Night Photography - Tips And Tricks

 Have a nice day and welcome to the night photography tutorial, probably the best free collection of tips & tricks on the subject of night photography! 

This tutorial is updated regularly and reflects all of our knowledge that we have acquired over the past few years on various photography topics. Because night photography has played a major role since our first experiences in photography.

Our first photos with a camera were taken under difficult lighting conditions. We quickly realized that there are a few things to consider in order to put really usable photos on the memory card.

We believe that you shouldn't always charge money to share knowledge. Therefore this article is and will remain free. You don't have to attend an expensive workshop either. Everything here is free and readable for free. More than 600 new readers every day rely on it!

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When the day draws to a close and the sun slowly disappears on the horizon, the world of night photography begins. It is very demanding and takes a lot of time, but it is one of the most exciting and beautiful subject areas in photography. With a little practice, night photography becomes a very rewarding activity. Thanks to the many different subject areas, it never gets boring.

Find out here how the interplay between aperture, ISO value and exposure time works, what you should pay attention to and which mistakes you can avoid right from the start. Do you still have questions about taking photos in low light? Then the other readers and we will be happy to help you in the comments. Marcel & Patrick wish you a lot of fun reading and implementing the tips & tricks for night photography.

Table of Contents:

• introduction
• The time
• The blue hour
• The golden hour
• The night
• The point of view
• Basics for the right point of view
• Photograph the starry sky
• Photographing fireworks
• Photographing thunderstorms
• The lighting on site
• The motif
• Basics for choosing a motif
• Image composition
• Less is more
• the Golden cut
• Foreground makes the picture healthy
• Reflections
• Sometimes crouch down
• Make the best of it
• The right perspective
• Check card
• Buy A6 overview map

No time? All paragraphs with this “quote” symbol summarize the section again briefly. So you can find out the most important things about night photography even with little time.

The time:

The blue hour:

With the right time of the recording you can also determine the later mood of the picture. The blue hour is one of the most popular and recommendable times for night photography. The blue hour is one of the most exciting times in photography and describes the time between twilight during sunset or sunrise and nighttime darkness.

The blue hour conjures up a deep blue light in the sky that harmonizes perfectly with the surroundings. At this point in time, for example, the lights in cities are already switched on, but the sky is not yet very dark and shines in a deep blue light that is also transmitted to the surroundings. If there are clouds in the sky, they stand out from the blue and create great effects.

There are many useful smartphone apps available to help you find the right time at any time. With these you can calculate and display the exact blue hour times at any point. We use the ingenious "Sun Surveyor" app. In addition to outputting the desired times, the app also calculates the current position of the sun or moon. Even the bright center of the Milky Way and its current position in the sky are displayed. This is particularly useful for night star shots.

So you can quickly and easily calculate the time of sunrise or sunset for any location. The same goes for the moon, by the way. Only in this way was it possible for us to take these impressive pictures of the rising moon as you saw them above. Because we knew exactly when and where the moon would appear on the horizon. The photo below was also only possible in the right place at the right time. The app showed us when the sun would rise at the planned location. With this knowledge we implemented the photo.

If you want to make the moon or the sun part of your picture, you usually need a telephoto focal length. With this you can, for example, zoom in on the moon close enough and get a lot of details in the picture. Note, however, that with longer exposure times the moon appears blurred in the image. This is due to the moon's own movement or to the rotation of the earth and can only be avoided with specialized equipment.

For example, if you want to photograph the rising moon behind a building with a long focal length (i.e. a lot of zoom), make sure that your photo position is a long way away from the actual subject. This is the only way to achieve a surreal effect of the large, zoomed in moon, while buildings appear as if you were standing in front of them.

Photo tip: It often happens that disturbing light reflections arise in the picture. This cannot be avoided, especially in strong sunlight. With a simple trick you can almost completely eliminate annoying reflections in the photo. For this you just have to take 2 photos. You photograph the first one normally with the appropriate settings. You take the second photo with exactly the same settings, but this time you cover the sun with your finger. You will see that the annoying lens flares disappear in the image. Now you can use the computer to replace the areas that are disturbed by these lens flares with the areas of the second image.

Photo tip 2: Can't you get the reflections under control with the above trick? Then there is another possibility. If the subject allows, you can try opening the aperture of your lens to the maximum possible. So set your aperture to the lowest aperture value. Although this ensures that the immediate foreground appears blurred, it also often makes the annoying reflections disappear. Just give it a try.

Warning: When photographing the sun with long focal lengths, please ensure your own safety. You should never point a telephoto lens directly at the sun and look through the viewfinder of your SLR camera. The lenses in your lens act like a magnifying glass or a magnifying glass and the mirror guides this glaring light directly into the viewfinder. We therefore advise against observing the sun through the viewfinder. Use the LiveView function of your camera for this. This shows the picture on the display. With a system camera, there is usually no such risk, as it also has a display in the viewfinder and you are therefore not looking directly at the sun.

You should also not aim your camera directly at the sun for too long. At sunrise or sunset, the light is not immediately harmful to the image sensor, but it should not be overdone. In general, you should never look into the bright midday sun without suitable protective filters.

The golden hour:

The golden hour is also very popular. It occurs the evening before the onset of the blue hour and describes the time before sunset. The golden hour is much more pronounced at the time of sunrise. When the sun rises on the horizon, it bathes the surroundings in a wonderfully warm light. Everything looks completely different at this time than, for example, at lunchtime.

The night:

In addition to the golden and blue hours, the deepest night also offers special motifs. In this case the sky is already completely dark. At best, even the stars twinkle in the sky. With so little light, of course, the exposure times are also longer. With a little patience, you can take beautiful night shots.

The point of view:

Basics for the right point of view:

First of all, it is important to even find a suitable night motif and then choose the right photo position. When choosing your photo position correctly, you should ensure that you are as undisturbed as possible. Since choosing the right settings or finding the optimal image section and then actually designing the image will take a certain amount of time, you should make sure that you don't have to leave your chosen point of view again so quickly.

We have often had the experience of having to change our point of view in the middle of the action. Be it because the waves of a passing steamer on the Elbe would have knocked over our camera, which was too close to the water, or because passing cars generated disturbing vibrations or light reflections.

The point of view is one of the most important basic rules of night photography and should be chosen carefully. For example, if you want to photograph buildings or entire cities at night, a high point of view is good. It is best to use viewpoints of buildings or surrounding mountains.

To avoid unnecessary camera shake, watch out for interference from the immediate vicinity. For example, if you have chosen a position on a bridge, cars, trains or trams driving on it can make the bridge vibrate. These vibrations are also transmitted to the camera and cause unsightly shaking in the picture. If it is too dark to see the correct location or image section, it helps every now and then to take a few test photos. For this you can set the ISO value to the maximum, for example, and open the aperture as far as possible. With these settings, your camera takes in the maximum amount of available light without having to expose for an unnecessarily long time to check your selected image section. In a dark area it is probably enough can only be exposed for 1–2 minutes. The photo will then certainly be very noisy and the open aperture can cause unwanted blurring in nearby areas. However, it is only a test photo with which you can check the correct image section if it is already too dark for the LiveView or the view through the viewfinder.

Furthermore, it is sometimes advisable to visit a planned photo stand during the day. Because in daylight you can get a better overview of the surroundings and, for example, discover suitable perspectives or motifs. When you have found a nice idea for a photo, you can come back in the dark and then implement the photo as you planned.

For example, we have visited the point of view in the photo below many times a day. So we knew exactly what things to look out for in the dark. This photo was taken in the middle of the night around 3 a.m. There was fog and most of the city lights were already off.

Other areas of application for night photography are astrophotography or the photography of thunderstorms and fireworks, as these usually take place in the dark.

Photograph the starry sky:

There is not so much to consider when photographing the starry sky. In order to be able to see and photograph as many stars as possible, it is advisable to go to a place where it is very dark and there is little disturbing ambient light. This ambient light, which is generated by surrounding cities or street lamps, is known as light pollution. For example, the light generated by street lamps is reflected from the ground into the sky. The dust in the air also reflects the light, which is why the already weak starlight is covered and therefore more difficult to perceive. On the other hand, if you stand in a very dark place, far away from possible disturbing light sources, you will notice

Note: You can find more useful tips & tricks on astrophotography in the article written especially for this purpose. Here are the tips & tricks on star photography .

Photographing fireworks:

If you are planning to photograph fireworks, there are a few things to consider when choosing a location.

There is nothing more disturbing than taking fireworks pictures with some people walking around in the picture. For this reason, you should go to an elevated point of view. Due to the size of the fireworks, you do not need to be there directly, even greater distances can often be very attractive. If your location allows the fireworks to merge with the environment, try to incorporate some parts of the image into your subject. Buildings or a bridge in the vicinity provide more details in the photo and clearly illustrate the enormous size of a fireworks display. You should still be careful that no other people can bump into your camera or tripod and ruin the whole picture. A quiet place offers you enough space to take the photos and still enjoy the fireworks.

In the field of fireworks photography, the environment only plays a minor role. Nevertheless, you should try to include some buildings or structures in your image section. Striking buildings or the silhouette of your city give the photo a multitude of additional details. However, make sure that there are no bright light sources such as street lamps in the area of ​​your image section. The longer exposure times can cause annoying reflections in the image. If there is a water surface in the immediate vicinity, then try to place it in your image section. The effects reflected in the water spice up your picture immensely.

Note: You can find more useful tips and tricks for fireworks photography in the article written especially for this. Here are the tips & tricks on the topic of fireworks photography .

Photographing thunderstorms:

Most of the rules apply when photographing nocturnal thunderstorms. Since thunderstorms often take place at night - or turn day into night - we count this topic as part of night photography. When photographing a thunderstorm, safety is paramount. The very first and most important point in choosing the right photo position is to be well protected from an approaching thunderstorm. You don't always have to take photos from closed rooms through your window. Even outdoors there are enough opportunities to photograph a thunderstorm without taking an incalculable risk.

For the safety of your health and camera, you should definitely pay attention to a protected location. Wide bridges, passageways, building entrances or the like are also very suitable for this. These protect you and your technology from the rain and especially from the risk of being struck by lightning. Note, however, that it can get particularly windy under bridges and passages. Your camera must therefore stand securely so that it cannot tip over.

To make your thunderstorm photo even more beautiful, you should choose a position that allows an appealing motif. If possible, find a subject that looks nice and interesting even without a thunderstorm. If the hoped-for thunderstorm comes and conjures up fascinating lightning bolts in your motif, you will definitely have the enthusiasm on your side.

Note: You can find more useful tips & tricks on thunderstorm photography in the specially written article. Here are the tips & tricks on the subject of thunderstorm photography .

The lighting on site:

The right lighting on site is also important. Make sure that there are no or at least only a few bright light sources in your image section. Although these cannot always be avoided, they can cause unsightly reflections in the lens, which are then also visible in the image. Often it is enough to change your point of view by a few meters or to place the camera in a shady point.

If these things are unsuccessful, a lens hood can also work wonders. It ensures that no direct light reaches the lens from the side. If there is overexposure in the image section, you can use the exposure correction (Ev) of your camera. The light value is changed here, which corresponds to changing the aperture with the same exposure time (example: -2 / -1 / 0 / +1 / +2). Set the values ​​of your camera completely manually, because in this way you can adjust the aperture and the shutter speed without the exposure correction and reduce or even avoid overexposed areas in your picture.

If there are bright light sources behind you, it is best to cover the viewfinder of your camera with a cover or cover it with your hand. It is also sufficient if you simply cover the bright light source such as a lantern with your body shadow. This prevents unwanted light from reaching the sensor via the mirror box. This problem does not occur with the system cameras, since such models no longer have a mirror.

The motif:

Basics for choosing a motif:

When creating a picture, many factors play a role in making your photo more expressive and exciting than other pictures. In addition to choosing the right image section, the right image composition and the choice of perspective often make the decisive difference whether your image will ultimately get more attention than others.

Note: These tips are not restricted to night photography. In general, they also fit perfectly into architecture or landscape photography.

Image composition:

Provide more dynamism - because dynamics also enchants your night images into expressive photos. If, for example, a road is exposed for a longer time, the cars driving along form light trails and bring an exciting movement into the picture. Even a hustle and bustle or a busy intersection can create one or the other perfect picture. Decide beforehand whether you want to take a portrait or landscape photo. For example, if you want to photograph a tall church tower or fireworks, it is probably better to opt for portrait orientation. Because then you can fill the image section much more sensibly with your motif. If, on the other hand, your motif is more broad, such as a city silhouette, you are better off with a landscape format image.

Less is more!

In addition to choosing the right orientation, it also makes a difference whether you shoot your desired subject with a wide-angle or a telephoto lens. While with a wide-angle lens you get a lot more of the surroundings in the picture and your image center moves more into the background, with a telephoto lens you can focus your gaze directly on a desired object or target. The distance to the subject is important.

While you can stand almost directly in front of the subject to be photographed when using a wide-angle lens, when using a telephoto lens you have to be a certain distance from the subject depending on the length of the focal length used. With us, when using a wide-angle lens, the entire content of an image often contributes to the overall impression and we align everything meticulously right down to the corners of the image; When using a telephoto lens, on the other hand, we often only want to focus the viewer's gaze on one point and the surroundings do not necessarily contribute to the overall impression of the picture. However, this is often also due to the fact that when photographing with a focal length of, for example, 400 mm, we do not have the option of repositioning certain areas in the image. because these are just too far away. If, on the other hand, we take photos with a wide-angle lens, we always try to position the surrounding areas of an image section in such a way that they contribute to a nicer overall impression.

The Golden cut:

Once you have decided on a suitable image section, you have to choose the right perspective. Often a few steps to the left, right, front or back are enough to make your perspective a lot more exciting and to keep the viewer's gaze on your picture longer. In addition to the right image section and the right perspective, it also plays a major role how your image-important element is divided in the motif. With this division and the union of the image section and perspective of the image, one speaks of the so-called golden ratio or the rule of thirds. Here you mentally subdivide the width and height of the picture with two lines each into three parts, so that you get nine fields. If you position the area to which the gaze should be drawn, Now at the intersection of a horizontal and a horizontal line, you will get a picture section according to the principle of the golden ratio. If the viewer of your photo is directed to this point, which is divided in the golden ratio, looking at the picture is very pleasant for him.

Note: Most cameras can already show the guidelines of the golden ratio on the display and in the viewfinder. Just look in the camera settings for a display division.

Foreground makes picture healthy:

If you photograph a nocturnal landscape or cityscape, the main component of your picture usually takes place in the background. If you are able to add a foreground or middle ground to this image section, it will further increase the appearance of your image. For example, if you want to photograph an illuminated house on the other bank of a river or lake, you can design your perspective so that there is some reeds or a jetty in the left or right area of ​​your image and a few large stones at the bottom of the image. This reed or the landing stage and the stones would then represent the foreground of your picture. If that doesn't work out as perfectly as you imagine,

Reflections:

If you then also manage to incorporate the reflection of the buildings in the water surface of the river or lake into your picture, you can implement all the tips for correct image design in order to make your image even more expressive than others. The photo below was not taken in the dark, but it shows impressively how much you can increase the effect of the picture if you crouch down to take the reflection of a puddle into the picture.

Sometimes crouching down:

Exciting and unusual perspectives make your picture an eye-catcher. So just experiment with the image section and the perspective and try something unusual. A street or alley can be transformed into a perfect night picture from a frog's perspective. So crouch down and discover completely new perspectives. Especially when it rains or when the ground is damp, it is worth taking a picture of the subject directly above the ground. Because this is how you build reflections in your photo that would have remained completely hidden from you in the stand. Simply place the camera on the ground in front of a puddle or a body of water (for example a river bank). Make sure, however, that the camera is stationary and does not wobble, so as not to have any blurring in the photo with longer exposure times. A city backdrop at night looks much more impressive. Because the buildings and lights are clearly reflected in the water.

Make the best of it:

Sometimes, however, a motif does not have a usable foreground at all, because, for example, you are looking down at your motif from a higher position in the photo or simply no attractive foreground can be set up in your image section. In such cases we try to optimally align the backdrop that an environment offers us in the image section. If, for example, a road or a row of trees runs straight through the picture and leaves the picture section somewhere in the motif, the picture often appears restless to the viewer, although he may not even consciously notice it. Align the street or row of trees in the picture so that it runs exactly into one of the corners of the picture. So the whole picture looks much more harmonious. However, you should always pay attention to the overall mood of your picture and if necessary adjust your perspective so that everything looks more harmonious. The example below shows how useful it can be to spend a few seconds thinking about the image section. Because in the lower right area there was an annoying construction site. We thought about the best way to hide this. The trees caught our eye. The camera was swiftly realigned and the trees were placed in the right corner. The construction site was now covered and the trees also made for a beautiful foreground. We thought about the best way to hide this. The trees caught our eye. The camera was swiftly realigned and the trees were placed in the right corner. The construction site was now covered and the trees also made for a beautiful foreground. We thought about the best way to hide this. The trees caught our eye. The camera was swiftly realigned and the trees were placed in the right corner. The construction site was now covered and the trees also made for a beautiful foreground.

In the beginning you invest a lot of time in choosing the right image section. However, once you have internalized the rules for an optimally divided image, you choose your next motif based on this and it is then no longer so difficult for you to find an exciting image section. In order to implement your desired photo the way you imagine it, there are a few things to consider in the settings. With the different setting options for aperture, shutter speed or white balance, you will sometimes get completely different results. All of these factors play a huge role in creating a beautiful night photograph.

The right perspective:

In photography everything is always a question of the right perspective. That is exactly what makes photography so exciting. Because you can capture very special moments with the right perspective. The same photo of the same subject at the same time with a boring perspective looks more like a quick snap photo. But if you stick to the above rules or try to implement one or the other tip, you will quickly notice that everything looks much nicer with the right perspective.

In the photo shown above at the golden hour, we drove the camera directly into the crown of the blossoming cherry tree with the help of our tripod. This achieved a great effect, as the flowers close to the lens disappeared in a gentle blur. We had to close the aperture very far so that not all the leaves are blurred.

Do you still have questions about night photography? Then please do not hesitate and ask by comment. Or write to us using the contact form. We'll be happy to help you.