Night photography tips ..

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andrewan

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I never tried for Night photography but now I want to start night photography for th night animals picture taking. What are the things that I should keep in mind while taking a photographs at night ? Have you ever do the night photography ? Can you give me the tips for the night photography ?Thanks in advance if you can help.
 
andhewan, Hi and welcome. I just finished a project that included some outdoor shots after dark. This is what I noticed: Fast ISO film does not like to be underexposed. I used Fuji Pro 800Z and P800 to take pictures of a log home lite by Christmas lights. The frames closest to the correct exposure came out great. Those that were progressively under exposed were progressively grainier. I bracketed 2 steps in 2 stop jumps either direction from 0 (5 shots each composition). They also exhibited the "Tri-X fog" that one sees when Tri-X is underexposed. From my limited experience, I would caution to over-expose and bracket in big jumps. A sturdy tripod and some kind of remote release are must have items. Also, because color film has a wide exposure latitude plus different films have different tolerance to reciprocity failure, adjust accordingly
 
Welcome, andrewan. It will help if you describe the kinds of picture you want to take and the situations in which you want to take them.
 
Night Photography Tips


Over the last year I’ve become more and more enamored with night photography and the depth of colours offered by it. Today I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned with you and hear your thoughts on this diverse and fascinating style of photography.
What are our tools in night photography?
  1. Tripod. While not always necessary (see further on for how to cheat on this), a tripod will give you the greatest flexibility to get the angles you need while keeping your camera steady for those long exposures.
  2. Wide-angle lenses. This is a personal preference, but I love the way they work in night photography. I use Canon’s 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 ($700), but if you can afford it I’d get the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II ($1300). If both of these are out of your price range – don’t worry! Try it out with whatever you’ve got as the only thing that will limit you is your imagination.
  3. A lens hood. To minimize lens flares from light entering at angles outside of your frame.
  4. A flashlight. Sometimes you’ll want to draw attention to or simply lighten up an important part of the foreground which is too dark.
  5. Our imagination. Tools lie all around us in everyday objects to help us make our work better in this; I’ve used bicycle lamps, lampposts and newspaper boxes to get it done.
The same composition rules that apply to day apply to night, except with night we have our long exposures to take advantage of.

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Jackportd,
Yes a tripod is necessary (I think so) and wide angles are probably the best, as you said. I also take the UV filter off to avoid flare - learned the hard way.
I have never experimented with light painting, have you done this for a while? Could you expand on your method?
Steve
 
When shooting Hp5, 5 minutes at f/8 always does the trick unless the subject is under direct artificial light. It is good for trees and subjects lit by moonlight/ambient light.
 
Andrewan mentioned animals, so I don't think long exposures are applicable,
but a flash extender and and a medium tele (90/135) might provide some relief.
 
sjw617 said:
Jackportd,
Yes a tripod is necessary (I think so) and wide angles are probably the best, as you said. I also take the UV filter off to avoid flare - learned the hard way.
I have never experimented with light painting, have you done this for a while? Could you expand on your method?
Steve
Click to expand...

I don't recall ever using a moving light other than to photograph textured prints, but I know some people do it with good results. I think you would need a bit of practice to hone your skills.

Another common way to paint with light is to use multiple flash exposures with the same flash, but at different locations. Obviously everthing in the frame needs to be pretty dark or you need to move fast. And again, as Newspaperguy mentioned, this probably wouldn't work well with animals. In fact, depending on the mood you want, you probably don't want your result to look like daylight.
 
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