Shooting Night Time Photography

What Is Night Photography?
I doubt you’re actually thinking that and if you are… well it’s self explanatory.
What Do I Need
- A camera with manual controls
- Tripod or Gorilla Pod
- Remote trigger “or on camera timer to allow camera to settle before the photo is taken”
- A scene with some light “you cant take a picture with no ambient light”
Set Up
Step 1
- Start by finding a stable surface to set your tripod or Gorilla Pod.
- Navigate to one of your cameras manual modes on the dial or menu they often look like.
- A-Dep = Automatic Depth of Field, camera picks the depth of field.
- M = Manual, it gives you full control over the shutter speed and aperture size. “Recommended for those who have an idea of how to do this”
- AV = Aperture Priority, when changing you aperture in this mode the shutter speed is automatically set. “Recommended”
- TV = Shutter Priority, lets you set the shutter speed while automatically changing the aperture.
- P = Programmable Mode, basically an advanced version of the Auto Mode allowing changes to be made to ISO, white balance, drive mode, metering mode, ect…
- Why manual modes?
- Manual modes give you more control over your camera, by allowing you to change the white balance, ISO, shutter speed, aperture size, and other features.
Step 2
- After setting your camera up set it to either “M” or “AV” I would recommend “AV” especially for those not familiar with manual settings.
- If you are shooting..
- Landscapes/City Scapes use a lower ISO like 200, and an Aperture larger than F16. “if your camera has noise reduction for long exposures I would turn it on”
- For people use a larger aperture such as F6 and an ISO of 400.
- Time to take the shot, either use the built in timer in your camera or a remote trigger.
- When using the timer use a long timer to allow the camera to settle after you remove your hands.
- When using a remote trigger allow time for camera to settle after handling it.
- Take the shot, make sure nothing moves the camera because you are more than likely in for a long exposure.
Issues That May Occur
- Motion Blur
- Cars moving “often a wanted effect”
- From camera shake “not wanted”
- High Noise ” long exposures and high ISO make for a lot of noise”
Rule Of Thumb
For Landscapes/Cityscapes
- If there isn’t enough light in an area for you to see around you chances are your camera wont either.
- Find a scene where the majority is lit to avoid over exposing/under exposing the image
For Portraits
- Make sure the subject stays as still as possible for the duration of the exposure.
Examples

Shot on Thanks Giving 2009 Atop a roof in St.Louis. I did this shot handheld, it has a little blur but turned out nice.

Shot on Thanks Giving 2009 Atop a roof in St.Louis

Taken atop a roof in St.Lous Thanks Giving Day 2009. I set a timer on my camera got next to my brother and during the exposure we left thus giving a ghostly image.
nice man, you’re good. Thanks 🙂
[…] Shooting Night Time Photography […]
l like those pictures, l must try same to night 😉
Hey could I use some of the insight from this entry if I reference you with a link back to your site?