“To make” or how to take night photos with

Here we will try to analyse all aspects of night photography and give you tips on choosing correct exposure, and this tutorial will present various techniques of photography, which were not considered previously. You will receive practical tips on how to use the camera when photographing objects at night or in low light conditions.

Format shooting

To the quality of the image rose to the occasion and to not have to spend much time on post processing images in Photoshop or the online equivalents, you need to choose the format of photos by which you will continue to take photographs. We recommend to use RAW format, as it allows to achieve the sharpest images and preserve the details and data about the white balance, the light, the brightness and contrast of images. This is especially true when shooting at night, as in low light you need an extra light source to obtain high-quality photos without noise.
Use of a tripod

Below pictures turned out sharp and clear, a mandatory attribute of the photographer will be the presence of a tripod, because only with its help is possible to photograph without shaking hands. DSLR camera weighs a lot, and the extra lenses, maybe more, so choose a quality and professional tripod and be sure to view their varieties. Try to avoid any movement during night photography, otherwise your shots will be blurry and time will be wasted.
The choice of a specific location

Training locations – not an easy task, but acceptable. It is best to determine in advance where to stand the tripod where the camera is facing and what exactly you are trying to get in the end in the photo. All of these items will dramatically increase the speed of decision making while taking photos and you will clearly understand that all required steps must be completed in advance. For example, passing cars on the road could how to decorate your final picture and ruin it.
Select the aperture value

Standard values of the aperture will be when shooting from f/8 to f/16. Of course, these parameters need to be set empirically with trial and error, right on the spot depending on the situation. Try to find a middle ground, because even a very expensive and professional lenses are not always able at minimum and maximum aperture values to make a sharp and clear shot.
Installing the camera

The best option would be to install the camera in manual mode, as in this case, you define all settings. Start with aperture f/16, then gradually focusing on the current tips exposure meter your camera pick the best exposure value. Be sure to do test photos below during a photo shoot was not necessary to set values and to spend time on it. If your images are very bright, decrease the shutter speed, but if dark, then increase it. Note that the camera uses our own experience to it optimum exposure will be the a little lighter, so reduce the exposure by 1-2 points for the best result.
The effect of twinkling stars

When clamping within the meaning of the f/16 aperture not only can increase the depth of field, which will help to transfer the pictures clarity at far, and the foreground, but also turn the street lights in the beautiful stars that convey the atmosphere of the night sky.
Night song

Not to be failed parts in the pictures, use a tripod, flash and other accessories. Consider also the contrast between separate objects, which are typical in low lighting. Build exposure taking into account moving objects, foreground and background, etc.
Function “Mirror Lock-Up”

This feature is often used during night photography, as it allows to reduce the slightest camera shake. A tool called “Mirror Lock-Up” is a common words pre-mirror-up, which can be found in the advanced settings of your camera.
Moving the camera

Here everything is clear – the less you touch the camera while shooting night, the better will your shots. How to do it? Very simple – use the remote or put the camera on timer to delay the shutter.
Interesting ideas photography

The main direction when shooting in the dark is oddly enough – the movement and the light. So you can use it for their own purposes – a very interesting look of the night city lights and passing cars, etc.
Select ISO

When using a tripod and long exposure in an urban environment you can put ISO 100-200. These values will give maximum information without any noise. If you want to set a fast shutter speed for action scenes, in this case, can not do without the high ISO values.

The effect of motion blur “Motion blur”

All you need for this technique is to set a long exposure and bring a tripod. The most common occurrence for this type of photography are the passing cars night city.
Focus automatic or manual

This question can be answered in the affirmative in both cases, as can be used along both manual and auto focus. For example, you can start to use the autofocus to restore the sharpness of the image, and then switch to manual to hold the focus in place. In this case, you don’t need to look at how the camera tries in difficult conditions to find the subject. For really dark places only use manual focus or Live View.
The choice of time of day

In the twilight sometimes we get more interesting pictures than late at night – this fact also needs to be considered when choosing the time of photography. But in a more dark increasing the brightness of the pictures and the distinctive features of the one we shoot.
White balance night

It is strongly recommended to use at night auto white balance, as it can ruin all subsequent frames. Instead, use the manual option and try Cloudy ~ 6000k or Tungsten ~3200K, which means respectively “cloudy” and “artificial lighting”. In the first case you will get a warmer image, and the second cooler.
Stabilizer – off.

The image stabilizer will definitely help when shooting hands, but when it comes to photographing at night with a tripod with long exposure, this camera can only do harm. As the logic of the camera is imperfect, then we recommend you just turn off the stabilizer on the night-time shooting.
Star trail

In this embodiment, the shooting you are asked to either use 1 frame with a very large exposure, or a few of them with shorter and their subsequent pasting (the program Startrails). Do in any case, a lot of pictures, because the more you have, the more likely not to miss something important.
Night reflection

This technique of photography will allow you to select the desired picture element, and also possible to turn the dull appearance into a beautiful.
Lights in the night

If you want to get a really good result of the night, use the lights, as for the SLR camera a lot of light does not happen. In addition, unlike the type of light (normal light bulb, LEDs, etc.), you will be able to build a composition and add your own effects.
The camera is in the cold battery warm

In the winter, batteries drain very quickly, so try either to have a couple of extra blocks, or you can get one exactly when you need it. That technique has served you for a long time, also think about the condensation, which accumulates if you constantly change the air temperature.
Postprocessing of images

In any case you’ll need post-processing photos. After that the photo looked beautiful, they definitely need to be edited. This is the program Photoshop.
How everything works in the camera