Night Photography Tips

Night Photography Tips

It is not necessary to use a small aperture to shoot night scenes. Although a small aperture (such as f/8) will make the depth of field deeper, sometimes we can also use a large aperture to shoot night scenes. The following are the night photography tips I have compiled and shared with you. Welcome to read and refer to them.

Night photography skills

(1) A tripod is very important

For shooting night scenes, a stable tripod is very important. Usually, a slow shutter speed is used when shooting night scenes. If the tripod is not stable enough, the photos taken will be blurry. Especially when there is strong wind on the mountain, the impact is even greater. A good tripod can be used for a long time if it is carefully maintained. It is a piece of photography equipment worth investing in.

(2) Use manual manual exposure mode

I use aperture priority mode most of the time to effectively control depth of field and shutter speed (the larger the aperture, the higher the shutter speed) . But I mostly use manual exposure mode when shooting night scenes. Friends who are new to photography may ask that parameters such as aperture, shutter, and sensitivity in manual mode need to be set by themselves, so how should they start? In fact, it is very simple. I will follow the following process to set the initial value:

1. First use aperture priority mode to meter, set the aperture value and sensitivity, for example, use f/8, ISO200, and finally the camera The given shutter speed is 2 seconds;

2. Then switch to manual exposure mode, set the aperture to f/8, sensitivity ISO 200, shutter speed 2 seconds, and take a test shot; < /p>

3. Check the effect of the shot, and refer to the histogram to set the exposure parameters if necessary. If you feel that the overall image is too dark, you will usually choose to extend the exposure time without increasing the aperture or sensitivity. This is because the camera is already mounted on a tripod. Changing the shutter speed only affects the cumulative amount of light. Increasing the aperture will make the depth of field shallower, and increasing the sensitivity will cause noise problems.

(3) Modify the white balance

Modifying the white balance is to change the color of the photo. It is not necessary to use automatic white balance when shooting night scenes. In many cases, modifying the white balance can bring different effects to your photos. A colder white balance will make the city look sci-fi, while a warmer white balance will make the city look lively and prosperous. Therefore, you can try different white balance settings in the same scene.

(4) Shooting with different apertures

It is not necessary to use a small aperture to shoot night scenes. Although a small aperture (such as f/8) will make the depth of field deeper, sometimes we can also use a large aperture to shoot night scenes, such as the following three situations:

1. Shooting very dark scenes but cannot When slowing down the shutter. For example, when shooting the starry sky, you need to use high sensitivity + large aperture + 30 seconds shutter, otherwise it will be difficult to shoot successfully;

2. Handheld shooting. Handheld shooting has "safety shutter" restrictions. If the shutter is too slow, the picture will easily shake. In this case, increase the aperture and increase the sensitivity if necessary;

3. Use the shallow depth of field effect to highlight details. The composition should not be static. In addition to taking "big scenes" when shooting night scenes, you can also take good photos by using the shallow depth of field effect to highlight details. At this time, we can use a large aperture to create a shallow depth of field. Christmas lights are a good example. example.

(5) Slow shutter speed

Slow shutter speed is a very fun and useful shooting technique. Using a slow shutter speed to shoot at night can capture beautiful car tracks, star trails, light paintings, and even some light that is invisible to the naked eye.

You can try to find a hilltop with no light, slow down the shutter speed, and see what you capture.

(6) Using black cards

The method of using black cards is very simple, even for beginners of photography. It is easy to get started. The principle is to use non-reflective materials during long exposures. The black card blocks the bright areas so that the dark parts of the picture can absorb more light, allowing evenly exposed photos to be taken in high-contrast environments.

This technique will make all the difference in your photos, try it today! ;