Night Photography for Week #4 of Classes
I was disappointed I wasn’t able to devote more attention to Week 4′s focus on night photography. I would like to improve the quality of my night images and with the information we received in this session, I think I can improve my technique.
However, family obligations hindered my ability to get out after dark with a tripod and my remote control until last evening. So I stayed late at Wake Forest and tried some of Will’s tips around campus.
ZSR Library at Dusk
Puddle Reflecting Lamplight
Some of the things he recommended we think about:
- Keep a lower ISO to get better quality images – between 100 to 200.
- Stay in the 11-22 range on f-stop.
- If you point directly at a light source you will get a startburst effect.
- The “sweet light”, the hour before dawn and dusk.
- The longer you expose a sunset, the more vibrant it will be.
- Try “slow sync” mode. The shutter opens first to expose the background then the flash deploys to capture objects in the foreground.
- Light painting: Use a long exposure, take a light source (like a flashlight) and point it to the camera.
- Use the lockdown mode to reduce shake.
- Multiple exposure mode allows up to 3 images in the same frame.
- With fireworks, use a 4 second exposure to capture the launch, explosion and trickle down.
- When doing a long exposure, change to manual mode and focus to infinity.
- When you do a night shoot, take a flashlight along with you to read the settings on the camera (wish I had listened more closely to this tip).
Will also provided us with a handout with even more tips, including:
- Always bring a tripod.
- Check the weather forecast.
- Use a remote shutter release device.
- Preset your camera settings.
- Don’t use a flash.
- Take some pictures before it gets completely dark, it can add extra dimension.
I got a few decent shots and am looking forward to being able to experiment with this more when I have enough time to do it justice!
