Dancing In The Dark - Some Night Time Photography Hints!

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Many digital photography beginners I know stick rigidly to daytime shots, apprehensive about their rate of success at night. If you've delayed taking that next step, or find you just do not seem to take many night time photographs, here are a few common sense tips that will quickly help you on your way.

* Ideally you will have access to a tripod - a decent make and sturdy model that makes a big difference. Absolute stillness is required to get the best of the slow shutter speeds you'll need in low light conditions. It's the best way to guarantee tack sharp shots.

* Flash will have no impact if shooting landscapes - so remember to turn this off. Switching to manual settings will cover this, and give you control over the final image.

* Try to shoot in the first half hour after sunset. This is necessary to prevent streetlights from stopping you capturing detail or colors in the sky, which will be the case once it is completely dark.

* Long exposures can drain your camera's battery - so make sure you have a fully charged spare battery, just in case.

* Sounds strange, I know, but setting your camera's White Balance to 'daylight' will make your skies seem a deep and rich blue color, while also rendering any bright lights with a warm, yellowish tinge.

* I find that a tiny torch can be of great help. Every time I went out at night, at first, I always used to forget this, and struggled with the settings and adjustments I was trying to make.

* It's worth experimenting having your camera set to Bulb (B). In this case, the aperture stays open after the shutter is depressed, and until it is released. It is advisable to use a remote or cabled shutter release to obtain the sharpest images.

* Be aware that longer exposure times can lead to somewhat grainy images. One way to combat this is to turn on your camera's Noise Reduction setting, if it has one. Alternately, post production in Photoshop (or equivalent) allows you to carry out filtering to reduce the noise. Do this carefully, though, to prevent loss of detail.

* If attempting to capture moving vehicles' light trails, try shooting at dusk, to retain some sky color. You'll find this adds interest to the shot. An exposure of around 15 seconds usually does the trick.

If in doubt, just get out there and start taking shots. You just do not know how good you are going to do until you try. Remember, especially if you are a digital photography beginner, if you do not get it right first time, just keep plugging away until you do. It's all digital - so just keep practicing until you are pleased with the results.

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