Night photography tips - the equipment you'll need

Night photography can produce stunning photos. Neon lights, inky black skies - the scene is all set for some really good photographic opportunities.


So why are we often disappointed with our night photography?

Read on for advice on what equipment is needed for night time photography, and what equipment you can happily do without.

If you haven't already done so, have a look at the digital night time photography homepage for tips on how to take better night photos.

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A bad workman . . .

Usually I would be nodding in agreement at anyone who tells me that the quality of your camera equipment makes little difference to the quality of your photos.

Except in the area of night photography.

Here, there is some equipment that you will need, and curiously, some that you can happily do without.

The type of night photography you are interested in will make a difference to the equipment you will need. This page has been broken up into equipment for:

• capturing the mood
  
• cityscapes
  
• indoor photos (and party shots)
  

Soft music, log fire, candlelight . . .

Capturing the mood is all about soft light, and a warm feeling that makes you want to just hug that picture!

Concerning equipment, for this you will need a digital camera that allows you to turn the flash off.

This is because if the flash fires it will fill your nice cosy scene with harsh white light, killing the mood and ruining your night photography.


Because your flash won't be firing, the shutter on your camera will be open for quite some time. It has to stay open to allow enough of your cosy light to hit the sensor on your digital camera.
NB: "some time" means about half a second. Any movement during this time will result in a blurred photo.

Because of this, the camera needs to be on something solid before the shutter opens. This will avoid a blurred photo.

Ideally, place your digital camera on a tripod. However, you probably didn't bring one to your romantic anniversary dinner!

Without a tripod, you just need to find some surface that won't move, and use the self timer to trip the shutter

Digital night photography equipment needed:

• Digital camera that you can turn the flash off
• A digital camera with a self timer
• Something to balance your digital camera on (or a tripod)

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It's hot in the city . . .

After the sun goes down, keep your digital camera out - cityscapes make a great night photography subject. All lit up against a dark sky. Wonderful!

Here you don't want the soft cosy light - you want a photo that shouts excitement!

Concerning equipment then, as before you will need a digital camera that allows you to turn the flash off.


The reason you need to turn the flash off this time is two fold:

First, if the flash fires the camera will set a really short shutter speed (probably 1/125th of a second. You'll need to keep the shutter open for a few seconds to get good night photography cityscapes.

Second, the flash will be too far from anything to make a difference anyway, so you'll end up wasting battery power every time it fires.

You will also need a camera that has shutter speeds measured in seconds, not fractions of seconds. An exposure of about ten seconds is about right for most night photography cityscapes.

You camera will need a self timer - this is so that you can set a long exposure (shutter speed), then use the self timer to fire the shutter. This way you don't jolt the camera when you press the button.

Finally, you'll need something solid to put your camera on. This is to avoid blurring. Ideally, place your digital camera on a tripod. If you don't have one, or don't want to lug one around, you'll need a solid spot to rest the camera.

Digital night photography equipment needed:

• Digital camera that you can turn the flash off
• A digital camera that can produce exposures measured in seconds (not fractions of seconds)
• A digital camera with a self timer
• Something solid rest your digital camera on (or a tripod)

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Tonight we're gonna party . . .

For party shots, you've probably already got all you need.

The aim here is to get a shot that says fun, fun, fun!

Concerning equipment, you will need a digital camera that has a good flash. The more powerful the better.

For this type of photo it's also useful to have a camera that has a "focus assist" lamp. These light the scene just enough to allow the camera to focus, before firing the flash.

You need the flash to "freeze" the action. Otherwise you'll end up with blurred photos of everyone.

Ideally, you'll have a DSLR with a flashgun on it (DSLRs are perfect for night photography). The benefits of a separate flashgun are:

• They're more powerful than the on-camera flash
• The flash can be "bounced" off of walls and ceilings to soften the harsh light
• Because the flash is further from the lens, red-eye is reduced
• You can add colour filters to the flash to fill the scene with coloured light

For party shots you can do without the tripod. It will just get in the way.

Digital night photography equipment needed:

• Digital camera with a good flash (or, a DSLR with a separate flashgun)
• A digital camera with a "focus assist" lamp

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I've gone over useful equipment to have for night photography. You can happily make do without some of it, as long as you have a few tips to hand.

If you just take night photos occasionally, the tips on the digital night photography home page will help you take better photos without any extra equipment at all.