why I love night photography, and why you should too
when i started to use camera, nightfall always was some kind of border between “i can shoot” and “I have to wait till the morning”. low knowledge, slow lens and short experience are not the best friends for a night photography (yes i hardly believe that experience and knowledge are independent from each other). this inability to keep shooting in low light hours challenged me to find the way of taking pictures in accordance with the 24/7 scheme. and i don’t don’t talk about the studio light and special or camera flash as an additional to camera accessories. my “tool of choice” was cheap, small and fast Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, affordable for every photographer – both beginners and advanced. night photography forced me to learn a
“correct” exposure technique effective for extreme light condition situations.
a few tips and recommendations for a night low light photography beginners :
– use prime lens with high aperture. these lens as usual more fast, more sharp and you will be free from the need to think about the choice of focal length – your legs are your zoom and the right focus plus composition are only stay in your worries.
– until recently AV mode was my prefered choise for the low light situations but during my trips with film cameras i found that TV (shutter priority) is even better and now this is my main mode and not only low light hours. put your shutter speed 1/60-1/180 depending how blurry you want to express the motion effect and be happy with the result. (with 35mm lens sometimes i use 1/20-1/30 and have great stable results without tripod).
– do not be afraid to use high ISO. even with my old 5dmkii i just set the ISO to 3200 and don’t think about and I do not think about it anymore.
– be creative – use the natural (artificial) spots of light installed by caring people anywhere – street lamps, shop windows, lights of passing cars – everything could serve you. outdoor night space is your spontaneous studio – just catch the light in the right moment.
enjoy the low light and be happy…
thank you and welcome to visit again…
Great work!
Thank you !
Really like this set of images.
Thank you ! You’re welcome to check my other posts too ,-)
Amazing set and inspiring writing, Victor! I have to get my ass up from the couch in the evening and go out. Last time I did night photography was 2014 in Lisbon…
Thank you my friend ! This is my first post for this series and i already have the stuff for more. I shoot a lot at nights maybe more then at days ;-)))
I’m ready and look forward to see more of your fantastic work!
What an amazing collection ! Loving it.
Nice and inspiring
Hey Victor, your exhibits are creative as usual and overtime a joy to watch it. But your explanation is just one ( your ) way to take nightshots. A EOS 5D mk ll is not really a low-cost cam and also not for beginners too. Most will ask: “ISO 3200 whats that, i find just ISO 800”. They will mostly not get a shutter speed between 1/60 and 1/200, they will be much slower. What is your solution for them? In one point you are very right, a proper lense is absolutely necessary, otherwise it will be difficult to get the right focus. So to use 50mm f1,4 is a good idea also for a low budget too. But be true by yourself, how many beginners do know, who how a proper gear can be looks like also for a low price too.
This crossed my mind too.
You’re right about pricy gear but i use this camera for more then 7 years and possible to find it in second hand market just for $1000 today next month mkiv vill meet the market but who carry i still love my old “expensive” camera and i know newcomers who buying Leica with an idea that this choice will make the first click better 😉
And i dont teach, i just recommend and hope that a few photographers will find something helping them. Btw – i use Sigma 35mm 1.4 and find it good enough for the night photography and really want to have same but Canon just dont like the price
Oh yea…Love your advise, so sound, love your photos and the eye that makes them and shall pull myself out of my warm house and get out and about in the dark hours. Thank you for the push.
Thank you for taking a look and reading a few words writing by me. More photpgraphs are on the way ! And good luck to you too !
Very good recommendations, Victor, and fantastic photos !
Thank you Carlos !
love the set Victor and a very constructive explanation. Have a good saturday
Thank you Yuri !
Nice set of shots, I’ve just got a 50mm f1.8 Canon lens and will be out trying this. Will also try it on my EOS 1 film camera with the highest ISO film I can find. I’ll post the results.
Thank you very much and good luck to you.
Great post and photos! If I go into London it’s always more inspiring at night! I agree very much with you 🙂
What an inspiring and great pieces of labour! 🙂