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An hour after sunset, many photographers are packing their equipment in photographic backpacks and going home, they believe that the time for photography has come to an end and is waiting for the next day. We encourage you not to stop and continue experimenting in the dark.
Night photography allows you to get wonderful shots, give the viewer a fantastic sense of the world and show things that are familiar to him from a different and unusual side compared to daytime photos.
Night photography requires a slightly different approach than photography during the day, but it also boils down to the same principle - to capture enough light for the camera. As soon as you try night photography, you will notice that it is a great way to deepen your photographic knowledge, to give you a better understanding of light in other types of shooting.
In this article we will give some tips on how to take photos at night and point out some mistakes made by newcomers in this genre.
High quality night shots.
If you want to get the best photo quality after night photography, you need to take photos in RAW format. Saving photos in "raw" format allows you to record the maximum amount of light information in the frame to a file. In the future, it will simplify processing, giving you more opportunities in Photoshop, CameraRaw, Lightroom and other programs that can work with this format.
When processing night shots, it is almost always necessary to adjust the exposure and white balance. This is due to the fact that night photos usually have different light sources (for example, when shooting a night city) with different color temperatures. This, among other things, implies the difficulty of installing the correct exposure. By allowing the camera to save frames in RAW format, you can adjust the specified parameters over a wide range without improving the noise and appearance of other destructive effects associated with a lack of light information.
Use a tripod.
During night photography, you will work with extremely little light. This means the use of long and very long exposures (1 to 30 seconds or more). This exposure time makes it impossible to shoot with it, so if you need a sharp shot, you have to use a tripod. Make sure your tripod is properly installed and stationary - the slightest movement of the tripod is enough to get a blurry frame. It is precisely for this reason that it is highly recommended not to keep it still while exposing a frame.
If possible, hang the photographic backpack on the lower tripod hook: this will increase its weight and, therefore, increase stability.
Relative hole for maximum sharpness.
When shooting at night, set the aperture value at which the lens provides maximum sharpness. Usually this value goes from f / 8 to f / 16 and for each lens it has its own. Try some to find the optimum, experiment. Even professional lenses do not provide maximum sharpness with a minimum and maximum relative aperture value. By knowing this aperture value for lenses, you increase your chances of getting a clear frame when shooting at night.
Exposure metering indicator
For full exposure control of the night frame, shoot only in manual mode.
After choosing the correct aperture value, select a shutter speed using the digital camera's exposure indicator, which should be in the center. Depending on the scene, select the desired metering mode (photographers generally prefer point mode when shooting at night). Do a couple of shots and watch the result. Remember that this shutter speed value is optimal for your camera and such a measurement is just a starting point. If the images seem too light, reduce the exposure by 1-2 degrees.
Pre-lift mirrors.
As noted earlier, the slightest movement of the camera can result in a blurred image. The SLR camera has a mirror design that moves up and down, creating unwanted camera shakes when shooting. Enable the "mirror pre-lift" option in the camera menu to avoid this potential problem.
Selfie.
When you press the shutter button, the camera also moves slightly. Night photography involves long exposures, and even the touch of the shutter button can make the image more blurry. Use the camera's built-in self-timer to release the shutter after pressing a button to avoid this problem.
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