Taking photos at night: a lit up skyline reflecting in the water.

How To Take Photos at Night

10 Helpful Night Photography Tips You Should Keep in Mind

Photographs taken at night often look very impressive. However, colours don’t always show up well at night, therefore, the colour effect in night shots is often distorted or has a certain colour cast. Nevertheless, you don't have to miss out on photos at night if you use the right camera settings. We will give you 10 tips on how to take fantastic photos at night.

1. Using The Right Light

Even if it is dark at night, it is never totally dark. That is why it is a good idea to check which sources of light are available for your photo. Moonlight, for instance, is much harsher than sunlight. You should avoid bright sources of light nearby because of possible reflections in the lens.

2. Perfect Timing

You can capture the most beautiful night mood with a camera during the so-called ‘’blue hour’’, when the last or first sunlight is visible. However, the stars and the moon can be photographed in total darkness.

3. The Best Motif at Night

Moods can be captured much better in the dark than during the day, but quite often not a lot of details can be seen. In this case, the perspective is more important than the subject itself. Therefore, look out for light sources such as fairy lights or lanterns that you can incorporate for fantastic effects. The moon and stars or fireworks are also fantastic motifs for photos at night. Even a busy road can be turned into a creative motif at night by using a long exposures to turn the headlights into long lines on your photo.

Night photography street lights reflecting in an image.

4. Choose The Correct ISO Value

The ISO value, aperture and shutter speed can hardly be considered as separate entities for taking photos at night. They must be well-combined with each other to achieve a perfect result. That is why you should turn off your camera’s automatic night program and adjust everything manually. The ISO value is an important factor, as the image sensor's light sensitivity is adjusted to it. The higher the ISO value and the more light-sensitive the sensor is, the more image noise will appear. That is why even photographs in the dark should preferably be taken with a low ISO value, whereas aperture and shutter speeds compensate for this.

5. Using Long Shutter Speeds

The darker it is outside, the longer the sensor (or formerly the film) has to be exposed. You can achieve time exposure by means of a long shutter speed, i.e. the time in which the image strikes the sensor. Depending on the lighting situation as well as the overall atmosphere of the image, an exposure of around 30 seconds should be taken at night. You will need to use a tripod in order to avoid the image becoming too blurry.

6. Using a Small Aperture to Avoid Interference

A long shutter speed increases the likelihood that something in the motif will change during this time. Therefore, it's best to use a small aperture in order to avoid disturbances in the image. Keep the following in mind, when taking photos at night pay attention to the aperture.

Night photography: an alleyway with people passing by with a blurred effect.

7. Using a Self-timer and Mirror Lockup

In addition to changing the subject, camera shake is also a major problem with slow shutter speeds. It is therefore best to use the self-timer or a remote control. This way, you don't touch the camera when you start taking the picture and can prevent the picture from shaking. Many SLR cameras also offer the so-called mirror lock-up function, which raises the mirror before the image is released. This is because the mirror flip itself is also a common cause of blurred images with long exposures.

8. Use a RAW Format

Night photographs can quickly be underexposed. You should switch your camera from JPG mode into the RAW mode and save your images. This will make editing images a lot easier.

9. Focusing in the Dark

Autofocus is tempting when you can no longer recognise which object you are focusing on through the viewfinder or on the display at night. However, the autofocus works the same way with high contrast differences. Therefore, the same applies to night shots if the autofocus can focus on one point, then it is recommended to use it. However, if this is not possible, try to adjust the focus manually.

10. Take Photos Without a Flash

The camera's built-in flash is also ideal for use at night, though it only illuminates the immediate environment. Night photographs are characterised by the fact that you can capture distant motifs which the flash cannot reach. Moreover, the camera uses the automatic programs adjusted by the flash, which leads to the fact that the images often become too dark in the end. Therefore, it is a good idea to turn off the flash.

Newsletter-Anmeldung

Newsletter

Sign up for the ifolor newsletter and be the first to know about promotions, innovations or inspirational blog posts. Register now. See you soon!

Similar Articles