Tips on taking better night photos

Hi all

I run a small website on photography. One of the most common questions
I get asked is 'How do I take photos at night?' Now, I'm thinking of
posting some tips here on night photography. But I'm not sure if its
appropriate.

Let me know guys? Thanks.


**************************************************************
Sincerely,
Gary Hendricks, Basic-Digital-Photography.com
The best digital photography tutorials and how-to guides:
http://www.basic-digital-photography.com
**************************************************************

 

Hi Gary,

There are a number of photo USENET news groups for photo topics.

rec.photo.digital for digital photography.
rec.photo.35mm for 35mm photography.
rec.photo.equipment.medium-format for medium format (6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7)
rec.photo.equipment.larg-format for large format (4x5, 8x10 negatives)
rec.photo.digital.slr-systems for digital slr

There are a number of other photo newsgroups.

USENET is broken down in different hiearchies. rec is for recreation,
sci for scientific, soc for socialogy.. talk for information. I
think we have 9 major areas in the main part of USENET right now. It
used to be 8, but I think they added one recently.

Then each major group is broke down into a sub section ... photo,
skiing, travel, politics, and each subsection is broken down into a
group. There is most likely a group for a topic you want. However, if
there is not one, there are steps to go through to create a new group.
If you follow the steps, and go about it, and really want the group,
and get enough votes ... it takes two to three months to get a group.
If you don't give up part way through. A number of group proponents
stop part way through.

Anyway, for most photo posts you want to post them on the rec.photo.xx
groups.
(We get an post once in a while about .. taking a digital camera on a
cruise, or they have a digital photo kiosk on the ship for 40 cents a
print.)

For the most part, post like "How do I take photos at night" would be
better off being posted on a photo group.

roland

 

opps, I guess I should watch which group I am in... I thought I was in
rec.travel.cruises, not a photo group.

roland

 

lol

 

Use a tripod and low iso with a self timer or remote cable release.
Bracket.
Use long exposure noise reduction mode (Canon digital).

 

set the exposure compensation to +2, use ISO400 or above, set shutter
to 2 or more seconds.

 

Dirty Harry has given you some worthwhile tips, but first, the shooter should
determine that the "scene" is worthwhile in the first place, then decide how
they want to render/capture it. There are many aspects to "night photography,"
and a determination of the desired finished product should dictate how one
approaches it.

Hunt

 

If it's one of the most commonly asked questions there, it'll
sooner or later be asked here. That will provide an opportunity to
reply with your tips. If they're really extensive, it would be best
to post just a few of the most relevant, and add a link to the
remainder on your website. You could also keep the same number of
lines in your signature/trailer by removing "Sincerely" and adding
news of your latest addition. Even better, add another line showing
the "friendliness" of the website:

 

: Hi all

: I run a small website on photography. One of the most common questions
: I get asked is 'How do I take photos at night?' Now, I'm thinking of
: posting some tips here on night photography. But I'm not sure if its
: appropriate.

: Let me know guys? Thanks.


The answer to the question of "how do I take photos at night" will range
from "you don't" to "get a carbon arc search light..." Depending on the
desired outcome the answer will vary greatly. The main problem is that
photography (the process of capturing an image of the light present in, or
reflecting off an object or objects) by definition requires light. And
different methods of adding, multiplying or concentrating the available
light will cause different results. Each solution will have its own
strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disagvantages, etc.

For example, if the intent is to capture the image of the light as it
appears to the photographer, such as stars in the sky or the lighted
windows of a house, any method that uses adding light will either be
ineffective or destroy the intended outcome. On the other hand, if an
accurate image of relationships between objects or an attempt to enhance
the viewability of a dim image is the intent, the inaccuracys induced by
long exposure, or by light enhancing devices could destroy the accuracy of
the image that is intended.

The greatest tools for the photographer are imagination and flexability.
If one idea won't work, maybe another will. Sometimes a solution that just
pops into your head will turn out to be the "right" one at the time.

Some of the methods for adding light can vary from placing hidden flood
lights at strategic locations which will add lighting to the main
subjects, to locking the shutter open and wandering around the image area
using a hand operated flash to "paint with light" the subject. Sometimes
the added light itself can be the subject. In this instance, a locked open
shutter in a very dark location will allow a person or persons to move
around the image area drawing glowing, apparently unsupported trails in
the air with various light emitting objects. For example, on a dark night,
a camera set on a tripod pointing down a very dark street, and a person
dancing around holding a flashlight that is kept aimed at the camera or a
light stick in a hand, will produce a glowing line that flows around the
image following the "dancer". Each of these ideas will work and produce
an image, but none of these images will look like the others.

One other method of night photography is increased sensitivity. Either a
"faster" ISO will be used, or a slower shutter speed, or larger aperture,
or combinations of these. In some instances these are taken to extremes.
For example if an image is taken with a shutter speed of 2 hours the light
collected will be multiplied. But abberations from long exposures will
appear and the numbers of them will increase the longer the exposure.

Then there is the mechanical methods. A "night vision monocular" can be
connected to a camera, allowing the "enhanced" image to be captured. Or a
large aperture (telescope) device may be able to gather more light from a
scene. A lens that is collecting light over a 4' diameter collector and
concentrated with mirrors and/or lenses will be able to collect a brighter
image, but a 4' diameter lens on your camera is definately not practical
for hand held use.

Night or low light level photography can be some of the most challenging
situations. No one way will work for all situations. Each situation and
desired outcome will require and eliminate many choices. So as I said, the
most important tools are imagination and flexability.

Randy

==========
Randy Berbaum
Champaign, IL

 

By ALL means. That is a frequent question on this newsgroup, and a
place to refer people in search of that information would be a service
to the group.

 

Don't worry. Travel, cruises, and such are VERY popular among photo
buffs. I, for one, have many photos on the internet documenting my
cruises. They are quite popular, judging by the number of people
looking at them.

 

Totally, like, really completely totally, a good idea, dude, and awesome
in generosity. [Why I engaged in Valley Speak I dunno. To raise a smile
somewhere I guess.]

OTOH, there must be dozens of sites already to answer most questions.
Another approach is to paste in a prepared text, sorta like a FAQ, for
specific things.

Gary- if you proceed your sig lines with a dash dash space return, it'll
be set off by many Newsreaders, as well as being automatically snipped
on reply [a good thing according to Martha.]

As I've done here:

Sincerely,

--
**************************************************************
Gary Hendricks, Basic-Digital-Photography.com
The best digital photography tutorials and how-to guides:
http://www.basic-digital-photography.com
**************************************************************

Above pasted in. Post was by:

John McWilliams

 

Was this to illustrate that dashes don't work? to show you're
iconoclastic? Something else I'm too stupid to divine?

The dashes don't work as a sig delimiter if they aren't exactly as
specified; e.g. no space before; two of 'em, followed by a space and a
return.

 

Gary. I really enjoyed your website. There can never be enough tips on
taking digital pictures.
You have lots of good picture taking tips for a newbie like me. Hope you
add some more tips sometime. Thanks.

Cathy

 

no need to break out into paranoia. A simple mistake on my part that sent
instead of killed the reply after checking it.

Funny though how you are netcopping sigs when there's been an ongoing
off-topic political discussion under the Nikon D70 issues/questions Vs.
Canon subject heading that is cross-posted to
rec.photo.digital,rec.photo.digital.slr-systems,rec.photo.equipment.35mm,alt.photography

 

Looks like your eyes were reading the computer screen but
your brain was cruising.

Happens to me all the time.

Alan

 

That's not a good idea unless you want to achieve
a special effect unlike the actual scene.

If anything, you really want to set the exposure
compensation to a negative number. Without that,
the camera autoexposure may attempt to render an
overall dark scene a neutral gray - i.e., give it
more exposure than it should have. Adding still
more will make it look very light.

Some cameras have a "night mode" that will lower the
exposure for you.

I mostly agree with that one. But if you have a tripod
and there is no movement in the scene, you're better
off with a low ISO and long exposure time for a cleaner
image.

I'm not sure about that advice either. You need
to meter the scene if possible, or let the camera
do it. The best exposure time might well be less
than 2 seconds.

Alan

 

Guys,

Here are the tips I was thinking of:

Tip 1: Use Long Exposures
The key to successful night photography lies in a long exposure.
We're talking about exposures measured in seconds. When a long
exposure is used, more light is allowed into the camera, allowing the
details in your night photo to be captured.

The problem with using long exposures is that you may shake the camera,
resulting in poor pictures. The way around this is to use a tripod. I
prefer to install a tripod with a shutter-release cable to ensure that
I don't jolt the camera at all.


Tip 2: Take Control Shots
One problem with digital cameras is that there are always some pixels
on the image sensor which are bad. When taking day photos, these
defects are not discernible. However, they are pretty obvious in night
photos. How do we correct these? Here's a simple way - take a
control shot, then use image editing to subtract out those bad pixels.

This is how it works. The next time you're out to take night photos,
go ahead and snap a picture of Scene A, as you normally would. Then,
when it's convenient, take a photo of the exact same Scene A again,
but with the lens cap on.

Now you will have two images, one night shot and one control shot (with
the hot pixels). Load them up in say, Paint Shop Pro. Switch to the
control shot and select Edit and Copy from the menu. Next, switch to
the night shot and paste the copied image as a new layer. Then, select
the new layer and change the Blend Mode to Difference and click OK.
You'll get the correct night shot with the hot spots subtracted out.


Tip 3: Try to Capture Motion
With a long exposure, you have many creative options when it comes to
photography. This includes capturing motion. For example, have you ever
wondered how those professional photographers shoot pictures of trails
of car lights as they zoom down the highway at night? It's all due to
long exposures. Try to keep this in mind the next time you're taking
a night photo - you don't have to restrict yourself to still
images.


Tip 4: Play with the Aperture
In addition to shutter speed (which determines exposure time), you can
play around with the aperture size of your digital camera. There are
two scenarios here. If you set a long exposure, try to use a small
aperture to avoid overexposing any stationary lights. in the picture.
On the other hand, if you set a short exposure, try using a larger
aperture to avoid any motion in your shot.


Tip 5: How to Use the Flash
As a general rule, I turn the flash off when taking night photos. There
are some exceptions though - one specific example I can think of is
trying to shoot a subject in the foreground, with motion trails of car
lights in the background. In this case, bring along an external flash
unit and shine it on your subject manually. Set a long exposure, then
have your subject wait until the picture is taken.


Tip 6: When to Take Night Photos
When's the best time to take night photos? I usually like to take
them during dusk when colors and details are easier to capture. I'd
recommend that you do some research on the evening before the photo
shoot. Decide on the location, then come back the next day to take the
photo at dusk.

Hope they are of some use to you guys.

*****************************************************************
Sincerely,
Gary Hendricks, Basic-Digital-Photography.com
The best digital photography tutorials and how-to guides:
http://www.basic-digital-photography.com
*****************************************************************

 

That's a good tip if the camera allows a cable to be attached.
Most cameras these days don't - at least none of my digital cameras
allow it. Other than using the self timer, another consideration is
the amount of time the shutter is open. If it's longer than 10 or
15 seconds, a slight amount of initial jitter may not be noticeable
in the final image. So when manually pressing the shutter release
button, if the shutter speed is less than 3 or 4 seconds it might be
worth closing the aperture by a couple of stops to increase the
shutter time. Assuming the subject is stationary enough.

And of course do this after first making sure that the camera
doesn't have the ability to map out bad pixels.

I haven't taken very many night shots, but when I have, the white
balance was usually way off initially. This is easily correctable
by most cameras, but I wonder if there are any tips for setting the
white balance for cameras with very limited options (such as only 1
each for daylight, indoor [tungsten] and custom). Even if you could
take a 20 second shot of a white/gray card, there are often several
artificial light sources of varying colors. Unfortunately, these
"limited" cameras probably don't allow RAW images.