Night photography tips?

[scraparcs]

I'm trying to learn how to photograph things at night, but I can't seem to figure out where to begin looking for information on how to adjust settings and improve nighttime photography. I know I need to get a tripod, but you can't always use a tripod when shooting in some places.

Do any of you have any resources you would recommend?

 

[theVirginian]

What problems are you having? I'm guessing the contrast range is too wide to hold detail throughout the picture, but it could be something else.

 

[Tiberius]

A tripod is essential. Switch your camera to manual mode, turn off the flash and just experiment. If you have digital, you can experiment as much as you like.

In the mean time, have a look HERE and HERE and HERE for some tutorials I wrote which should help you.

 

[DanC922]

Assuming you can manually adjust your settings, you would need a wide aperture (small aperture number), high ISO, and as high shutter speed as possible. If it's possible, use a tripod or monopod as it'll dramatically increase the quality of images you can get. You'll want to set your ISO as high as possible while still maintaining an image quality you're satisfied with. Then set your aperture and shutter speed accordingly.

If you're just shooting a static scene with a tripod you can leave your ISO on your lowest setting and just set your shutter speed for a long exposure. Also, when using a tripod, you'll get sharper images if you use the timer so pushing the shutter button won't move the camera at all when the image is taken.

 

[scraparcs]

Okay, so get the tripod. Will do

Tried it with wide aperture and long shutter speed exposure. Much better! Thank you all!

 

[Boss_BlueAngels]

The main thing is experimentation. Find something simple to photograph, like a flashlight, a subject illuminated by a flashlight, or some similar situation that you can just sit and take dozens of pictures of. Dig back to the days of middle school and high school math where they told you about the "scientific method" and change only one variable at a time, then look at how it affected the photograph. Change ISO, shutter speed, aperture, etc. By doing this with each setup you'll be able to predict what settings are necessary "in the field" with very little trial and error shooting on the spot.

This photograph shows an airplane flying at an airshow at night with fireworks on the wingtips. It's a 25 second bulb exposure at F/22, ISO 100 at 10mm. This is a shot that required hours of practice months before the event. I chose F/22 because it gives a really deep deapth of field. Since the airplane changes position by thousands of feet, I wanted the light trail to be as crisp as possible. With most night photography like that you will actually want a really narrow aperture (higher number). At least if you want trails such as the ones above. I chose ISO100 because I wanted to keep the background as dark as possible since the sun was still only a few degrees below the horizon. I sat outside near a road with my camera and took dozens of pictures, changing all the settings. Thanks to what I learned from that I was able to catch this picture on the first try.

The ability to see your pictures on the camera immediatley is certainly an incredible feature, but with subjects that are are only there for a limited time, you still need to be able to get "the picture" as soon as possible.

If you have any other more specific questions ask away.

 

[Keeda]

That's a beautiful shot Boss! I don't have much advice because I've never done much with night shots except some July 4th Fireworks last year (my first attempt). Everyone is absolutely right about the tripod though.. And the timer is a great tip too if you don't have a cable release. If you're using bulb exposure on a tripod though with no cable, I can only recommend holding your breath and do not move an inch, even backing away from the viewfinder is likely to cause some camera shake.

Your settings are also going to change depending on subject, though for me I personally like to drop the ISO as low as possible to maximize the darkness without noise. Boss took a 25 second exposure where my fireworks ranged from 2 to 8 seconds, so it really does depend on what you're shooting too. I also had to lose some of the first fireworks shots to "prefocus" manually and leave it there.