Good photography freezes the intimate dance between subject and light, making a fleeting moment immortal through vivid imagery. A moment suspended in time, pressed in pixels and recorded in ones and zeros forever… digital data doesn’t decay… does it?
It’s no surprise that photographers worship the ‘golden hour’… a Divine moment close to sunrise and sunset where the sunlight becomes a diffused, warm gold, bringing landscapes to life with vivid colours, shadows and accents.
This makes sense but, what people miss is the incredible opportunity night-time brings, especially in cities with artificial light, moving traffic, neon signs and pulsing crowds. The night is a dark, artistic time for travel photography as it’s when most international cities come alive, providing the perfect opportunity to use your creativity to capture atmospheric and moody images.
However, after dark is different to daytime travel photography and it’s not for the faint-hearted. Low light requires a precise method of shooting to get the most out of low light situations.
To help you create your own sensational travel images after dark, here are 10 tips for night-time travel photography.
1 – Experiment with shutter speed and ISO
In low light, you’re going to have to use slower shutter speeds to allow more light into your camera. As a general rule, you can only go as slow as 1/30th of a second for hand-held shots if you have a lens with image stabilisation. Anything slower than this and you’ll need a tripod or to anchor your camera to something solid and use a cable release or the camera’s self-timer function to take the photo. This will help avoid any camera shake caused by pushing the button yourself.
The faster your shutter speed, the higher you’ll need to set your ISO to correctly expose your image. Bear in mind that a higher ISO means more noise/grain in your pictures. Some of this noise can be removed in post-shoot editing; however, noise is noise, and most times, you’re much better off with a crisp, noise-free image. You can experiment with different shutter speeds to generate some creative effects such as blurring movement. Just remember that an ISO of more than 800 may look fine on the camera LCD, but when you get to editing, you’ll notice the grain which can be frustrating.
2 – Blur movement
One of the most significant benefits of shooting at night is the ease of being able to blur movement. You can create compelling images with creative effects that capture the action of a city. Moving traffic makes a great subject when shooting in cities as it creates interesting light trails. Moving ocean, carnival rides and crowds of people also make sensational after dark subjects. A shutter speed of around 4 – 8 seconds can produce some tremendous abstract effects.
Traffic trails make a great nighttime subject for capturing movement. ISO 200, f/19, 4 secs
Carnivals provide the ultimate subject for night photography with a blend of moving crowds, neon lights and spinning rides.
3 – Use a mix of still and moving subjects
Blurring motion is a great effect. It’s even better when you combine moving objects with still subjects as it creates an interesting dynamic and isolates the still subject in the environment. People in front of moving traffic or large, crowded areas where some people are walking, and others standing still are great opportunities to create interesting scenes.
Capturing still subjects with moving subjects creates a great nighttime dynamic. ISO 200, f/22, 4 secs
4 – Aperture
Aperture is key to creating interesting lighting effects when the sun goes down. Aperture sets the amount of light you allow into the lens. A small aperture (high ‘f’ number) lets in less light, allowing you to use slower shutter speeds and blur more movement such as turning moving water in a river into a glass-like reflection like the photo below.
An aperture of about f 16 – 22 focuses incoming light, creating a star-like effect on bright lights. You can see this in the lamps on the bridge below, as well as the lights on the highway in the picture above. I used a small aperture of f 22 for both these shots.
Slow moving water, such as the Thames River can create a glass-like reflection at night. ISO 200, f/22, 20 secs
5 – Creative use of flash
Using standard on-camera flash at night leaves you with sterile, unflattering images. However, experimenting with a speed light or even combining on-camera flash with slow shutter speeds can create impressive effects that combine the natural light of the scene with flash.
Another interesting effect with flash at night is to create a sense of movement by zooming your lens out while the shutter is open. This can be done by using a slow shutter of about 1/30th second and a burst of flash to highlight your subject like the picture below. Try experimenting with ‘first and rear curtain’ flash on your camera and see what effects you get.
Experimenting with flash and zooming out while the shutter’s open can create interesting effects at night. ISO 200, f/4.5, 1 sec with Speedlight rear-curtain flash.
6 – Stabilise your camera
Obviously, a tripod is ideal, however, some of the best shots are spontaneous and stopping to set up a tripod in a crowded area would cause you to lose the moment. Here, I’ll cover some tips on how to stabilise your camera without a tripod. This is where things get creative… I’ve balanced cameras on everything, railings, phone booths, shoes, my wallet on the ground and God knows what else.
If you can’t place your camera on something and use self-timer then, you need to lean your body against something solid, breath out deeply, hold your breath and dig your elbows into your sides. It’s best in these scenarios to use burst mode. This will allow you several tries at the same shot with the hope that one will be sharp enough. Remember, you don’t really want to go slower than 1/30th second with hand-held shots. If need be, increase your ISO and open the aperture to get your shutter up to a higher speed.
7 – Shoot in Raw
It almost goes without saying but, always, always shoot in Raw, not Jpeg. Shooting in Raw allows you to edit the exposure of images in post-processing. This is especially crucial for nighttime photography where you’ll likely want to boost exposure, drop the highlights, increase contrast and bump up the vibrancy a bit. High ISO and artificial light can create noise and other abnormalities so by shooting in Raw, you have a much better chance of ending up with a crisp, clean image.
Crowded public places are a great spot to capture movement, blurring some subjects while freezing others.
8 – Know your camera
This may seem like a strange tip but, shooting at night can have a sense of urgency about it as you want to get the right light and the right moment. However, it’s dark, and it can be hard to see your camera dials and buttons. This is where you really need to know your way around your camera without looking. Practise changing the settings on your camera in a dark room or even with your eyes closed. Get intimate with the dials and nobs and make sure you’re familiar with the key settings. The last thing you want to be worried about on a short is how to change the ISO or shutter speed.
9 – Start by taking a shot on full auto and work your way backwards
You should always shoot in manual at night. Yet, finding the perfect settings can be tricky and time-consuming. An excellent way to start when you arrive at your scene is to take a photo in auto mode and then look at the settings the camera used for that capture. This will at least give you a baseline to work from, and you can then tweak your settings to achieve the best effect. If you have your camera stabilised, start by reducing the ISO, closing the aperture and using a slower shutter speed.
10 – Experiment and have fun
Night photography is all about experimentation. Play around with settings, shoot everything you can and enjoy it. Find yourself sitting at a bar between shoots? Grab your camera out and snap some interesting candid moments. At night everything comes alive. The more you shoot, the more comfortable you’ll become with capturing low light scenes and your creativity will flourish.
Bonus tip – worry less about bad weather
One of the best advantages of shooting at night is you’re not so reliant on the weather and natural light. Who cares if it’s overcast or a clear night right? Even shooting in the rain can create fascinating images as street puddles reflect neon signs and artificial light. So, put your raincoat on and get out there rain, hail, or shine.
Wet weather at night can create interesting reflections, bouncing light of street puddles.
Below is a gallery of some of my night travel photography from around the world. Have some of your own images to share? Please share them in the comments below and happy shooting!
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