This article by Andy Heatwole provides inspiration for anyone who would like to shoot great night photographs. It is well worth reading even if you have already taken a ton of long exposure shots. He covers a lot of ground, from the basic shot through using a lighter and lightening.
“Painting with light” is one of my favourite fun things to do with a camera. He explains how he approaches it well.
you can use just about just any light source to “paint” light into your images. I use a Mag flashlight because it allows me to adjust the width of the beam but any strong flashlight will do. Some people also use high powered spotlights which can be useful when illuminating distant subjects. Personally, I like to perform this technique just before complete darkness which adds some nice ambient light to the scene. The exposure time for this technique will vary depending on the available light but generally 30 seconds to 2 minutes is sufficient.
I have heard of the “golden hour” before but “The blue hour” is a new one on me.
The “blue hour” is the period of time after sunset but before complete darkness when the sky takes on a deep, rich blue.
Check out the full article – The Daily Shooter – Fun in the Dark also take a look at thenocturnes for further night shooting inspiration.
Technorati Tags: night, photography, exposure, tips
2 Comments
My husband and I are getting into night photography. I am more into than he. But I love some of the tricks and techniques so I can’t wait to try them. We are mainly into digital photography but we like other ways too! The old fashioned ways…oh the days!
But I wanted to comment on this picture. It’s so absolutely gorgeous. I love it. I like the way the light reflects and the colors and just the balance of everything seems wonderful.
Yeah he has some beautiful pictures, a very talented photographer. His portfolio is http://www.blog.bluehourphoto.com/