New York City at Night
Night photography, simply put, refers to taking photos at night: the photos you take anytime between dusk and dawn. It is a type of photography which I found myself gradually drawn to.
It poses a real challenge to travel photographers who usually have limited photographic equipment with them and, more importantly, limited light sources. You have to be very creative as to how to use the tools and the light available to you at night.
Plus, you really have to set your camera to Manual mode when shooting at night. Otherwise, your camera automatically turns on the flash, so you get poorly lit, poorly exposed photos. That or your camera may not be able to take any photo at all because it’s just too dark.
1. Experiment with your ISO - your ISO determines how sensitive your camera is to available light. At night, you need to use a high ISO (any value above 1000).
2. Learn how to use center-weighted and spot metering - The meter is your camera’s tool in determining the amount of light available in a shot.
3. Get yourself a prime lens - A prime lens is a lens whose focal length (zoom) is fixed. Because the design of a prime lens is simpler, its aperture is usually larger.
4. Buy a tripod or learn to improvise without one - At night, you may be forced to shoot in very low shutter speeds. If your hands are not stable enough, your photo comes out blurry.
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