Taking night photographs

One of the most interesting types of photographs to look at are night photographs. Something about them just makes them very appealing to me. They’re mysterious, unique, strange, relaxing and a load of other things as well. Taking great night photographs is not difficult and can be easily done following some simple steps.

Many people assume that night photographs are not possible since there’s not enough light. They fail to recognize the power of their shutter speed manual control. Rather than experiment, these photographers stick with the light of the sun and never get to experience the great photographs that the night has to offer.

Night photography basically requires two things. The first very crucial necessity to take night photographs is to have control over the shutter speed. The shutter speed will let you make longer camera exposures. You will need longer exposures to take night photographs and that’s that. Because of the lack of light the camera will require more light in order to properly expose your image.

The next very important necessity for shooting photographs at night is a good tripod. I don’t mean a cheap tripod that jiggles when the wind blows at it. That will definitely not work! You need a tripod that will last you and suites your needs. Night photographs need tripods because of the long exposures. When taking longer exposure photographs the tripod will ensure that the camera remains still and does not move. If the camera does move when the photograph is being exposed then the result will be blurred photos. The amount of blur depends on the amount of movement that is made during the exposure.

Another accessory for taking night photographs is a shutter release. A shutter release is a little gadget you attach to your camera. It has a button and when you push it the camera will take the picture. This means that you don’t have to touch the camera body at all! You may think that pushing down the shutter release button won’t result in blurry photos but think again! The movement you’ll make pushing the shutter button can make a photo blurred slightly. An alternative to getting a shutter release is using the cameras self timer. Simply enter the amount of seconds that you’ll wait after pushing the shutter speed and the camera will take the picture.

When taking night pictures be creative! Take pictures of moving cars and see the fascinating pictures that result. Since you’re using a slow shutter speed the lights of the cars will be blurred into streaks of red and yellow lines.

Night photos do require a good deal of patience since you’ll be waiting some time for your photo to expose. You can’t see something you want to photograph and shoot away. Extra care is needed in setting the right settings. Using a flash when taking night photos can speed up the exposure time but it really depends on the type of photo you’re taking. If it’s a photo of the city then the flash won’t do anything. If it’s a photo of something close by the flash can illuminate the photograph. I find that the flash tends to make my photos look poor when shooting night photographs.

Al Sanchez has a great program that teaches how to take better photos easily.