What Can Help You Improve Your Nighttime Photography?

If you’re a keen amateur photographer, you’re likely always looking for new ways to hone your craft and create unique, striking images that you can share across social media and with friends and family.

Whether you’re looking for your next Instagram post or building a collection that you can turn into an album via a photo book maker at mysocialbook.com, using different photography techniques can help you see better results and learn more about the art form. Taking photographs at night can be an interesting way of changing things up. However, doing so requires a different approach. Let’s find out how you can improve your nighttime photography.

Why is Nighttime Photography So Hard?

Nighttime photography can strike fear into the heart of any amateur. Photography is all about the use and manipulation of light. So, when the daylight has gone, how can you take technically sound and visually appealing photographs?

To do so, you need a solid understanding of your camera’s settings. You need to know how to adjust these to achieve your desired results, and you must understand how adjusting one setting can affect another.

That’s not all, you need to take full advantage of the light available to you. In some cases, you may need to reconsider particular shots and think outside the box to get the perfect snap.

Camera Settings

If you want to improve your nighttime photography, your first port of call should be the settings on your camera. The type of camera you use is important here. While smartphone cameras are powerful, portable and convenient, many of their settings are automated and will not give you the required level of control to improve your nighttime photography.

A mirrorless camera or a DSLR is what you need. These give you control over the aperture, shutter speed and ISO, which you can adjust to capture nighttime images. Since you’re shooting in low light, you’ll need to open the aperture wide to let in as much light as possible. You’ll also need a slow shutter speed, as this will expose the sensor to light for longer.

However, using a slow shutter speed and wide aperture means you’re going to need a tripod. This will keep your photos sharp and in focus.

Choose Your Shots Carefully

Shooting in low light means you’ll have to carefully consider every move you make. You need to take advantage of all the light available to you, and you should look to incorporate light sources from your immediate environment.

Use things like streetlights, car headlights, and lights from shops and buildings. These can help bring more light into your shots and ensure you are capturing the details of your subject.

You could also bring your own light sources. Torches and lamps can help illuminate nighttime scenes, and you can even use the light from your phone to help brighten up a shot.

Conclusion

Nighttime photography is difficult, there’s no doubt about it. Use the advice in this guide to improve your nighttime photography skills.