rule, any Kenon / Nikon / Pentax / Sony / Samsung flash works fine in automatic or semi-automatic mode on its own camera, which makes life a lot easier for a novice photographer.
The details of using the flash are described in the instructions for your camera or the flash itself, and we’ll talk a little further about using the flash when shooting portraits at night.
How to shoot at night without a tripod?!
As already mentioned, trying to work out photography in the dark is fraught with long exposure, and not gopniks, as you might think. Alas and ah, but a novice photographer has only two options for taking pictures at night and without a tripod, i.e. from hand:
- Use high ISO
- use flash
The problems that give rise to both of these options for night photography have already been discussed a little higher.
How to photograph portraits at night with a digital camera?!
Basically, there are three options for how you can shoot portraits of people or just people themselves at night:
- Using built-in or external flash
- Using high ISO
- Using a tripod and flash
Taking a portrait at night using the flash
When using the built-in head-on flash, you will get fairly flat lighting and correspondingly flat faces of your friends. Red-eye and harsh shadows go hand in hand with a photo taken this way.
In general, the sensations from such photographs are terrible, and therefore, I strongly do not recommend using the built-in flash.
Night portraits are much better when using an external flash with a rotary head, i.e. the flash can be directed in different directions and operate with light reflected from a wall or ceiling, which gives softer and better portrait lighting.
The problem with external flashes is that they are quite expensive. Canon / Nikon flashes with rotary heads are quite expensive. The cost of Pentax flashes generally drives into quiet horror.
The situation with outbreaks is saved by the Chinese manufacturer of flashes of the YongNuo brand.
But there is another problem here: most of the YongNuo flash models require manual adjustment, which imposes higher requirements on the skills of a novice photographer. At a minimum: knowledge of exposure, exposure pairs and shooting in manual mode on the camera.
How to take pictures at night at high ISO !?
When taking a photo, by setting a high ISO, you can get a pretty good shot that will have the right to life and that will retain all the naturalness of the lighting in the photo.
However, be sure that shooting in the dark, through raising the ISO, is not an activity for the faint of heart photographers, because the abundance of digital noise in the picture will be colossal, especially when shooting with a cheap digital camera such as a digital zoom or a soap dish.
And so it can be concluded that at night, with a high ISO, only advanced cameras with fast optics shoot well. In principle, one can not assume, because this is exactly what happens.
Remember: if you are using a tripod, then you do not need to set a high ISO for any kind of photography.
How to shoot portraits of people at night using a tripod and flash?!
Now we come to the most important thing: how to take a picture good portrait at night?!
From the title, you already understood that you need to use a tripod and a flash. The problem with this approach to photography lies in the fact that it is necessary to work out the person being portrayed and everything that surrounds him. Especially the background.
And the kind of night shooting that allows all this is called "slow sync photography" by "front or rear curtain." You mount your camera on a tripod, set the exposure to work out the background, and turn on slow rear-curtain sync.
What happens with this type of photography?!
The camera will expose the background and turn on the flash automatically at the last moment of exposure, which will allow you to get a clear portrait of a person in the foreground, without blurring and stirring.
You can do the same thing, but completely in manual mode on the camera. As a rule, this allows you to get a photo with better developed shadows and lighting.
Photographing a portrait in a fully manual mode with a tripod and flash
This photo is taken as follows:
- Mounting the camera on a tripod
- We select the manual shooting mode on the camera and select the exposure to work out the background or background.
- We select the flash power for sufficient illumination of the person in the foreground.
- Enable slow rear-curtain sync
- Set the timer on the camera and press the shutter button on the camera.
The flash should not be overly powerful. We only need to highlight the person, not tearing him away from the background visually. You can find a description of how slow synchronization mode is enabled on your camera in its instructions.
This is the most efficient and effective method photography at night, which guarantees a high-quality night portrait of a person without blur, movement and a low level of digital noise due to the lack of the need to raise the ISO.
Combining high ISO, flash and a tripod is useless, because in their essence they all contradict each other.
According to the tradition of the photoblog, about the photo from the article:
This is one of the first pictures I took at night. Photographing was carried out late at night in a fully manual mode of the camera without a flash and a tripod.
I compensated for the lack of a tripod by laying the camera on some kind of fence. Not as convenient as with a tripod, but the stillness of the camera during shooting was ensured and, therefore, there was no need to turn up the ISO when shooting.
The selection of the exposure made it possible to obtain detailed moonlight on the mountains, in the very background. By the way, this study confuses inexperienced photographers so much that they take this line of mountains for some kind of image processing defect.
Using a slow shutter speed blurred the surface of the water, but I chose it in such a way that I still retain a slight ripple of the waves on the water.
Bonus for those who have read this far. Please note that all the lights in the photo have elongated rays, like stars.
A similar effect can be obtained when using a closed aperture i.e. the aperture value is in the range of 12-16, and the more you close the aperture, the more the rays will be stretched.
In general, it turned out to be quite a good interesting photo taken at night. So romantic.
Once you receive your new camera, you should spend some time tweaking it to suit your individual needs. This is also true when preparing for night photography.
The camera should be set up to maximize your chances of getting a good shot, and in this article you'll find examples of settings specifically designed to help night photographers unleash their potential.
Armed with this knowledge, you can safely go to the settings menu of your camera. The tips in this article will save you time, streamline your workflow, and reduce the chance of making mistakes.
Night Scene: Set it and forget it
If you have owned a camera for some time, then you are most likely already familiar with the menus used to control and configure this marvel of modern technology. If not, then you will have to spend some time reading the instructions to master the menu items and tabs.
Menu organization on modern DSLRs can be quite complex, with options for every conceivable setting. But don't worry - you'll probably never use about 90% of these options, so most of them can be left at their defaults.
Night shooting: Everything ingenious is simple!
"Don't make it harder!" This phrase should become your mantra.
The first step in setting up a newly purchased digital camera should be setting the right time and place. Subsequently, this information, along with many other camera settings, will be embedded in the EXIF metadata of your images. Correct setting and displaying this information is very important for managing the photos in your library - all files will be displayed in chronological order. For example, I always include the camera model, date, and source file format in the image name.
That way, just by looking at the title of a photo, I can quickly tell which camera it was taken with, when, and what was the original aspect ratio. I also include copyright information in EXIF, including my name and address. Email. This ensures that your name and contact information is available to anyone who may wish to purchase or use one of your images, and is proof of your authorship.
In the image above, you can see an example of the information stored in digital camera files. It includes exposure data, metering mode, lens used, and other useful data.
Be sure to format the memory card in the camera before shooting. It is advisable to do this every time before shooting. Make sure you format the card on the camera and not on a computer, tablet, or other device, as this ensures data integrity and helps prevent errors when images are written to the card. Be very careful at this stage - do not forget to save all the images on the card before formatting it.
Setting up the camera for night photography
After completing the initial steps listed above, it's time to set up the camera for shooting. To do this, you will need to decide on your preferences, based on what you are going to shoot, how to edit the resulting image, as well as a number of other important criteria. Below are examples of the most important settings used for night photography.
Selecting a shooting mode
Almost all modern digital SLR cameras have a shooting mode dial that allows you to select one of the modes, the main of which are Manual (M), Aperture Priority (A or AV), Shutter Priority (S or TV), Program (P).
You can control exposure by changing one of three parameters: aperture, shutter speed, or ISO sensitivity. Having a lot of experience with fully manual film cameras, I set up my DSLR cameras much like their predecessors, and almost always work in manual mode. Manual mode allows you to control the amount of light entering the camera, giving you access to all .
Sometimes I use Aperture Priority for night photography. In such cases, I set the aperture value, for example, f / 8, and the camera selects the shutter speed for the correct exposure. Shutter priority mode and Program mode for shooting at night are of little use, so it makes no sense to consider them.
So, having decided that the optimal mode for shooting at night is Manual, we move on.
Adjusting the image quality
Given the presence of a large number of light sources in night photography, it is best to shoot in RAW. Shooting in this format has several advantages, which are discussed below.
RAW gives you complete control over appearance of your images in post-processing, allowing you to work with white balance and color balance. In JPEG or TIFF, unlike RAW, the colors are "baked" into the file, which leaves the photographer with very little room for color manipulation.
The dynamic range of RAW images is significantly higher than that of JPEGs. RAW uses up to 16 bits of data for each of the RGB channels. This makes the images more contrasty. JPEG uses only eight bits of data for each of the red, green, and blue channels, which is equivalent to about seventeen million different colors. This figure may seem impressive, but even with so many colors available, you can end up with stripes and other unwanted artifacts in your photo.
The advantages of JPEG include a smaller file size, which saves space on the memory card. However, size reduction is known to be achieved at the expense of image compression, which can lead to unwanted artifacts that are visible on closer inspection. If you want to shoot in JPEG, choose the highest quality available to minimize the chance of compression artifacts.
RAW can be shot without compression, which leads to big size image files (especially for cameras with a resolution greater than 24 megapixels). When shooting in RAW, compression algorithms can also be used that reduce the file size, for example, the lossless compressed RAW format, choosing which you will save space on the memory card and will not see any compression artifacts in the photo. This option is most suitable for photography at night.
Choosing a Color Space
I'm using the S-RGB color space set by default on the camera. Adobe RGB theoretically has a larger color range, but it's also more difficult to process. So S-RGB is a sure bet.
Selecting a Metering Mode
Your camera's built-in exposure meter probably has several different modes for shooting in different lighting conditions, such as Matrix (Evaluative), Center-weighted, and Spot metering.
For shooting at night, Matrix (Evaluative) is the most suitable, as it gives more accurate results in most situations that you may encounter when shooting at night.
white balance
If you shoot in RAW, the white balance settings may not bother you - they are easy to change when editing the image.
By the way, this is another argument in favor of shooting in RAW - after all, if you set the white balance incorrectly when shooting in JPEG or TIFF, you risk irreparably ruining the photo.
Focus mode
This setting depends on whether you are using a manual or auto focus lens. When using an autofocus lens, it is better to select the single focus mode (AF-S or One Shot AF).
For night photography, I usually use the following sequence: -2EV, -1EV, 0EV, +1EV, +2EV . Thus, I get 5 frames with a 4-stop exposure range.
virtual horizon
If your camera has a function available, use it. It can be extremely handy for leveling the horizon in low light conditions where you don't have a clear view of the horizon line.
Excerpt
Most night photos are taken at shutter speeds between 1 and 10 seconds, although almost all modern cameras allow you to set shutter speeds up to 30 seconds. If you need a slower shutter speed, set the camera to Bulb mode and use the cable release or remote control to hold the shutter button for as long as necessary.
More useful information and news in our Telegram channel"Lessons and Secrets of Photography". Subscribe!- Set ISO to 6400
- Set your desired aperture
- Set shutter speed to 1 second
Find the right exposure for night shooting can be quite a challenge, and will certainly require some trial and error. In this article you will learn useful information on how to minimize your learning path. Follow the tips below and shortest time your night shots will be much better.
Colorful lights on the bridge.
Behind the scenes:ISO200 aperturef/8, shutter speed 90 seconds, white balance Incandescent, 80-200mm lensf/4.5 Nikkor.
Night view of the bridge
Behind the scenes:ISO200 aperturef/8, shutter speed 25 seconds, white balance Fluorescent lamps, 50 mm lensf/1.8 D Nikkor.
What you need for night photography
Tripod
If you are photographing at night, the shutter speed should be long enough (in any case, from 1 to 30 seconds or even more). Since it is completely impossible to hold the camera still for such a long time, you will need a stable tripod so that the camera does not move at all during the exposure. To add stability, you can hang your photo bag (or other heavy object) on the tripod hook. This is especially true in windy weather.
Long exposure of plants illuminated by street lamps at night.
Behind the scenes:ISO400 aperturef/4, shutter speed 30 seconds, white balance Incandescent, 50 mm lensf/1.8 D Nikkor.
A golden plant illuminated by street lamps at night.
Behind the scenes:ISO400 aperturef/4, shutter speed 30 seconds, white balance Incandescent, 50 mm lensf/1.8 D Nikkor.
Remote shutter release
With long exposures, any movement of the camera will break the frame, making it soft or blurry. To make sure you get a clear image, use the remote shutter release (trigger). It is best to use a type of remote control that also works as a remote timer. If you don't have a remote shutter release, use the camera's self-timer. The only downside to the self-timer is that you can set your shutter speed to 30 seconds or less. If you don't have a lot of light, then you can always increase your aperture (lower f-number) or increase your ISO to speed up your shutter speed.
Foliage illuminated by lanterns.
Behind the scenes:ISO200 apertureff/2.8 D Nikkor.
Colorful plants and trees.
Behind the scenes:ISO200 aperturef/5.6, shutter speed 30 seconds, white balance Fluorescent lamps, 24 mm lensf/2.8 D Nikkor.
Night camera settings
Shoot inRAW
With image quality in mind, you should strive to shoot in RAW format. It stores more pixel information and doesn't compress the image at all. RAW gives you more post-processing options, including white balance correction. If the picture was over- or under-exposed, you can easily fix it if the RAW format is selected.
ISO
When shooting with little light available, it is best to use low ISO value(400 and below) and more time exposure. This is important as you won't get too much noise (grain) in the image. Also make sure you use the slow shutter speed noise reduction feature in your camera settings.
Yellowed leaves and floating clouds at night.
Behind the scenes:ISO200 apertureff/1.8 D Nikkor.
Tree in the wind at night.
Behind the scenes:ISO400 aperturef/2.8, shutter speed 30 seconds, white balance Incandescent, 50 mm lensf/1.8 D Nikkor.
Use manual mode
When shooting in low light, your camera may not be able to read the scene well enough. Therefore, it is best to use manual mode, where you control both aperture and shutter speed. To find the basis for the correct exposure, you can use the following technique:
Take a test shot with these settings to get an idea of how the shot turns out. Note that these settings are almost equivalent to a 1 minute exposure at ISO 100, a 30 second exposure at ISO 200, a 15 second exposure at ISO 400, etc. exposure and 6400. This will be the equivalent of a 30 second exposure at ISO 100, 15 seconds at ISO 200 and 8 seconds at ISO 400. This is a very good guide with which you can easily determine which shutter speed to use.
Autumn leaves in motion.
Behind the scenes:ISO400 aperturef13, shutter speed 30 seconds, white balance Fluorescent lights, 24mm lensf/2.8 D Nikkor.
Trees and clouds in motion at night.
Behind the scenes:ISO400 aperturef/5.6, shutter speed 30 seconds, white balance Incandescent, 50 mm lensf/1.8 manual modeNikkor.
If you use the trick above, you won't be wasting your time trying out long exposures. Shooting at night and so takes a lot of time. Be sure to switch the ISO back to 400 or lower before taking photos.
In scenes where there is sufficient light (such as places with lots of street lights), you can use Aperture Priority instead of Manual.
Finally
Shooting at night can be tricky and takes a lot of practice. Over time, you will get a sense of the amount of light in the night scene, and you will be able to navigate the necessary settings with relative ease. I hope that the information provided in this article will help you to make beautiful photos long exposure shots that don't need a lot of post-processing.
