How to photograph Nightscapes like a Pro

Nightscapes

I will briefly explain the techniques on how to photograph nightscapes in low light. Night photography is simple, fun and creative, especially at this time of the year as you don’t have to wait long for nightfall. 

It is always best to photograph cities, towns and traffic trailing lights when there are still some shades of dark blues, purples, pinks and orange in the sky. The final photograph becomes more interesting with lots of colours rather than a darkened sky in the background. When photographing illuminated signs, it is advisable to shoot them in close-up, therefore the background may not be an issue.

A few points to keep in mind:

Camera settings: Use Aperture Priority mode or Manual mode on cameras. Cameras which do not have the Aperture Priority or Manual mode will often allow selecting different scene settings, such as ‘dusk/dawn’, ‘nightlight’ or ‘sunset’ modes. Please choose which suits you and your camera best.

When using the Aperture Priority mode, set the aperture at f11 (the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed).

For Manual mode, set the aperture at f11 and the shutter speed at 15 seconds. Use this shutter speed as a guide only, as your exposure time may vary depending on the available light. You may either have to increase or decrease the shutter speed depending on the image produced.

If you are using a SLR, there is normally an exposure indicator visible through the viewfinder which looks like -2||||1||||0||||1||||2+. Adjust the shutter speed whilst looking through the viewfinder and ensure the indicator is on 0, as this will give you the correct exposure.

On compact cameras choose ‘Nightlight’, and the camera will adjust aperture and shutter speed accordingly.

Exposure: due to low light, exposures will be long ranging from 10 seconds to 90 seconds. Use a tripod to avoid camera shake, or alternatively change the ISO on your camera to 800 or higher to minimise camera shake.

Composition: It is advisable to frame your shot before you press the shutter release as it avoids ‘unwanted’ objects in your photograph.

Equipment: camera, tripod, watch or a stopwatch to time exposures.

Bracketing: as we will be using a small aperture (f11/f16), it is advisable to over and under expose your image by ½ a stop. When using bracketing, you will have a selection of images with varying degree of exposure. This will allow you to select the desired exposure by duplicating the settings of your preferred image.

Warm clothing: coat, gloves, hat and umbrella.

I have used my SLR and compact camera to take the following photographs. When I used the SLR, I set the camera on fully manual mode mounted on a tripod. As for my compact camera, I used the ‘night landscape’ mode without using a tripod or flash (the camera needed to be handheld very steadily). 

Examples of photographs taken using a compact camera set on ‘night landscape’:

Examples of photographs taken using a SLR set on manual mode:

The face in this image was created by laser lights:

Outside a restaurant:

Illuminated huts near the waterfront:

Bhupinder Ghatahora ABIPP, ARPS, ASWPP

Ghatahora Photography

info@ghatahora.co.uk

www.ghatahora.co.uk

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Weekly Photo Challenge - Sunset

This week's photo Challenge was sunset

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Friday's Tip

Tip 9:

Use the right ISO; use lower ISO to have maximum detail in your photograph or increase the ISO to create moody and atmospheric shots in low light conditions.

The ISO in the photograph below was increased as it was taken hand held.

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Taking Better Photos Tip 15

Tip 15:

Use a tripod to shoot sharper images
Use a tripod in low light to avoid camera shake

Bhupinder Ghatahora
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Quick tip - Night photography

It is always best to photograph cities, towns and traffic trailing lights when there are still some shades of dark blues, purples, pinks and orange in the sky. The final photograph becomes more interesting with lots of colours rather than a darkened sky in the background. When photographing illuminated signs, it is advisable to shoot them in close-up, therefore the background may not be an issue.

Bhupinder Ghatahora
Ghatahora Photography

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www.ghatahora.co.uk
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Tip of the week

Firework photography

7)      Camera Settings Compact Cameras:

Most compact cameras nowadays have pre-set ‘Firework’ mode, set the camera on this mode and the camera will set everything accordingly.

Bhupinder Ghatahora

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Tip of the week

Firework photography

6)      Camera Settings DSLR:

 I photographed my firework display on fully manual mode with camera on the tripod and these were my camera settings: Aperture f16 (to get maximum depth of field), Shutter speed 30 Sec, ISO set at 200. Use these settings as a guide and change them accordingly to your final result.

If unsure with the Manual Mode on your cameras, use ‘Aperture Mode’ (A) set the aperture at f11 of f16, the camera will set the shutter speed accordingly.

You can also use the ‘Shutter Mode’ (TV or S) set the shutter speed at 20 seconds. Use this as a guide, you may need more or less time – check your result.

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
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Tip of the week

Firework photography

5)      Do not use flash – switch off the flash as this will not capture the firework display

Bhupinder Ghatahora

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Tip of the week

Photograph Fireworks

Taking photographs of fireworks can be really easy, just follow the below steps and have fun taking photographs:

1)      Wear something warm

2)      Get the best spot – always worth asking the organisers where the firework display will be and inform them that you are taking some photographs of fireworks. Generally most organisers are very helpful!!

3)      Use a tripod, as the shutter speed is going to be very slow, tripod will avoid any camera shake.


Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
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Lowlight photography

Photography during winter is fun, especially when the mornings are filled with mist and the light is golden. There are long shadows during sunset and frost throughout the day, beautifully formed on spider webs, plants and anything that touches the chill. Then there is snow, which creates its own unique atmosphere. But most importantly, the whole ambiance is a wonderland.

Even though it gets cold during these months, don’t let this put you off photography. Wear suitable clothing to keep warm and capture the beauty of nature in your photography.

In this article I will briefly explain how to take great photographs in different lighting conditions using the ISO, aperture, shutter, and manual mode of your camera.

Morning Photography

Before sunrise, the light reflected from the sky hitting the scene is very soft and diffused, which gives very weak shadows. The colour of the sky will be blue on a clear day and grey on a cloudy day, such lighting conditions can create very atmospheric photographs. This photograph was taken before the sunrise.

Use the Aperture Priority mode; set the aperture at f16 (the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed).

For Manual mode, set the aperture at f16 and the shutter speed at 15 seconds. Use this shutter speed as a guide only, as your exposure time may vary depending on the available light. You may either have to increase or decrease the shutter speed depending on the image produced.

Cameras which do not have the Aperture Priority or Manual mode will often allow selecting different scene settings, such as ‘dusk/dawn’, ‘nightlight’ or ‘sunset’ modes. Please choose which suits you and your camera best.

Here is a photograph taken using Aperture Mode. The exposure will be long, so use a tripod as this will avoid camera shake. In this photograph the sun has just began to rise and you can see how the colours are different in both images.

If you don't have a SLR, it's still possible to get good photographs, just need to understand your camera and its modes. Read more on 'Understanding your Camera'. 

Example of photograph using ‘Dawn/dusk’ mode on a compact camera

During the morning also try to photograph the morning fog, water droplets on spider webs and frost.  To get maximum depth of field, set your compact camera on 'Landscape Mode' (set f16 on SLR - using Aperture mode ) and for minimum depth of field set the camera on 'Close-up Mode' (set f2.8 of f5.6 on SLR - using Aperture mode). The result of using these settings will be similar.

Morning fog (camera set on 'Fog Mode')

The photographs below are all taken with a compact camera.

Dew drops (camera set on 'Close-up Mode')

Night Photography

During total darkness, there is obviously no natural light available. These are perfect conditions to photograph trailing lights from cars, lit cityscapes, fireworks and light movement. 

If using Shutter mode, set your SLR on a slow shutter speeds such as 1/8th, 1/4th to capture movement. If using Manual mode, set the camera at f16 and use the camera’s exposure indicator to set the value on 0 as this will give you the correct exposure.

An exposure indicator is visible through the viewfinder which looks like:

2||||1||||0||||1||||2+.

On compact cameras choose 'Nightlight', and the camera will adjust the aperture and shutter accordingly.

Photograph of snow at night using Manual Mode:

It's great to experiment and be creative with photography. Try changing the ISO to 1600 or higher to minimise camera shake and to achieve moody, atmospheric photographs. I also convert my images to black/white to add more drama to it.

On compact cameras choose ‘Nightlight’ and the camera will adjust aperture and shutter speed accordingly.

Example of photograph using ‘Nightlight’ on a compact camera:

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
www.ghatahora.co.uk
info@ghatahora.co.uk
@Ghatahora
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How to Photograph Fireworks

Taking photographs of fireworks can be really easy, just follow the below steps and have fun taking photographs.

1)      Wear something warm

2)      Get the best spot – always worth asking the organisers where the firework display will be and inform them that you are taking some photographs of fireworks. Generally most organisers are very helpful!!

3)      Use a tripod, as the shutter speed is going to be very slow, tripod will avoid any camera shake.

4)      Focal Length – when photographing fireworks it’s difficult to see what will be in the frame (camera’s view finder) always shoot on wide angle. By zooming into the fireworks, some of the display will be lost, but do try zooming in as you will be surprised what you have captured.

5)      Do not use flash – switch off the flash as this will not capture the firework display.

6)      Camera Settings DSLR:

 I photographed my firework display on fully manual mode with camera on the tripod and these were my camera settings: Aperture f16 (to get maximum depth of field), Shutter speed 30 Sec, ISO set at 200. Use these settings as a guide and change them accordingly to your final result.

If unsure with the Manual Mode on your cameras, use ‘Aperture Mode’ (A) set the aperture at f11 of f16, the camera will set the shutter speed accordingly.

You can also use the ‘Shutter Mode’ (TV or S) set the shutter speed at 20 seconds. Use this as a guide, you may need more or less time – check your result.

7)      Camera Settings Compact Cameras:

Most compact cameras nowadays have preset ‘Firework’ mode, set the camera on this mode and the camera will set everything accordingly.

Have fun taking photographs of fireworks!!

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
www.ghatahora.co.uk
info@ghatahora.co.uk
@Ghatahora
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Landscapes

Landscape Photography
Lands End, Cornwall

Cornwall - Lands End

Buy prints here

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
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Low light photography

Dancers at the 'Songs of the sea' - Sentosa Island, Singapore

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
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Urban Landscapes

I will briefly explain the techniques on how to photograph cities, towns, illuminated signs and traffic trails in low light. Night photography is simple, fun and creative, especially at this time of the year as you don’t have to wait long for nightfall.

It is always best to photograph cities, towns and traffic trailing lights when there are still some shades of dark blues, purples, pinks and orange in the sky. The final photograph becomes more interesting with lots of colours rather than a darkened sky in the background. When photographing illuminated signs, it is advisable to shoot them in close-up, therefore the background may not be an issue.

A few points to keep in mind:

Camera settings: Use Aperture Priority mode or Manual mode on cameras. Cameras which do not have the Aperture Priority or Manual mode will often allow selecting different scene settings, such as ‘dusk/dawn’, ‘nightlight’ or ‘sunset’ modes. Please choose which suits you and your camera best.

When using the Aperture Priority mode, set the aperture at f16 (the camera will automatically adjust the shutter speed).

For Manual mode, set the aperture at f11or f16 and the shutter speed at 15 seconds. Use this shutter speed as a guide only, as your exposure time may vary depending on the available light. You may either have to increase or decrease the shutter speed depending on the image produced.

If you are using a SLR, there is normally an exposure indicator visible through the viewfinder which looks like -2||||1||||0||||1||||2+. Adjust the shutter speed whilst looking through the viewfinder and ensure the indicator is on 0, as this will give you the correct exposure.

On compact cameras choose ‘Nightlight’, and the camera will adjust aperture and shutter speed accordingly.

Exposure: due to low light, exposures will be long ranging from 10 seconds to 90 seconds. Use a tripod to avoid camera shake, or alternatively change the ISO on your camera to 800 or higher to minimise camera shake.

Composition: It is advisable to frame your shot before you press the shutter release as it avoids ‘unwanted’ objects in your photograph.

Equipment: camera, tripod, watch or a stopwatch to time exposures.

Bracketing: as we will be using a small aperture (f11/f16), it is advisable to over and under expose your image by ½ a stop. When using bracketing, you will have a selection of images with varying degree of exposure. This will allow you to select the desired exposure by duplicating the settings of your preferred image.

Warm clothing: coat, gloves, hat and umbrella.

I have used my SLR and compact camera to take the following photographs. When I used the SLR, I set the camera on fully manual mode mounted on a tripod. As for my compact camera, I used the ‘night landscape’ mode without using a tripod or flash (the camera needed to be handheld very steadily). 

Examples of photographs taken using a compact camera set on ‘night landscape’:

Examples of photographs taken using a SLR set on manual mode:

The face in this image was created by laser lights:

Outside a restaurant:

Illuminated huts near the waterfront:

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
www.ghatahora.co.uk
info@ghatahora.co.uk
@Ghatahora
Facebook
Pinterest
Flickr 

Misty road

The photo below has been taken with my BlackBerry Passport.

The photo has been edited using the phone's editing software, which I think is just amazing for minor adjustments like colour enhancement, black & white conversion or even toned photos. The photo was taken in colour before editing. Every week I will post quick tips on editing images on mobile phones.

This photo was taken on a misty day near Ufton Nervet, on the outskirts of Reading, Berkshire.
For this photo I decreased the saturation nearing to the end of the slider bar and increased the white balance to give the image a tinted effect.

More tips next week.

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
www.ghatahora.co.uk
info@ghatahora.co.uk
@Ghatahora
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Light over the bench

The photo below has been taken with my BlackBerry Passport.

The photo has been edited using the phone's editing software, which I think is just amazing for minor adjustments like colour enhancement, black & white conversion or even toned photos. The photo was taken in colour before editing. Every other week I will post quick tips on editing images on mobile phones.

This has to be my favourite photo from the above collection, I just love the way the sun's rays are falling on the daffodils and the bench. I wasn't too fussed about the corner of the photo completely burned out nor I wanted to crop it completely. It just shows the path of the rays.

For this photo I only increased the white balance give it a warmer look to the final image.

Light over the bench

Sometimes it's best to capture the moment rather than letting it slip by.

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
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info@ghatahora.co.uk
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The canal

I am always taking photographs, either using my Nikon, Fuji X-A1, Sony a6000 or my mobile phone.
The photo below has been taken with my BlackBerry Passport.

The photo has been edited using the phone's editing software, which I think is just amazing for minor adjustments like colour enhancement, black & white conversion or even toned photos. The photo was taken in colour before editing. Every other week I will post quick tips on editing images on mobile phones.

For the photograph below, I cropped it square and increased the saturation to boost the colour in the sky and the surroundings.

The Canal

Sometimes it's best to capture the moment rather than letting it slip by.

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
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info@ghatahora.co.uk
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Reflections

The photo below has been taken with my BlackBerry Passport.

The photo has been edited using the phone's editing software, which I think is just amazing for minor adjustments like colour enhancement, black & white conversion or even toned photos. The photo was taken in colour before editing. Every other week I will post quick tips on editing images on mobile phones.

This photo has been cropped in the editing stage and the saturation has been increased slightly to enhance the colours in the water.

Reflections

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
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@Ghatahora
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Landscapes

Landscape Photography by Ghatahora Photography

Lake Geneva

Buy prints here

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
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info@ghatahora.co.uk
@Ghatahora
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Tip of the week

Understanding your camera modes

The person & star symbol stands for Night Portrait or Night Photography. This mode uses a combination of flash and long exposure to pick the ambient (available) light in the background. Use this mode to take pictures of persons in low-light conditions. The use of a tripod is often recommended.

More quick tips next week

Bhupinder Ghatahora

Ghatahora Photography
www.ghatahora.co.uk
info@ghatahora.co.uk
@Ghatahora
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