Those new to photography can spend a lot of time worrying about capturing good shots. There is lighting, composition and other technical considerations to take into account. And this is just for a normal every day shot. When you move into a challenging area, such as attempting night shots, a beginner can really start to struggle. However, just like anything, you can learn to take amazing night shots. Here are some rules of thumb and digital photography tricks to note as you start to develop your skills in this exciting genre.
When you stop and look at a truly amazing photograph, you don't see the blood, sweat and tears that has gone into getting that one great shot. Visit an artistic display by your favourite photographer and it's tempting to go crawl into the corner and nurse your feeling of inferiority. However, even the best photographer needs many attempts before bagging that one perfect image. That's one advantage of digital when learning night shooting. You can take hundreds of shots of one subject or situation. The more pictures you take, the better chance you have of capturing a really great night shot.
There is quite a learning curve when it comes to taking night shots. There are challenges and limitations that are not present in any other shooting environment. If you have a night setting on your camera, start there. However, to get really familiar with the nuances, the best digital photography trick to suggest is to experiment with your manual settings. Make tiny adjustments with each series of shots. It will increase your chances of hitting the right spot. An online photography course would be able to guide you in detail on how best to move from auto to manual settings, in order to take control of your photographs.
Light is a huge challenge with night shooting. Frankly, there is just much less of it. That makes for rough waters, as your digital camera relies on the nuances of light to capture any image. The first thing you need to do in order to compensate is to get that shutter open. You will need a longer capture time to get a decent shot. Don't worry too much if you get some blur. It can add to the ambience. If it is not conducive to the type of image that you desire, play with other settings, like pumping up the ISO. In most circumstances, you should not need to resort to flash. It will likely not be effective and can detract from the desired mood.
Camera shake is the instability that comes into play in a shot when you are holding the camera yourself. As with any living and breathing person, you can never be entirely still. In daylight, the affect of camera shake is often negligible. However, at night you need a longer period of time to capture the shot, and any movement becomes apparent. There are ways to compensate for camera shake. First, you can use a lens with built in image stabalisation, designed to compensate for the problem. Even with this, though, the tried and tested method is to invest in a decent tripod, with the addition of a shutter cable release.
With any art, the more you practice, the more skilled you become. Find different occasions to practice night shots and create different scenes and moods in your lens. Once you master the necessary digital photography tricks, why not try photographing fireworks, people, bridges, cityscapes, moving traffic or simply anything that catches your imagination at night? Before you know it, you could have people calling you professional as well.
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