The Night Time Is The Right Time; Low-Light City Photography Page 2

I also set something called “Exposure Delay mode” on my camera. In this mode the shutter fires 4⁄10 sec after the mirror opens. This is done to minimize the risk of blur due to the movement of the camera mirror. As I mentioned earlier, when you are dealing with several sources of bright light any shake can take down the quality of the shot.

The lights from a few cars passing the bridge are seen as red rays of light due to the slow shutter speeds used. A flashlight was used to add light to the trees in the foreground. By using this technique every leaf is visible and you get more depth in the picture. (Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX lens at f/8 at 30 seconds.)

When it comes to color settings it is all up to your personal preferences. I use sRGB color space since I don’t do a lot of retouching of my photos. I set the camera to the highest amount of saturation to get vivid colors. I don’t touch tonal compensation or hue. I use Manual mode and choose an aperture that suits the composition. It can often be a little tedious to get the right exposure when you start. If you are using a low ISO and need to experiment to get the exposure right it can take quite sometime. A tip is to find the right exposure using a higher ISO and then reshoot the picture at a lower ISO and an equivalent slower shutter speed to get a noise-free picture.

Be Safe
Let’s face it, when you are standing in the dark all by yourself with thousands of dollars worth of equipment you can be a target. Stay away from the loneliest streets and try to be street smart. If something feels wrong, get the heck out of there.

Reflections should be sought to add an extra touch to night shots. Exposure here with a Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens is f/10 at 15 seconds.

Quick Low-Light Tips
1. Set a low ISO for noise-free pictures.
2. Set the camera to vivid colors.
3. Use a steady tripod for blur-free photos.
4. Use the Exposure Delay mode.
5. Use a remote shutter release or self-timer.

Fredrik Froman is working as an aerospace engineer. To contact Froman, e-mail


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