Many photographers pack up
their gear right after sunset. However, the most magical time to make pictures
can be twilight or night! Shooting at twilight and beyond allows the
photographer to create beautiful story-telling imagery. Night transforms an
ordinary scene into something extraordinary, providing a wonderful opportunity
to expand your creative and artistic options. From cityscapes to landscapes,
and from twilight to a starry sky, beautiful nightscape opportunities are
limitless.
How to shoot
Nightscapes
• Scout out locations first. It's easier to determine and set up
compositions before the sun goes down. You may want to shoot a golden sunset
first, then wait for blue hour of twilight or night.
• Exposures will be long, you'll need a sturdy tripod. I use a Feisol CT-3442 carbon fiber tripod, which is
perfect for travel and everyday use.
• Keep it level. Use Live View or place a bubble level on the hot shoe of your camera,
• Cable release or self timer feature. Using a cable release helps prevent vibration
being transferred to the camera by pressing the shutter. You can also use
Mirror Lock-up if available on your camera.
• White balance. Try starting with 4000K, or Daylight (5000K) to see how it looks
with your scene. The “correct” measured white balance may look a little
lackluster, experiment, and see what works best for your composition.
• ISO Use the lowest ISO needed for the scene. The Nikon D3s is a stellar low light performing camera.
• Manual exposure. Set the
aperture for the desired depth of field, and determine the shutter speed for the exposure.
• There's an app for that. Light Tracker, Helios, Velaclock, Sunrise & Set,
and for tracking stars on the iPad try Sky Walk.
• Lost the light, no worries. Go for a classic black and white image.
• Be inventive. Think about creative lens choices, angles and
perspective. Make your shot unique and different.
Need some inspiration? Check out the Nightscapes portfolio on my website, http://www.deborahsandidge.com. Have fun shooting!
