Article: City Night Photography
21st February 2012
Cities across the world come alive at night and this is possibly the best time to photograph them, with twinkling lights and reflections. In all cities, the most iconic buildings will almost always be lit up so use this to your advantage. The best time to capture night shots of cities is in Winter on a clear night, as the colder air will lead to crisper images.
Here are my top tips for night photography in cities:
1. Arrive early - this goes for any landscape photography really, but always arrive at your location in plenty of time. This allows you to seek out the best compositions for your shots well in advance, as by the time darkness starts to fall, you will find, especially in winter, that your time to get the perfect shot will be limited. The so-called ‘blue-hour’ is, to many photographers, the optimum time to be photographing when the sky is still a dark intense blue colour, before it turns a deep black and possibly tinged with orange.
2. Long exposure – exposure is incredibly important when taking photos in low-light. You will need to use longer exposures to keep the shutter open for long enough to capture the detail and to ensure the shot isn’t under-exposed and too dark. Using an SLR camera will give greater flexibility for this and you will need to using the manual setting 'TV' to set the number of seconds for the exposure. Conversely, if the exposure is too long, you will end up with noise which could make the shot look very grainy. It is a balancing act and you will need to experiment as you go along, compensating by using longer exposures as it gets darker. You will of course need a tripod to keep the camera still, or something to lean against such as a lamp-post or a bridge rail if you are extremely desperate! Also, if you can find some water, use it! Longer exposures will really enhance reflections in rivers and harbours and give a smooth effect on the surface.
3. ISO - consider using a higher ISO, which will enable you to keep your exposures shorter. Again, be careful as a higher ISO will mean more noise.
4. Height – if you can get a high vantage point, this will provide lots of interest to the viewer. Take the shot of Edinburgh below which was photographed from Calton Hill. Here you can see Edinburgh castle sitting at the top in the distance, St Giles cathedral with its domed spire just to the left and of course the famous clock tower of the Balmoral Hotel.
Here are my top tips for night photography in cities:
1. Arrive early - this goes for any landscape photography really, but always arrive at your location in plenty of time. This allows you to seek out the best compositions for your shots well in advance, as by the time darkness starts to fall, you will find, especially in winter, that your time to get the perfect shot will be limited. The so-called ‘blue-hour’ is, to many photographers, the optimum time to be photographing when the sky is still a dark intense blue colour, before it turns a deep black and possibly tinged with orange.
2. Long exposure – exposure is incredibly important when taking photos in low-light. You will need to use longer exposures to keep the shutter open for long enough to capture the detail and to ensure the shot isn’t under-exposed and too dark. Using an SLR camera will give greater flexibility for this and you will need to using the manual setting 'TV' to set the number of seconds for the exposure. Conversely, if the exposure is too long, you will end up with noise which could make the shot look very grainy. It is a balancing act and you will need to experiment as you go along, compensating by using longer exposures as it gets darker. You will of course need a tripod to keep the camera still, or something to lean against such as a lamp-post or a bridge rail if you are extremely desperate! Also, if you can find some water, use it! Longer exposures will really enhance reflections in rivers and harbours and give a smooth effect on the surface.
3. ISO - consider using a higher ISO, which will enable you to keep your exposures shorter. Again, be careful as a higher ISO will mean more noise.
4. Height – if you can get a high vantage point, this will provide lots of interest to the viewer. Take the shot of Edinburgh below which was photographed from Calton Hill. Here you can see Edinburgh castle sitting at the top in the distance, St Giles cathedral with its domed spire just to the left and of course the famous clock tower of the Balmoral Hotel.
