Night Photography in Low Light

Photography means 'writing with light'. Without light, there is little to write! Fortunately, taking photographs in low light is perfectly possible. Modern digital cameras are well suited to evening and night photography. With the right camera settings, you can take beautiful photographs even when light is scarce.

The Difference Between Evening and Night Photography

The light during twilight is different from the light at night. As the sun sets, the sky first turns orange and then blue. Photographers call this period the blue hour. It is clearly visible under a clear sky, but less noticeable or even absent when it is cloudy.

As the sun sinks further below the horizon, the blue glow gradually disappears. Night has arrived. In many areas, the sky never becomes completely dark because of light pollution. Read more about night filters.

When night turns into day during morning twilight, a similar colour transition occurs in reverse. The sky first turns blue and then orange before full daylight appears.

When Is the Blue Hour?

Several apps indicate when the blue hour begins and ends for a particular location and date. Make sure you are ready in time, because the blue hour often passes more quickly than you expect.

Below are two examples taken shortly after one another. The first photograph shows the orange sky just before the blue hour. In the second photograph, the orange glow gives way to increasingly deep blue.

Both photographs were taken at the ice rink on Museumplein in Amsterdam.

Photographing in the Dark

After the blue hour, it becomes increasingly dark. Artificial lighting takes over part of the role of sunlight. Photography then requires extra attention to exposure, focusing and preventing motion blur.

Photographs taken in the dark can have a special atmosphere, even if they are not technically perfect. Wet streets create beautiful reflections. Moving people may blur or become barely visible during long exposures. Vehicles with lights can create attractive light trails. Rain also becomes visible when raindrops catch the light from a streetlamp or another light source.

There are plenty of reasons to take photographs in the evening as well.

Evening and Night Photography Checklist

Before going out to photograph in the evening or at night, think about your camera settings. Bring a small flashlight so you can easily see your camera's controls. Working by touch alone is difficult and can cause you to miss the right moment.

In winter, fingerless gloves are useful. Cold weather reduces battery capacity more quickly, so bring a warm, fully charged spare battery as well.

The following points are useful to check before you start. They are not absolute rules: the right settings depend on your subject and the result you want to achieve.

• Use a Tripod for Sharp Night Photos

  Prevent camera shake by placing your camera on a tripod or another stable surface. Avoid extending the centre column of your tripod all the way, as this can reduce stability.

• Use a Fast Lens

  Make the most of scarce light by using a lens with a large maximum aperture. This allows more light to reach the camera sensor.

• Set Your Camera Manually

  Automatic exposure may sometimes produce a different result from the one you want in night scenes. Use manual mode (M) to set the shutter speed, aperture and ISO yourself. Experiment until you achieve the desired exposure.

• Choose the Right ISO Setting

  When photographing from a tripod, you can use a low ISO setting and a longer shutter speed to help reduce noise.

  If you are shooting handheld, a higher ISO setting may be necessary to prevent motion blur. This can make image noise more visible, although you may be able to reduce it during post-processing.

• Turn Off Image Stabilisation When Using a Tripod

  With many cameras and lenses, image stabilisation is unnecessary when the camera is firmly mounted on a tripod. With some systems, stabilisation can even introduce unwanted movement. Check the manual for your equipment.

• Use Long Exposure Noise Reduction

  Some cameras offer long exposure noise reduction. This often involves taking an additional dark frame to reduce certain types of noise. Keep in mind that this takes extra time.

• Use a Self-Timer or Remote Release

  Pressing the shutter button can cause the camera to move. When using long exposures, use the self-timer or a wireless remote release.

• Use Spot Metering for Exposure

  Average metering does not always produce the desired result in evening and night photography. Spot metering can help you measure the light in a specific part of the scene. Check the result and adjust exposure compensation if necessary.

• Adjust the White Balance

  Evening light differs considerably from daylight, and artificial lighting is often present. This affects the white balance.

  If you photograph in RAW, you can adjust the colour temperature afterwards. If you photograph in JPEG, set the white balance carefully. Automatic white balance may produce colours that differ from the appearance you want to capture.

• Use Live View in the Dark

  If your camera has live view, use it to compose your photograph and, depending on your camera, to help with focusing.

• Remove Unnecessary Filters

  A UV filter is usually unnecessary for digital night photography. Under certain conditions, an additional filter can cause reflections or light artefacts, especially when bright light sources are in the frame. Consider removing the filter in these situations.

Filters for Night Photography

When there is little light, using a filter may not be the first thing that comes to mind. A filter can reduce the amount of light entering the lens and may require a longer exposure.

However, filters can be useful in certain evening and night photography situations, for example when photographing light pollution or experimenting with infrared photography.

Night Filters for Light Pollution

Light pollution is one of the factors that can make night photography difficult. An orange sky can make stars less visible. In Western Europe, there are few places where artificial lighting has no effect on the night sky.

Some types of street lighting, including older sodium lamps, emit much of their light within a relatively narrow range of wavelengths. This light can create a yellow-orange colour cast in night photographs.

Night filters are designed to reduce certain wavelengths of artificial light. Their effect depends on the filter type and the lighting used. A filter can change colour reproduction, but it does not eliminate all light pollution.

Night filters can be relatively expensive. Before buying one, check whether it is suitable for your camera, lens and the type of lighting you want to photograph.

Infrared Photography with an IR Filter

Infrared light is invisible to humans. Infrared photography captures light outside the normal visible spectrum. To do this, you need a suitable camera and, in some cases, an infrared filter.

Infrared photography can produce unusual, sometimes almost surreal images. The result depends on the camera's sensitivity, the filter used and the post-processing.

Many digital cameras have a filter that blocks some infrared light. This can make long exposure times necessary. With some cameras, manual focusing may also be required.

Editing Night Photos and Reducing Noise

Whatever settings you choose, noise can become visible in night photographs. Photo-editing programs such as Lightroom and Photoshop offer tools to reduce it.

Reducing Noise with Dfine

Dfine is available as part of the Nik Collection . This plugin is designed to reduce digital noise in photographs. The Nik Collection offers several tools for improving your images.

The photographs below demonstrate the effect of Dfine. The visible noise is reduced. Move the slider back and forth to compare the images. The effect is particularly noticeable in the foreground on the right.

Reducing Noise with AI in Photoshop

Digital noise can also be reduced using artificial intelligence (AI). Photoshop and other photo-editing programs offer various tools for this purpose.

The results can be good, but always check that important details have been preserved. AI editing can sometimes produce unnatural results, especially with faces.