Tips for shooting city night scenes

Lead: The night view of the city is grotesque and colorful. How can a photographer miss such good material? So how do you shoot the night view of the city? Let me share some tips for shooting city night scenes.

Tips for Shooting City Nightscape When capturing the essence of scenes like Times Square and Las Vegas (or the downtown area of any big city on a busy night), the main problem is to find impressive and colorful areas, and then try to capture these essence in one photo. For example, the way I used to shoot Times Square was to find a possible shooting location and shoot for a long time. I took many photos in different places, but I usually stay in each place for half an hour or more.

Because there is a strong contrast between the darkest and brightest areas, I try to make the brightest neon lamp reach excellent exposure when measuring light, and then raise or lower the reading by one or two levels through peripheral exposure. I usually shoot in manual mode, because it can carefully handle the exposure of specific areas and prevent the exposure instrument from being deceived by headlights and people who walk through the lens. But I must say that I have taken many night scenes of cities with ordinary cameras, and the excellent exposure effect of the photos has always made me happy and surprised.

If I mainly consider the depth of field (usually), then I will change the shutter speed to achieve the exposure around C. But if I want to get the moving traffic in the picture, I will set a specific shutter speed, regardless of the depth of field (because a smaller aperture can be used at a very diffuse shutter speed, the depth of field is usually not a problem). In a place like Times Square, it's a little difficult to take pictures that can clearly capture the action. Although the neon lights and signs in these places provide a lot of light, the actual streets are a mixture of bright lights and very dark areas.

Besides, I didn't use a tripod when I took these two photos. I will look for fences and trash cans on the street, so that I can lean on them firmly. The city photographed at night will not be as clear as expected, but I think the color and vitality in the photo can complement the soft image well. Of course, if you want to shoot a special place, then a tripod can significantly improve the quality of the photos.

If you are lucky, there are night markets and snack night markets near your residence (and travel there), and hunger does not overwhelm your desire to shoot, then you can shoot many exciting themes. The trick to taking excellent night market photos is to walk into the night market, set the camera to the highest ISO (unless shooting in a weak sky can provide several levels of extra lighting), and walk around in front of each booth. Most professional travel photographers will tell you that getting there is only half the job, and making friends with the host will make it easier for you to shoot the scene you need, buy a snack or buy something symbolically.

Gavin Zau spent a lot of leisure time in these markets during his business (and personal) travel, and when he came home, he would bring back many interesting photos. Chaat Shippers and China Shippers, which were shot in Juhu Beach, Mumbai, India, are two photos of the night market, both visually and culturally, showing how interesting this kind of shooting object is. Gavin introduces live photos of China and Hongkong:? Every night, the shopkeeper will set up a stall and block the street. They sell shirts, electronic products and souvenirs. There are also many restaurants and temporary tables on the street. ? This is the perfect environment for shooting at night.

If possible, try not to use flash, because Gavin's photos are a good proof that you can use the existing light to create more artistic and exotic photos. Learn to lean against the building or put your elbow on the table to stabilize the camera, so that you will find that if you use a camera and lens that support the anti-shake function, you can safely use the shutter speed of 1/4s and longer. Always try to include something that is actually happening or can imply action in the photo, because it can make the photo very interesting, even if some actions are vague, it will make the photo better.