Night photography tips: how to take pictures after dark

21.07.2023 - 08:08 / roughguides.com

Once the sun has gone down and as the evening slips into night, it can be a magical time to take pictures, wherever you are in the world. But night photography can also be notoriously difficult. Here are 10 tips for night photography to help you capture those night skies.

The first rule of night photography is to turn off your flash in the camera’s settings. It might sound counter-intuitive, but nine times out of ten, adding stark white light to your scene isn’t going to enhance it.

Theyyam ritual in Northern Kerala captured without a flash ©

Diana Jarvis

The hour or so after sunsetis known as twilight or the blue hour. It’s the time of day when the light hasn’t quite disappeared and the sky takes on a whole array of indigo hues. You also get a similar light in the morning just before sunrise.

‘Hour’ is not really accurate, because it depends on the time of year and the latitude you’re at. In the summer, when the far northern or southern hemispheres hardly get dark at all, the night can consist solely of the blue hour. Conversely, nearer the equator, the sun can seem like it just plops behind the horizon and is immediately followed by intense darkness.

Whitby Abbey captured during 'Blue Hour' ©

Diana Jarvis

If you have a bridge camera or DSLR, you can easily take control of how the camera uses the available light by getting familiar with Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or by going fully Manual. You should also become familiar with altering the ISO.

The settings you need to balance between for capturing scenes well at night are ISO and shutter speed. The ISO relates to how the light intensity is captured on the camera’s sensor. A higher ISO will allow you to take an image in low light with a shorter shutter speed but it will look very grainy. A long exposure will allow more light on to the sensor but is useless if you don’t keep the camera still – or if the scene is moving. On a DSLR, it’s worth learning how to go fully Manual for good night photography.

For point-and-shoot cameras, take a look at the various programmes your camera offers; you might find that the ‘sport’ setting has been programmed to capture fast movement at the expense of the graininess. This could work well for festivals, carnivals or firework shows. The 'landscape' mode could be programmed to preserve the ISO and take longer exposures.

Florence skyline at night ©

Diana Jarvis

Will you want a long exposure or a fast exposure? This really comes down to what kind of image you’re looking for. For example, if you want light trails from cars whizzing past, you will need to use a long exposure. For capturing people in the dark, you’ll need something a bit faster.

Daan Roosegarde’s art installation Waterlicht at King’s Cross, London 2018 ©