Tips for Taking Great Photos at Night
by Patty Hankins & Bill Lawrence
Night photography can be some of the most dramatic
photography you can do - it can also be one of the harder
types of photography to learn. Most photographers have a
pile of lousy night photographs hidden away - they're out of
focus, the exposure is wrong, the wrong part of the image is
highlighted, etc. With this article, we'll try to provide
you with some tips on taking great photographs at night -
based in large part on our experiences taking bad night
photographs.
Before you leave home:
1. Know where you're planning on taking your photographs.
Take some time to plan out parking, driving routes, etc in
advance. Don't forget, you'll be going at least one
direction in the dark.
2. Know when and where the sun is setting or the moon is
rising if you what to include them in your photos. We use a
program called Ephemeris to figure out when and where the
sun and moon are rising and setting. For a review of
Ephemeris - see our article on the program in the newsletter
archives at
www.hankinslawrenceimages.com.
3. Check the weather forecast. That way you'll know if you
need to dress for cooler weather after dark, and how much
cloud cover to expect (not that the the weather report
helped us on the latter). It is easy to get cold standing
around waiting for the right photographic opportunity after
the sun has gone down.
4. Use bug spray in the appropriate seasons. If you're going
to be anywhere near water or in the woods, apply a heavy
application of bug-spray. You're likely to be sitting or
standing for a while in the same place, no point in making
yourself an extra attractive meal for the local bugs.
What to take with you:
5. Bring (and use) a tripod. It's not uncommon to have
exposures of a second or more during night photography. With
anything over 1/30 of a second, you really should use a
tripod to ensure that camera shake doesn't affect your
photo. Take a look at the web-based version of this article
(http://www.hankinslawrenceimages.com/newsletter/articles/
nightphoto.htm ) to see what a difference a tripod makes.
6. Bring a bubble level. Bubble levels let you know if your
camera is level, so you don't have the annoying problem of
images running down hill in your pictures. See our article
on bubble levels in the newsletter archives for more
information.
7. Bring a cable release for your camera. If your camera
allows for a cable release for remote operation of the
shutter button, use it. On long exposures, the camera shake
caused by pushing down the shutter button on your camera can
sometimes be seen in your photos. If you don't have a cable
or other remote release for your camera, use the self-timer
when possible.
8. Bring your cell phone. Remember, you're going to be out
in the dark, having a cell phone with you for emergencies is
only common sense. If you're going out with another
photographer, it helps if you both have phones with you.
That way - if you get separated, it's much easier to find
one another in the dark. Bill and I learned this lesson the
hard way - we were taking photos at an event, it got dark,
and we spent at least half an hour wandering around looking
for one another in the dark before we reconnected.
9. Bring a flashlight. A pocket flash light is a great tool
to have when you're doing photography. Not only can it light
up your camera dials so you can see how your camera is set,
it can also help light the path on the way back to the car.
For more information on the pocket flash lights we use, see
your article on the topic in our newsletter archives.
Setting your camera:
The more control you have over the settings on your camera,
the more likely you are to be able to take good night
photos. If camera only has automatic settings, you may have
some real challenges convincing it to let you take your
photos.
10. Turn off the flash. Most on-camera flashes only light up
an area five to six feet in front of the camera. What
happens at night, is that it may overexpose anything in the
foreground, and underexpose the main subject of the photo.
11. Use higher speed film or set the ISO higher on your
digital camera if you need a faster shutter speed. The
higher the ISO/ASA, the shorter the exposures you can get
away with. If your exposure is planned at ISO 100 for 2
seconds at F8.0 - using ISO 400, you can do a 1/2 second
exposure at the same F8.0. Some digital cameras show higher
than usual noise levels for long exposures - it is worth
checking if your camera has a long exposure noise reduction
feature.
12. Understand what your camera's light metering system will
do - or meter separately and use manual settings on your
camera. Modern consumer cameras, particularly the higher
level ones, tend to have sophisticated metering systems but
night time photography involves tricky lighting situations,
with very bright and dark areas in the same photo.
Understanding what your light meter is making its readings
from, and the type of exposure you are likely to get, will
ensure properly exposed photos. If you're not getting the
photos you want with the automatic metering, take control by
either setting the camera manually or using exposure
compensation. If you have a digital camera with a histogram
function, use this to help understand how well your metering
is working.
13. Bracket your photos. If your camera lets you bracket
shots automatically, you definitely should turn the feature
on at night. My normal setting is to shoot the exposure I've
set, then bracket the shot with a ½ shutter speed step up,
and then a ½ shutter speed step down. For example, if my
exposure is set at F8.0 for 1/20 if a second, I'll shoot
that shot, then one at F8.0 for 1/30 of a second and one at
F8.0 for 1/15 of a second. This increases my chances of
getting the shot that I really want.
14. Using manual focus may help save time. Chances are,
you're going to shoot multiple exposures of the same shot.
So use the auto focus feature on your camera to set the
first shot, then without changing the focus, switch to
manual focus. That way, if your camera has trouble focusing
in the dark, it won't have to keep searching for a focus
lock. The nice thing about photographing monuments and
buildings is that they don't move - so once the lens is
focused, you don't have to keep refocusing it with every
shot. You should check every now and then, however, to make
sure that you have not bumped the lens and changed the
focus.
15. Use the mirror lockup function. If your camera allows
you to lock the mirror in place, do so. Believe it or not,
on some long exposures, the internal workings of the camera
cause enough vibration to make camera shake visible in the
photo. Locking the mirror into place reduces the chances of
camera shake being introduced in this way.
Taking the pictures
16. Take lots of photos. Be sure to take a lot of photos
when you're doing night photography, and try them at
different exposures. Somewhere in the group, there may well
be a spectacular photo, that was the result of a
experimental combination of shutter speed and aperture.
Remember, film is cheap, and for digital camera users, there
is always the trash can for unwanted images.
17. Try some photos before the night is pitch black.
Sometimes having some color left in the sky can add to the
photo. Check out the example photos against the evening sky
and night sky on our online version of the article.
18. Review your shots. If you are using a digital camera,
take advantage of the instant feedback to see if you are
recording what you want to. Also, if your camera has a
histogram function, be sure to check it periodically to make
sure you aren't underexposing or overexposing parts of your
image.
18. Have fun!
Patty Hankins & Bill Lawrence are the co-owners of Hankins-
Lawrence Images, LLC, a digital photography company based
in Maryland. HLI Photonotes, their monthly ezine, provides
information and tips for photographers. To subscribe email
hl_images@earthlink.net with
subscribe in the subject or
visit
www.hankinslawrenceimages.com.