Painting with light is one of the more satisfying sub-genres of night photography, producing amazing pictures that look almost like clever Photoshop effects. But it can sometimes seem daunting with the fancy torches and light sources. In this light painting tutorial we offer a fresh DIY photography approach to add to your book of night photography ideas. Follow our 8 step tutorial below and learn how to capture light-painted orbs using nothing more than some fairy lights, rope and a few more common household items.
Photographing interiors of many famous photo locations often means shooting handheld. Many such landmarks ban the use of tripods, leaving photographers to their own devices to keep their cameras stable when shooting interior photography.
Start improving your low-light photography today with our latest photography cheat sheet. Our new cheat sheet is a handy night photography exposure guide with suggested shutter speed times for a range of subjects you’re likely to shoot at the ISO settings you’re likely to use.
Follow the simple steps in our new light painting tutorial and learn how to use your flashgun handheld, creatively firing it at different points in your scene during long exposures.
The longest automatic shutter speed setting on digital cameras is 30 seconds, which is fine for most subjects. However, there are some situations when you need to make much longer exposures – after dark, for example. This is where your camera’s Bulb mode – (B) exposure setting – comes in. This handy setting allows you to hold the shutter open for as long as required, enabling exposures of minutes (or hours) to be made.
Nothing spoils your night photos like soft subjects and odd colour casts. Below and on the following pages we’ll introduce some of the key night photography settings you should use in order to get pictures with real impact. We’ll not only show you how to set up your camera for night photography, but offer night photography tips for controlling your colours, planning yours shoots and more.
If you’re drawn to the heavy saturated colours of night photography but hate lugging a tripod – or perhaps you physically cannot carry a tripod – you’re in for a treat. Here we show you three quick and effective low-light photography tips on how to set up your camera to shoot hands-free night photography.
Astrophotography is all about stars, constellations and an uplifting sense of wonder. There are a number of simple targets for the beginner to aim for, and you don’t need specialist equipment or expensive glass.
A fantastic subject to get you started in night photography is traffic light trails – long tendrils of colourful light that form wonderful abstract shapes. The great news is that it’s an easy technique to learn and you can produce really eye-catching images with some very basic gear. All you need is an SLR with a wide-angle zoom lens, a sturdy tripod, a remote shutter release and a basic grounding in tried and tested night photography techniques.
Painting with light is one of the easiest ways to transform your night scenes from ordinary to extraordinary. Although you rely on natural light for most daylight photography, introducing artificial light when shooting night photography allows you to get really creative.
