Shooting skills of night scene with SLR camera

Single lens reflective viewfinder camera, also known as SLR camera. The following are my night shooting skills of SLR camera, welcome to read for reference!

Tip 1: Bring your own tripod.

It usually takes a long time to take a night view, so the camera should be hidden to take a clear picture. In order to avoid damaging the photo effect by vibration, it is best to use a tripod to reduce shaking.

Tip 2: Turn down the brightness (ISO)

I believe everyone knows that high sensitivity brightness can get faster shutter speed at the same aperture value to reduce the jitter problem when shooting, but it will cause noise in the photo. Especially when shooting at night, long exposure will make the dark noise particularly obvious, so if the environment permits, it is best to use tripod and low ISO value to get the best shooting effect.

Tip 3: Take photos with a large aperture lens.

When we put the lens on the fuselage, the aperture of the lens will automatically open to the maximum. In a dark environment, a larger aperture allows more light to enter the lens and makes the picture on the viewer clearer. For example, two photographers shoot night scenes at the same time and place. If a lens with the maximum aperture of f/2.8 and a lens with the maximum aperture of f/5.6 are used, the picture on the viewfinder of the photographer with the aperture of f/2.8 will be obviously brighter, and the photographer can see the clear details more easily.

Tip 4: shoot with a small aperture.

It may seem contradictory. Just now, the author said to use a large aperture lens. Why do you want to shoot with a small aperture now? There is a simple reason. The purpose of using a large aperture lens is to make it easier for photographers to see clearly when shooting, but the aperture is lowered for the following two reasons:

Small aperture can make the depth of field larger, so that the scene will not be blurred by the influence of shallow depth of field;

If there is light at night, shooting with a small aperture can make the light star-shaped and the effect is more prominent.

Tip 5: Long exposure

One of the common methods for shooting night scenes is long exposure (shutter value as slow as 10 second, 30 seconds or several hours), which can be used to shoot car tracks, star tracks, waves and so on. Long exposure can not only smooth waves or record the trajectory of red taillights, but also make some light that is usually invisible to the naked eye appear. The effect is absolutely fascinating. You must try more!

Tip 6: Set the white balance.

It is not recommended to use automatic white balance when shooting night scenes, because in dark environment, automatic white balance can easily become inconsistent, leading to color difference in photos. You can use the white balance of "tungsten lamp" mode when shooting night scenes, but of course you should choose the most suitable mode according to the environment at that time. In addition, saving photos in RAW format allows photographers to adjust the white balance as needed afterwards, which is more convenient.

And some precautions that should be avoided when shooting at night:

1. Don't clap with your hands.

You must use a tripod to shoot the night scene. Even if there is no tripod, put the camera on a stable plane to shoot. No matter whether you practice a pair of "plaster hands" or not, no one can hold the camera 1 second or even longer without shaking hands at all. So if you want to shoot the night scene, you'd better buy a stable tripod.

2. The brightness optimization function should not be turned on

This function has different names in different brands of cameras. This function can increase the brightness of dark parts and decrease the brightness of highlights. However, when shooting at night, when many areas of the picture are black, the optimization function will reduce the contrast of the photo. Even if the photographer originally planned to take photos with low contrast style, post-processing this effect is very simple, and there is no need to turn on this function before shooting.

3. Don't use autofocus

Night scenes are often taken in dark places. If autofocus is used, there will often be a "bellows" in the focusing system, that is, the lens can't find the main body and keeps turning back and forth, so it can't focus. Even after the focus is determined, it may not be possible to focus on the subject accurately. Therefore, the photographer may wish to use manual focusing and set the focus at infinity. As long as the depth of field is large enough, the whole picture can be in a clear range.

4. Don't use the flash.

When shooting at the seaside, you will always see many people taking pictures of night scenes with digital cameras. This is an easy mistake for people who don't know photography, because the flash of the camera can't illuminate the tall buildings in the distance at all. Even if it is only intended to illuminate the close-range, the white light of the flash will be completely different from the surrounding lights and appear out of place. Unless you take a portrait at night, you will use the flash to illuminate the subject, and you must use it skillfully, so don't use the flash to illuminate the other person's scenery.

5. Don't use the lens shockproof function.

The shockproof function of the lens helps to use a lower shutter speed when holding it, but it is generally not held by hand when shooting at night, so this function is completely useless. Not only is it useless, but it will even affect imaging. Because the principle of shockproof function is to detect the vibration of the camera, when the camera uses a tripod, the shockproof system may make unnecessary compensation for the camera, but it will reduce the imaging quality. Although the shockproof function of some lenses will now have tripod mode, which will automatically detect whether the photographer is using the tripod, you will never know whether the lens has successfully detected the tripod or whether it is better to turn off the shockproof function yourself. Actually, it's just a little effort.

6. You shouldn't shoot in the dark.

Generally, the time for shooting night scenes is 10- 30 minutes after sunset. During this time, the sky will be blue, making it easier to take wonderful photos. If the sky is too dark, it will be dark, and the strong light caused by street lamps and billboards in the city will increase the contrast, making it more difficult for photographers to control exposure.