The night photography It is the magic of the unknown, of reinventing reality, of seeing through our camera scenes that we are unable to appreciate with the naked eye. Is there anything more fascinating than this?
Today, sitting here writing this mega guide, I have set out to bring you light in the dark. An ambitious project, you might think, but what would a human being be without ambition? Would we have reached the moon without her? 🙂
Well, less rambling, I leave you with this guide where you will find everything you can think of on this exciting topic: material, technical tips, tricks and inspiration to say enough. So that when night falls, you become the night photographer you’ve always dreamed of being.
Attention, important, this is a very complete article at all levels, and it is possible that you cannot or do not want to read it in one go. I recommend that, before continuing, you save it in your favorites folder. So you can turn to him whenever you have a question or query related to night photography.
INSIDE THIS ARTICLE… 📖
Recommended equipment for night photography
In night photography there is no room for improvisation in terms of material. You must go well prepared to your night sessions, because once there, if you are missing something essential or if you are simply cold, say goodbye to the good results ;).
This is the equipment that I recommend for night photography. It would be a great idea if you make yourself a good check list before leaving home so you don’t forget anything 🙂:
- Camera with interchangeable lenses.
- A wide angle lens.
- A telephoto lens (if you want to photograph the moon).
- Sunshade to prevent glare.
- Tripod.
- Remote release (preferably with an interval timer).
- Dark clothing (and if it is warm, in layers).
- Proper footwear.
- Spare batteries (various).
- Memory cards.
- Photo backpack with different compartments (ideally waterproof). In this buying guide I tell you how to choose the best backpack for your camera.
- Flashlight: if you have a headlamp, all the better, so you will have your hands free.
- Mobile phone at 100% battery.
- Flash, colored gels or the luminous elements that you want to use if you are going to illuminate the scene or do Lightpainting.
- Folding chair, after several hours you will appreciate it.
Do you already have your list? Keep reading, we are going to delve into the most important night photography equipment.
cameras for night photography
If night photography is your passion, there are cameras that will give you better results to get your photos at night.
In general terms, I recommend that you look at:
- A camera that has manual settings.
- Have it in RAW format.
- That has Bulb Mode.
- The larger the sensor, as a general rule, the better.
- ISO sensitivity: that responds well to high ISO ranges (at or above 6400).
- Have a noise reduction option.
- Rear LCD screen with adjustable brightness.
- Live View mode.
- Intuitive menus for quick shooting in the dark.
- Robust construction, preferably sealed.
- And, of course, with interchangeable lenses so you can take advantage of it in other types of photography too 😉
Do you need more light on the subject? Discover our 14 recommended cameras for night photography.
That said, do you have a camera that doesn’t meet even half of the above points? Don’t let that stop you. If there is something more important than the camera, that something it is you and after you, what I tell you in this (short) inspirational video:
Objectives for night photography
As I was saying, after you, a night photographer, the most important thing is the optics. Without a good lens, there is no good camera. Yes to a “cucumber» of camera you put a apology of objective, the result is equal to zero 😉
If you have to invest, my recommendation is that you do it in a good lens for night photography. My advice in this regard is very simple:
- The brighter the better.
- You need a wide angle lens. If your camera is not full frame or Full Frame (Fx), make sure it is still a Wide Angle after the conversion or crop factor.
Simple, right? Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you like this, if you’re looking for a good lens for night photography, we’ve already done research for you on the blog, don’t miss our recommendation regarding the best lenses for night photography.
The tripod, the essential accessory for night photography
I dare to assure you that you are not aware of the importance of having a good tripod until you consider doing night photography. It is in the dark where the lack of stability can play tricks on us. Even more so if you are in the middle of a mountain where there is wind, or the ground is not exactly smooth.
A good tripod is one of those investments that you do not regret, for photography in general and for night photography in particular. These are the features you should pay attention to when getting a good tripod for night photography:
- Sturdiness
- The leg sections
- The material and finish of the feet
- head type
- the center bar
- construction material
- The maximum weight you can load
- The maximum height of the tripod
For more information, I leave you with this article where we talk specifically about how to choose a tripod for night photography.
Other accessories for night photography
Night photography allows you to add high doses of creativity to the scene. Not only for its ability to portray aspects that you cannot see with the naked eye, but also for what you can do with accessories. An example, flashlights to play with the lighting of certain parts or to paint with light.
Flashlights for night photography
As you delve into night photography, the more you want to model the lighting of the scene as you please, I’m sure. This type of lighting is usually done with different types of lanterns.
These are my recommendations regarding flashlights for night photography:
- Have at least one warm tone.
- Another one with cold tones (LED).
- Have flashlights of different intensities (the power is measured in lumens) to illuminate a portrait or larger elements such as cars or buildings.
- That allow to focus or expand the light.
- Some allow you to add a filter holder to add colored gels.
Don’t be scared, you don’t need to have it all day 1. You can start with one and expand as you have the need or see what you like the most 😉 .
In this article you will find some recommendations regarding flashlights for night photography and other related accessories, take a look.
How to take photos at night
let’s go with some very simple tips for your night photos. This photographic discipline requires patience and dedication, but it compensates you with spectacular results.
I personally would advise you:
- Learn to use your camera during the day to perfection. That is to say, that you know where each function is, that you feel comfortable handling the dials, that you memorize where the shutter speed, the ISO button or the aperture are. At night, everything becomes a little more complicated to manage 😉 .
- get soaked a bit of theory before launching yourself into the hunt for stars or that night photo you dream of. This guide can be a good way to put you in context, but later I will leave you with some books that can help you too.
- prepare your check list with all the necessary material and review it well before leaving home. There is nothing worse than arriving, planting the camp and run out of battery or have forgotten the tripod.
- Carry everything well organized in a good backpack with compartments.
- Leave little room for improvisation.
- The best time to photograph is the blue hour if you are going to include buildings and artificial lights. However, if you want to photograph the stars or the milky way, you will need a little more darkness. In addition to taking photos at night, you should stay away from a big city because light pollution will prevent the camera from seeing the stars well. That implies, of course, that photos cannot be taken with the moon, full or otherwise.
- Prepare the session from home: locate the exact place you are going to go, check the light pollution, the phase of the moon or the exact place where you will see the Milky Way. Everything you need for the type of photography you want to do.
- Go accompanied. so much to do light painting as for any type of night photography. For safety, for comfort and because it is much better to spend the time you dedicate to your photos with good company 🙂 .
- Arrive at least an hour before sunset to study the terrain well and enjoy a sunset price 😉 .
That said, I recommend that you expand the information with our 100 express tips for night photography.
Night photography: technique
A minimum technical knowledge is essential to take this type of photography. They are images that you will never achieve in Automatic Mode, not even in a semi-manual mode.
The technique in night photography requires you to work in Manual Mode and have a certain mastery of it. Or that you get down to work to master the Manual Mode.
Now yes, let’s talk about the minimum settings you should know to practice photography at night:
- Always set the RAW format. It is the one that will give you the best result in image quality since it is the one that contains the most information.
- The minimum shutter speeds for night photography are around 15s -30s and even more depending on what you are going to photograph. That is why I insist that a tripod is essential.
- Learn how to focus in manual mode as autofocus often fails in low light situations. To do this, you can help yourself with a flashlight that points to the place where you want to focus.
- Know how the hyperfocal distance It’s basic.
- Activate the histogram of your camera and check it out, don’t trust what you see on the screen. The ideal is to right the histogram to avoid underexposed areas that are the ones that generate more noise.
- Activate the high beam warning to see overexposed areas and correct the exposure if necessary.
- Sets the maximum ISO value with which your camera offers sufficient quality. You will have to do several tests varying the ISO and expanding to the maximum. Don’t worry, you only have to do it once 😉 . Once done, you will know what is the maximum ISO value that your camera supports with good image quality.
- Balance the white balance.
- Do not use filters, they reduce the sharpness of the image.
- You can use the noise reduction function of your camera but keep in mind that the time will be doubled: if you make a 5 minute exposure, with noise reduction it will take 10 minutes. Never use it for circumpolar or interval shooting.
- Use the live view mode to focus. It is the most precise way and with which…