Night Photography Tips
An article by Peter Fellows of Night Photography Tips
Most photographers put their camera away and head for home once the sun has set,
but by staying outdoors and waiting until nightfall you can take stunning pictures
as the world is transformed into a colourful blaze of man-made illumination,
Once daylight fades away streets come alive under the cosy orange glow of artificial
lighting. Shop windows beckon you inside, spot lit buildings stand out vividly against
the velvety blue sky, and neon signs flicker enticingly outside pubs, clubs, hotels
and cinemas. All these things make perfect subjects for the enthusiastic photographer,
and even the most mundane urban scenes by day look far more inspiring by night.
Keeping your camera steady
The main thing you need to bear in mind is
light levels fall rapidly once the sun sets, so long exposures — often ten
seconds or more — are commonplace. For this reason you need some kind of stable
support for your camera if you are to avoid taking shaky pictures. A sturdy tripod
is ideal for
low light photography, and in windy weather you can increase its stability
by hanging your gadget bag over it. Alternatively, use a table-top tripod and rest
it on a wall, pillar-box or post to provide the necessary height. At Night Photography
Tips we recommend that you use a cable release allowing you to trip the camera’s
shutter without actually touching it, so there is no risk of vibrations being introduced
during long exposures. This is particularly important if you are using your camera’s
B setting, and need to keep the shutter release depressed during the whole exposure.
Getting the exposure right
Taking perfectly exposed pictures during the day is relatively easy, but come nightfall
a typical scene will contain bright points of light swimming in a sea of darkness
— the perfect ingredients to fool your camera into setting the wrong exposure. If
your camera has spot metering you can use that to take the reading. If not, use
a 135 mm or 200mm telephoto lens to home in on the area you want to meter from,
take a reading and use it for the final picture. The exposure can be set by switching
your camera to manual mode.
Photographing traffic trails
One of the most popular and accessible night subjects is the colourful trails of
light created by photographing moving traffic with a long exposure — the headlights
of oncoming traffic record as white streaks, while tail-lights come out red. Here
at Night Photography Tips we often get asked how the effect is achieved. For the
best results
find a location which gives you an elevated view of a busy dual carriageway, motorway
or roundabout — bridges, walkways, multi-storey car parks and office windows are
ideal. Then all you have to do is mount your camera on a tripod, compose the scene
and wait for traffic to appear.
The way you expose the picture will depend upon what is included in the scene. If
you are only capturing the road and traffic trails, stop your lens down to a small
aperture such as f/16, set your camera to bulb (B), and hold the shutter open with
a cable release for around 30 seconds while traffic passes by. A top Night Photography
Tip - Should the traffic run out, simply cover the lens with a piece of black card
or your hand while still holding the shutter open, stop counting, then move it away
to add more traffic trails when the traffic re-appears and resume counting down
the exposure. By repeating this you can build up the colourful trails gradually.
Capturing fireworks
Aerial fireworks displays look stunning captured on a camera, and taking successful
pictures is not as difficult as it sounds. The technique is very similar to that
used for capturing traffic trails. First you need to mount your camera on a tripod
and point it towards the area of sky where the fireworks will be exploding. A 24
mm or 28 mm
wide-angle lens is ideal for photographing large displays because it will allow
you to include buildings or spectators in the shot to add scale. Alternatively,
fit a telephoto or telezoom lens so you can home in on the fireworks bursts.
Once the rockets start going, lock the camera’s shutter open on bulb (B) with a
cable release so the explosions are recorded as colourful streaks. One or two rockets
will not provide enough colour, so between explosions cover your lens with a piece
of black card, then uncover it when the next rockets are launched. By repeating
this you can capture half a dozen or more explosions on the same frame. Again, the
exposure should be based on any buildings in the scene, or the sky if there is still
an afterglow present. Expect something in the region of 30 seconds at f/l1.
You will also find lots of other subjects to photograph at fireworks displays. Silhouettes
of people warming themselves by the roaring fire, wood being consumed by the orange
flames, kids writing their name in the air with sparklers, to name but a few, all
make great pictures.
Here at Night Photography Tips we hope you’ve enjoyed this article on action photography.
Why not try one of our other Photography Tips article. Check the menu down the left
of this page.