Looking for some tips for night time photography with your DSLR?
Here’s a video tutorial (7 minutes) with some handy tips – produced by Camera Labs. Enjoy.
What other tips would you add for DSLR users looking for some night photography advice?
Each day we send out a quick email to thousands of DPS readers to notify them of updates. This email is just short excerpt of the first few lines of our latest post with a link if you want to read it all. You can unsubscribe from this this service at any time.
This service is provided by a third party (Feedburner) and you can subscribe to it by leaving your email address in the following field and confirming your subscription when you get an email asking you to do so.
Enter your email address for
Daily Updates:
For those wanting a weekly summary of what happens on this site this free email newsletter is probably your best option. It includes a summary of the tips posted to the site each week. This newsletter is subscribed to by over 25000 readers (many who also subscribe to the other options above) - come join the community!
To subscribe to this weekly newsletter simply add your email address to the following field and then follow the confirmation prompts. You will be able to unsubscribe at any time.
Enter your email address for
Free Weekly Newsletter:
46 Responses to “Night Photography Tips for DSLR Users” - Add Yours
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:53 am
On a practical note: Warm clothes are essential in most climbs for night shoots!
Also, if you use filters on your lens, you might want to remove them before doing night shoots, to avoid internal light reflections that can ruin your photos.
Most of all, have fun – night photography is great!
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:56 am
Night Photography can be quite enjoyable and rewarding with unique iamges.
Time exposure can produce some interesting patterns that you would not normally see.
This Blog articles provide some interesting photos taken with long exposures.
http://niels-henriksen.blogspot.com/2007/11/night-lights-slow-shutter.html
Niels Henriksen
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:01 am
Another obvious tip: increase the ISO. Every doubling of the ISO means the shutter only has to remain open half as long. Of course, higher ISO settings mean more noise, but especially in black-and-white photographs, noise can actually add character to a photo and give it a gritty or vintage look.
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:13 am
One more reason to get a DSLR…though, for now, with a tripod am ok taking night shots with my S2 IS.
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:33 am
Great information. Thanks for the video.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:18 am
Very informative. I knew most of what you said, but it never occured to me to set the timer so that pressing the shutter won’t introduce shake. BRILLANT! Anyway, I have a few night shots in the Nature & Scenery gallery on my website, http://www.sjhfoto.com Check it out!
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:49 am
thanks! very helpful tutorial.
February 22nd, 2008 at 2:50 am
What about ISO speed? Shouldn’t it be increased as much as possible, or are you keeping a low speed to avoid grainy shots?
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:03 am
Grah! Wish I had seen this before attempting shots of the eclipse last night.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 am
Its probably a good practice to remember to set your ISO to 100. If your taking long exposures at night time, you want your blacks to be inky black…and the least amount of noise as possible.
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:29 am
I wonder why users of a DSLR need training in setting up the parameters like aperture and time! Isn’t that the duty of a camera’s manual? The video is quite good but why do we need to see each and every dial on each and every knob? I wouldn’t dare to explain the steering wheel to an amateur racing driver…
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:53 am
The only thing I would add is adjusting the ISO as well. Especially in reference to the lunar eclipse last night. At 400mm I had to use a high ISO to get a short enough exposure so that the natural movement of the Moon didn’t blur the image. A one second exposure at ISO 1600 worked well, if a little grainy. Otherwise, you would need some kind of tracking mount that moved at the same speed as the Moon.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:13 am
Well Done! Great review!
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:10 am
Must say…wish I had watched this last night when I was trying to capture the lunar eclipse…
Thanks!
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:30 am
Video is down. Any other links?
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:34 am
Thanks for the pointer to the video!
The “handy tips” link in the body of the post, however, points to a very strange location on Amazon. Some sort of advertising tool glitch?
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:47 am
I don’t know, the tips are really basic…
I mean, they sure are useful for starters, but Darren himself has written some very good articles here on DPS explaining exposure (shutter, iso, aperture), with better examples too…
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:58 am
Oh, I forgot to mention the most important thing, in my opinion:
“Once you’ve completed your night photography, always remember to switch your camera back to its fully automatic ”
o_O ??!! What’s up with that?! Uhhh!!! How can an editor of a website for DSLRs even say such a thing?..
And all in all, why even buy a DSLR if you’re in fully automatic?..
Gaaah. Stay in manual, or at least in Tv or Av.
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:01 am
Now that I’ve actually watched the video (I was expecting a little more advanced), I have to say, yeah, actually not that helpful.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:08 am
I have a question…..If you are shooting at such a wide open aperture doesn’t that result in a poor depth of field? Wouldn’t that lead to out of focus shots?
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:09 am
Good tips for one beginning to experiment with night photography. I’ve had a bit of experience with this kind of photo, and here’s a few other things I’d siggest:
- I disagree with the suggestion of opening the lens aperture to its widest setting. Lenses show their weakensses most at the widest aperture, and the problems are particularly obvious on point light sources, something which you will encounter frequently in this kind of photography.
- I recommend setting the aperture at least 2/3 stop short of the widest setting to avoid thisproblem. This will increase your shutter time, but wnen you’re already taking a 5sec exposure, an extra second or two won’t make much difference.
- For exposures of 5 seconds or more, especially if you’re using a flimsy tripod, mirror lockup is helpful to minimise camera shake even further. You’ll usually find this in your camera’s custom functions.
- If it’s windy, or you’re using a heavy lens on your tripod, it may be difficult to keep the camera steady. Two ways to increase tripod stability is to hang some weight from the centre post, or collapse the tripod legs to their minimum height.
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Good points, Neil.
What I’ve learned from several HDR sessions outside is:
Keep the shoulder belt out of the wind, it may act as a sail/canvas otherwise.
Great blog, keep on with that thing!
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:22 pm
great suggestions…
but yeah, for those with DSLR, keep your settings in M or Av or Tv mode..
by the way, what brand of a tripod would you recommend? i know there are lot…
February 22nd, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Thanks for the tutorial, I love to shoot at night and was able to learn some good stuff!
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
cool. thanks for this
david
http://www.davidsmeaton.com
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
went out to the beach last night for a full moon eclipse drum circle around a fire. It was very windy, and I had left my tripod in the car. Had a great time taking pics, which I rarely do at night, without light. Got some really good pics. Used a piece of firewood for my monopod, and it worked extremely nicely as a substitute and got my shots close to the action. It did get bumped by a dog once or twice, and I made a great save, catching my camera after juggling it a few times, stopping it from hitting the dreaded sticky beach sand.
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 am
@Klaida: If you replace “fully automatic” with “normal settings” that remains excellent advice. I can’t count the times I’ve done shoots with really goofy settings and then forgot to reset back to something reasonable. But I agree, fully automatic is just silly.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:08 am
If you are using a tripod, what is the need to open the aperture fully? I would set the aperture to get the depth of field I require, then alter the shutter speed accordingly to get the best exposure. Longer exposures can introduce more noise to the image, but most DSLR’s have a noise reduction setting for these situations.
I there is a good reason to use larger apertures, could someone please explain why?
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:40 am
Mirror lockup is a good way to reduce camera shake on long exposures when using a tripod, but it needs to be combined with using the self-timer or a remote trigger, otherwise the act of pressing the button to make the shot will introduce shake itself. That’s an essential bit of learning for anyone interested in astrophotography, which can have very long exposure times, indeed.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:30 am
I was disappointed with the tutorial. I think that I know the very basics and was hoping to learn something new. One of the comments related to “mirror lock up”. This is something that I would have liked to hear about. Also, if you have a small aperture I think you get lights looking like stars – which I find quite attractive. I also thought that the final photo of the Christmas lights looked too bright, but that’s my personal opinion.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:52 am
great advice! keep up the good work
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
changing ISO to the largest value doesn’t just effect the Noise.
it also effects the bitdepth! this I find to be the biggest negative about High ISO.
bitdepth being the amount of detail within the photo.
thats why cameras are now having larger ADCs on them (Analog to Digital Converters) to expand the ISO range.
I looked it up on Kodak’s specsheet for thier image sensors.
it says HighISO the bitdepth is reduced to 7 or 6 bits of Resolution. I have read sony’s sensors do the same.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:36 am
Yes.. thank-you for that!
I’m new too this-so all the mentioning of camera parts is a good reminder in understanding how the camera works! and reading thru everyones comments has openned my mind/aperture….
I will certainly give this another go -with more understanding…my night shots have not been that great in
the past , ..I’ve got all these great tips now!
February 24th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
A trick I learned a long time ago when using film and photographing meteor showers is to use a black card in front of the camera to both start and stop the exposure. This allows the camera a little time to settle down after releasing the shutter – whether via a timer, finger, or cable release – and also ensures a clean, shake free image at the end of the exposure if the reverse procedure is used.
I still use this method, even with a tripod, cable release, and the new DSLRs.
February 25th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Interesting and helpful. Thanks. I take something away from these postings every day!
February 25th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Thanks
February 25th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
great video, it’s nice to see visually how to do it rather than just reading about night photography. I find I take a lot more in when I can see how it is done.
Thanks
February 29th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Excellent. I like this guys video clips but I think it’s about time ‘DSLR owners” could start treating non DSLR owners without contempt and even “heavens above” include us.
I’ve got a Fuji S5600 and I can’t think of anything the average DSLR has that mu bridge doesn’t. I have PASM, Raw, 2.5 frames per sec, 1 sec startup, filter ring, and ISO from 80-1600. Ok fair enough, It doesn’t have a bulb and I have to use the self timer.
There are plenty of non DSLRs on the market now that overlap the DSLR features. Please includes us. I always watch the videos and enjoy them as I’m sure other “ultra zoom” users would too but may overlook them.
Cheers
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:49 pm
The suggestions are pretty basic, but good ones nonetheless.
Niel, great comment with great suggestions
On the depth of field issue, I think it really depends on how far you’re focusing, because if you’re focusing to infinity, I don’t think it would matter what your aperture is because it’s all going to get covered anyways. If you’re doing an exposure on a tripod, I would use the smaller aperture simply because at wider apertures you typically get edge softening =/
I think the timer trick is the most useful one noted in the video – it’s easily overlooked =] also, i think the timer trick carries well into macro photography – when shooting on a tripod, i typically use the 2 sec timer to avoid camera shake
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:07 am
Er, linkback?
http://www.cameralabs.com http://www.dslrtips.com
And some props to Gordon for making all the videos over at cameralabs and dslr tips.
Why switch your camera back to fully automatic, well, suppose its personal preference, mine gets set to Av @ f/4 ISO 400 as a custom function 1 when it goes back in my bag, so if i pull it out to get a shot, I’ve got it, sure a little noise, but nothing you’ll see when printed at a4, or a3 with a little NR.
Some people also seem to be confused by depth of field here.
The noticeable DoF on your 50mm F/1.8 lens isnt always the same, even though its a prime lens. The distance you are focusing is important. Stand right up near the closest focusing distance, the depth of field will look more dramatic, go back to capture it properly, it won’t look as though the depth of field is so big.
If i have it right there is a formula to work out the depth of field with Aperture, Focal Length AND Focusing Distance, Distance between the Subject and other items in the foreground/background.
Something along those lines anyway. Wikipedia has the forumla i’m sure.
Anyway, props again to Gordon and to those over at Cameralabs.com and DSLRtips.com – should check them out plenty more videos over at the site.
December 17th, 2008 at 3:30 am
@awokenmind: When you find a user’s manual, out of the box, for ANYTHING that explains the product better than a third party publisher, let me know. The manual that came with my Rebel XTi is next to worthless. However, I have had some success with the field guide.
December 17th, 2008 at 5:54 am
@Rick:
As I too have a Rebel XTi, I do own its manual and well, it explains how I set an aperture and how to dial in the time or change ISO-Settings. Nothing else did I criticize in my above comment. It’s just that I don’t want to see each and every button to be pushed in a video tutorial. Every owner of a DSLR should know how to dial in an aperture as it’s dealt with in the manual. The meaning behind e.g. different aperture values may not be the key of a manual but that’s not what I was talking about!
December 17th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Some complained about it being to basic. If it is to basic for you then you most likely don’t need the help the rest of us are looking for on this site. It was very helpful to me including the knobology, Keep the tips coming.
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Good video, eventhough it didn’t go in detail but sufficient for entry level dslr user to understand on how it works for night photography. For advance user who already knew this, you don’t need to read this site, right? You all are “very pro” now. If you still insist to blog in, you can always add in whatever it is missing in this video. Share it with us.
August 10th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Although I enjoy nigh photography long enough, this tips also help me with some new information.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:59 am
I just struggled with a very spontaneous night photography event, i.e., attempting to shoot a nearby raging forest fire threatening a town. Wind gusts were up to 35 miles an hour, and it was 10:30PM, dark except for the fire. Although I managed to come away with a half dozen “good” shots of this phenomenon, I “battled” with a 400mm lens which would not lock-on to a focus point ( there were plenty of flames!), and thus I could not depress the shutter. Manual focus produced the same problem. I found the only way I could get the shutter to operate ( using a Canon 5D MkII @ ISO1250, 1.5 to 3.5sec., and f-stop 5.6) was by turning on and off the camera: sometimes it would then latch on to a focal point, and I could depress the shutter.
In retrospect, I think my mistake was narrowing depth of field by opening the aperture as wide as I could. I may inadvertently have been preventing the lens from focusing on something at the distant range. I would be interested to learn what others think about this? TY.
Leave a Reply