Taking Great Night Shots
I see a lot of people struggling to take a great shot at night, and the number one thing I see is trying to take a photo at night, without a tripod, that would be like trying to fry an egg without a frypan… If you want nice sharp images at night then there a few things you need to consider…
1. Do you have a tripod? and is it sturdy enough?, most tripods have a small hook under the centre column so you can hang your bag from there, make sure you weigh it down, you will be surprised how much a tripod will vibrate and move.
2. If your camera has live view or mirror lock up function, use it, it is there for that purpose. If you have a DSLR the movement of the mirror right before the capture is enough to vibrate your camera and cause blur. I have read about a clever little trick where you get a black card and hold it in front of your lens for the first second and last second of the shot so the only thing captured is after the camera has settled from the mirror slap…
3. look for reflections – they always look good, if you’re taking a shot with water in the foreground consider including the full reflection of what you’re shooting.
4. Use a remote – use a remote to activate your shutter, if you don’t have a remote use the timer function, you will definitely create blur by manually pressing the shutter release button.
There you have it… a few tips to get your night shots looking better!
The Daily Pic – Icons of Sydney
I was in the Nitty Gritty for a meeting the other night and had an hour to spare so I decided to get a couple of shots of our beautiful harbour…
