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SOME TIPS FOR NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

Friday, January 30, 2009
Hai team, we would like to share with you all some tips for night photography which are as follows. Hope it is useful for us to get ready for the outing tomorow.

#1: Use a Self-Timer Mode
Summary: A digital camera's self-timer mode can reduce some camera shake when taking night photos.
While most digital camera manuals describe the self-timer mode, where the camera takes a picture several seconds after the shutter speed is pressed, as "good for portraits", the self-timer mode can be very useful for night photos as well.Most night photos, especially in situations where you cannot reliably use flash, require a shutter speed of half a second or longer else the subject will be too dark. This is to compensate for the lack of available light. Unfortunately, these situations, especially when you don't use a tripod, can result in camera shake. However, if you use the self-timer mode, you might be able to get some acceptable shots just holding your camera very steady. Any shake caused by pressing the shutter button will be eliminated, as the camera will not take photos until several seconds after the button has been pressed.


#2: Use Night Program or Scene Mode
Summary: Let your digital camera's presets help you take great night photos.
If you are just starting out taking photos at night, check to see if your digital camera has a special night program or scene mode - read your camera manual. This mode will adjust your camera settings, tuning it to low-light conditions and possibly allowing you to take better night photos than if you were fumbling through other options. If you're not sure about adjusting exposure times and have no idea what ISO means, a one-touch setting may be all you need.

#3: Look for Bridges
Summary: Bridges can be great photo subjects at nighttime.
When taking digital photos at night, consider shooting some pictures of bridges. Though perhaps banal during the daytime, many longer bridges, especially those in populous cities, are brightly lit at nighttime. Taken from afar, these subjects can add to dramatic photos, and since the bridge is lit, you may not have to use as long of a shutter speed duration as first expected.For example, during Super Bowl XXXIX, downtown Jacksonville's many bridges were lit up with a variety of colors. This lighting added much to the cityscape photos that were shot before the event to help advertise the town.

#4: Don't Always Rely on Flash
Summary: Flash may not always help your nighttime digital photography.
While flash may be helpful in taking photos in low light conditions, there comes a point at night that flash may not help much anymore, especially onboard flash. Flash requires light to bounce off a subject. If you are shooting dusk or late-night shots over huge expansive distances, such as a beach, cityscape, or mountain range, all flash may do is occasionally show a small annoying burst of light in your picture. If your subject is a long way away, your small flash unit will never reach your subject effectively. An expensive external flash may help some in these instances, but consider using other digital camera features when taking night photos, such as decreasing the shutter speed, increasing the ISO settings, or using a preprogrammed night scene mode.


#5: Increase Your ISO
Summary: Increase your digital camera's ISO setting to allow for less available light and introduce just a slight level of noise into your photos.
A higher ISO setting allows you to take digital photos with quicker exposures at the expense of overall image quality. This can be crucial when taking photos at night without a tripod. To get enough light for a decent photo, you may normally have to keep your digital camera still for 1/15th of a second or longer else blurred photos may result. This is extremely difficult to do if you are holding your camera; even if you brace yourself up against a wall some shake is bound to occur.With a higher ISO setting, you could get away in the same situation with perhaps a 1/30th of a second exposure or faster. The higher the ISO number, the faster you can take the photo, but more grain (noise) will be introduced. You should be able to get by with an ISO of 200 with medium and high-end prosumer cameras. With a digital SLR, even an ISO of 400 or 800 might introduce just an acceptable level of noise into your photos.

#6: A Full Moon may Enhance a Photo
Summary: Try to add a full moon to your night photos for dramatic effect.
A full moon can be a welcome addition to any night photo, whether it is a picture of a beach, mountain range, or cityscape. It can add drama and suspense to a photograph. It can draw the viewer's eye to a particular area. And, it may make your night photo stand out from others.To find out when a full moon is visible, you can check through almanacs, your television station's weather forecast, your local newspaper, or weather sites on the Internet such as:
The Weather Channel - http://www.weather.com/
#7: Long Exposure Time
Summary: A long shutter exposure can aid in taking clear, crisp night photos with your digital camera.
One of the main tricks to taking good photos at night with your digital camera is taking long exposures of a subject. The long exposure time is needed to compensate for the low light; the longer the exposure, the longer your camera absorbs the scarcely available light. While a sunny day with plentiful illumination may only require a camera shutter to remain open for 1/250th or 1/125th of a second for clear, crisp photos, low-light conditions may require decreased shutter speeds of 1/15th of a second or longer. Check your digital camera manual for instructions on changing the shutter speed - it is usually the "S" in the "PASM" or "ASM" camera setting modes.

#8: Reduce Camera Shake with Special Lens
Summary: Special lens may help you take better night photos by reducing 'camera-shake'.
One way to take better digital photos at night, especially if you do not have a tripod, is to either purchase a digital camera with vibration reduction technology (such as a Minolta DiMAGE A2), or to purchase a digital SLR camera that supports lens with anti-shake technology, such as:* Nikon with vibration reduction (VR) * Canon with image stabilization (IS) These technologies help reduce "camera-shake" inherent when taking long exposures at night without a tripod or other camera stabilization device.

#9: Consider Taking Photos at Dusk
Summary: Shooting photos at dusk may provide your digital camera with just enough light to take great cityscape photos.
If you are looking for a great nighttime cityscape picture, consider taking your photos at dusk instead of in the pitch black of night. The sky is dark at dusk, but not so dark to prevent some degree of sunlight entering your digital camera, making it easier to take hand-held photos that do not result all blurry due to 'camera-shake'. Dusk only lasts for a little while, so research your shot locations beforehand. Plus, check the local newspaper or visit a weather website for the sunset time, and be prepared to shoot photos around that timeframe.

#10: Digital Night Photography - Noise Reduction Mode
Summary: Use your digital camera's noise-reduction technology to clean up noisy night photographs.
When purchasing a digital camera that you plan on using for night photography, see if the camera comes built-in with a noise-reduction mode. This feature may help in taking RAW or JPG photos in the dark of night. When you have to increase your ISO settings to compensate for long shutter speeds, noise will be introduced in the photo. Rather that trying to remove it with digital photo editing software, if your digital camera has a noise reduction feature, you can help eliminate this post-processing step.


#11: Blur is Not Always a Bad Thing
Summary: Artistic use of blur can aid your digital camera night photography.
While you should always try to take digital photos at nighttime that avoid the blurred results of 'camera-shake' due to long exposures with an unstable digital camera, realize that blur is not always undesirable. Some blurring can be used creatively, such as that created by cars driving on an interstate at nighttime. This effect is best performed if the roadway is next to a lit skyscraper or cityscape. Frame a photo containing the cityscape and roadway, and take an exposure of half a second or longer as necessary (use a tripod!). The skyscrapers should look clear and crisp, and the roadways will turn into streams of light.

#12: A Tripod is Vital
Summary: Use a tripod to steady your camera when taking long exposures for night photography.
If you plan on taking digital photos at night, a tripod is practically essential. It is extremely hard to hold a camera still for the length of time needed for a good night exposure, and any shaking can result in blurred photos or completely blacked out subjects. With a tripod, you can set your digital camera to use a long exposure time, snap a photo, and not worry so much about 'camera-shake'. However, to remove any chance of camera movement, either purchase and use an external shutter release (if your camera supports such an accessory), or keep the shutter button held down during the entire exposure. Even the simplest motion of releasing the camera shutter button during a photo shoot can cause the camera to shake, rendering a beautiful photo almost worthless with blurriness.

#13: Shoot Many Photos to Help Compensate for Camera Shake
Summary: Compensate for 'camera shake' by taking many photos at nighttime.
There may be times where you want to take photos in difficult lighting situations and you don't have a tripod or other stabilizing device handy. If so, don't give up! Remember, you have a digital camera, so bad photos can be erased. Once you have followed the other tips on MalekTips and set your ISO, shutter speed, etc., start taking photos! Take plenty of photographs of each subject in the hope that one or two photos may be usable. Due partly to luck, I have taken incredible photos in the dark of night just by being extremely still and shooting multiple photos of a subject. I've taken 15 photos of a city skyline at one time and only had one turn out, but the one photo turned out really well. Practice!

#14: Avoid Optical Zoom If Possible
Summary: Using your digital camera's optical zoom may increase 'camera-shake'.
If you can, avoid using your digital camera's optical zoom when taking night photos, especially if you lack access to a tripod or other stabilization device. The higher the optical zoom magnification, the longer the lens has to extend to shoot a photograph. This also causes the digital camera to become especially sensitive to movement. With an extended lens, even on sunny days, the results of 'camera-shake' may be evident in blurry photos; at night, this effect is magnified even more.


This tips are taken from a website:
http://malektips.com/digital_night_photography_help_and_tips.html

You can browse this website to get more tips not only night photography but more other photography...Enjoy it...


Below are some more links that you can browse which are related to night photography:

- Coutesy from PRO&BLOG Team -

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A photography team est on the 31st August 2008, based in Brunei. For more details of our team, please see 'About Us'. For any queries, please contact Nanie 8735788 or Fizah 8772842 or drop us an email at hiphotographer@gmail.com. Thank you.
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