Following my last blog, "Night Photography Adventure - What You Need!," and more so recently after sharing a few night photography shots I had taken on my social media platforms, I have seen an increase in questions from followers about how I take night photography shots. So I thought it might be a good idea to do a blog post on my process for taking night photography shots.

What You Will Need

If you read my last blog, you will likely know this, but it is always good to have a refresher.

Camera
Tripod
Intervalometer (not required, but very helpful)
Headlamp or flashlight with red light (not required, but also very helpful)

Where to Begin

Before we go outside, we are going to change some settings on your camera and lens. These are both much easier to set in the light, which is why we are going to change them now. For night photography, we will be using the manual (M) setting for both your lens [manual focus] and camera [manual exposure and settings]. If you haven't yet, switch your camera Mode Dial to the (M) setting and your lens to (M) [both pictured below]. If your camera lens has VR (vibration reduction switch) that is pictured below, switch that to off on your lens as well. When you are using a tripod, you ALWAYS what VR or stabilizer off, because it will actually ADD shake to your image since it no longer is countering the motion of your body. So remember, if you are using a tripod, turn your VR or stabilizer off!

Since each camera is different, you may want to check the manual for your camera for where to find these next specific camera settings that we are going to want to change:

Shutter
Aperture
ISO
Live View (LV)
Magnifier (magnifying glass symbol with the "+" symbol)

Defining These Settings

Shutter speed is how fast your aperture opens and closes when you take an image. The aperture setting controls how much light is let into the camera. The smaller the aperture number, the more open the aperture is, the more light is let in. Likewise, the larger the aperture number, the smaller the opening, the less light is let in. The ISO is your sensitivity to light. The smaller the ISO number the less sensitive it is, while the larger the ISO number the more sensitive. The higher the ISO number also means the more noise can be in your image. I try to use the smallest ISO number possible whenever possible, but the best way to truly understand this concept is to take several photographs with these various settings and see exactly what happens. Nothing beats trial and error! I will give you some recommend settings below though to play with so you’re not completely guessing. The Live View (LV) button is what you use to switch back and forth between movie and photo mode. It allows you to see the image on the back of your camera's screen. Lastly, the magnifier button will come in handy when combined with LV when we are manually focusing your camera lens. It allows you to zoom in on the image that is currently on the back of the camera so you can better see the detail.

Time to go Outside!

Setting Your Focus

When it comes to night photography, you don't have to be out in the middle of nowhere. While that might be very helpful and could make post-processing a lot easier, it's not mandatory. If this is your first time, simply go to your backyard, a nearby open field, or park. Try to get away from any street lights or if you can turn your outdoor house lights off, that will be good enough.

Once you have done this, put your camera on the tripod. We are going to now use the manual focus ring on your lens and manually focus the camera. The image below will show you where the focus ring should be on your camera’s lens.

I now want you to press the LV button so the Live View screen comes on the back of your camera. Aim the camera at a light off in the distance. If you turn the focus ring, you might notice that light in the distance becomes more in focus and less in focus. If your camera has the magnifying put on the back of the camera, hit the magnifying button until you have zoomed in on that light. Turn the focus ring on the end of your lens and watch what happens with the light closer up. It is likely easier now to see it changing size and clarity/focus. When you think the light is in focus, leave the focus ring where it is and do not touch it. You've not dialed in your focus. If you bump it, you will have to do this again. You can now click the LV button again and it will turn the Live View off. You can now aim your camera at the horizon or at whatever subject you want to take a long exposure of.

Setting Your ISO, Aperture, and Shutter

For these next steps, we are going to use some base settings that I often use just to get started. Based on your camera manual, you are going to want to set the following settings:

1) ISO to 400. This is a good average starting point.

2) Set your aperture to F5.6.

3) Set your shutter to 15 seconds

Once you have done this, take a photo, but be careful NOT to touch the camera too much since it could cause your image to become blurry. Once you touch the button, the camera shutter will open for 15 seconds, then it will close. Just click the button and step away. When the shutter makes a noise again, the shutter has closed, which means you can few the image you took. Examine it. Use the magnifier and look at the stars. Do they look in focus or close to in focus? They won't be 100% clear, especially on the back of your camera screen, but you can get a pretty good idea if your camera is in focus or not. With that, you just took your first long exposure night photography shot!

Change Some Settings, Try it Again - Trial and Error!

This next time around, I want you to repeat this process again, except this time increase your ISO to 800. How does this image compare to your last image?

Keep repeating this process while increasing the ISO, try for instance around ISO 1600 or a similar equivalent. How does this image compare? You should notice as you keep increasing the ISO, the image should get somewhat brighter. You might see the stars better, the background might become a little more visible, and any city lights are likely sticking out more and more.

Now drop your ISO to the lowest it can go, usually around 100. What happened now? You again should notice that your image likely got a lot darker. The stars might not be as visible. What happened to the city lights?

What Happens When you Change Your Shutter Speed?

Bring your ISO back to around 400. This time I want you to play with your shutter. Set your shutter speed to 30 seconds. This should be your lowest shutter setting before BULB. What did you notice about this image compared to your first image? Probably the background is a little more visible, stars are likely more visible, and if there are city lights, they are definitely brighter.

Set your shutter now to 1 second. Again, what do you notice? Other than the image being really quick to take, I bet the image is really dark, if not completely black. The point of this was to show you that you can get a lot of the same results from changing your shutter as you do change your ISO, except you won't have to worry about there being as much noise in your image when you change your shutter and leave your ISO at a lower setting.

Time to Experiment With Aperature Changes

The same thing can be true when you change your Aperture. If you were to have a smaller number, more open aperture, you could have a shorter shutter speed and get the same amount of light. The one downfall though is your depth of field becomes much more narrow now. Meaning you have a smaller area/window where objects are in focus [reference image below]. In the image below, the top illustration shows what happens when you use a more open aperture. While the bottom illustration shows what happens when you use a smaller opening aperture. From personal experience, I have found an aperture between 5.6 to 7.3 works pretty well for night photography.

I hope this helps anyone trying to get into night photography, or wanting to take long exposures. If you need a further explanation, you can't find how to change certain settings for your specific camera, or you just have a question. Please don't hesitate to comment on this blog post or simply send me an email! Here it is: support@limitlessproductiongroup.com. I will try to get back to you as soon as I can and hopefully help answer any questions you might have!

How to take a long exposure | Night Photography