Night photography has a magnetism all its own. There is something about sparkling lights from office windows hanging in the dark of the night that appeal to us. Whether it's a city skyline, lamp posts on a dark and deserted street the challenge of capturing the mood of a night scene depends on whether your digital camera is capable of night photography and on a couple of simple techniques.

Can My Camera Do Night Photography?

 For successful night photography, you need a digital camera that allows you to keep the shutter open for a long time, anywhere from 3 to 30 seconds. Check your camera specifications in the User's Manual under Shutter Speed. The shutter speeds available will be given as a range, e.g. 30 sec. - 1/2,000 sec. If you are sincerely into night photography, then you would want to ensure you purchase a digital camera that allows the longest shutter speed possible, and even Bulb (where the shutter remains open as long as you depress the shutter release button).

Shooting Modes

For an image to be captured by a digital camera's image sensor, the latter requires exposure to light. Some of you may have noticed that, if you select a shooting mode of Auto (A) or Program Auto (P), your night pictures always come out too dark. They are simply underexposed. But, why is that -- if your camera's shutter speed ranges from, say 10 sec. to 1/2,000 sec.? Go back to your camera's User's Manual and look at the shutter speeds are they available in Auto or P mode? Perhaps the slowest shutter speed available in A and P mode is only as slow as 1/3 sec. That is usually not long enough for night photography. To access the longer shutter speeds, you may need to select one of the other shooting modes, e.g. Shutter-Priority, or even switch to full Manual mode. So ensure that your digital camera has full Manual mode and allows access to the full range of slow shutter speeds in that mode.

Self-Timer & Remote Controller

Another feature that you want your digital camera to have is a self-timer or, ideally, a remote controller. The purpose is to allow you to depress the shutter release button without introducing camera shake. I particularly like the remote controller, but not every camera comes with one or even has one available optionally. Most cameras has a self-timer. Usually the self-timer counts down from 10 sec or a 2 sec feature.

Tripod

An obligatory accessory that you need is a sturdy tripod. When you let the shutter stay open for a long period, the camera needs to be kept steady; otherwise, you end up with blurred images.

If you would like to learn about how to take night photographs, join our “Don’t be afraid of the dark” photographic Workshop at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

Contact Peter for more information on availability and pricing