Introduction: Complete Guide to Night Photography

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The night is a magical time. Quite often, we don’t give the night the appreciation it truly deserves. The night offers some of the most exquisite views humans ever get to see but not all night photography succeeds in catching the spirit and magic of the night.

Not only does the lack of light demands high-quality equipment but it also needs patience and skill on the photographer’s part. There are techniques which you can use to take great pictures of the night sky and everything else which the universe opens up to you in the late hours of the night.

There are some simple steps which you can follow to ensure that you take some amazing pictures of the night. However, before you begin photographing, you need to ensure that you begin with the right tools everything else is just execution.

Step 1: Get a Full Frame Camera

The first thing you would need is a full frame camera. The great thing about these cameras is that the sensors of these cameras have larger pixels which ensure that the pictures you take are free of noise and have a better quality.

Step 2: Get a Fisheye Lens

Acquiring a fisheye lens is great for landscape photography so they’re really good for the photography of the night sky.

Step 3: Get a Tripod

A tripod is the best thing to have for night photography as it provides the kind of stability our hands can’t match and stability is of the greatest essence in nighttime photography.

The three steps mentioned can make a great difference but they’re not compulsory if you don’t have access to these. Following a simple series of further steps will get you decent night photographs.

Step 4: Use Manual Focus

The first rule of thumb is to put your camera on manual focus. This point cannot be stressed enough as nothing hurts nighttime photography more than having the camera on auto focus and the computer in the camera keeps trying to find just the right focus.

Step 5: Use High ISO

Take the ISO settings on your camera to their highest value. To get the best value from this setting, make sure that your image is not getting affected by light from the moon as even the half-lit moon can result in deteriorated image quality and overpower the less bright stars.

Step 6: Use Long Exposure

Using a long exposure time is especially important if you intend to capture all the detail the night sky offers while taking some of the best photographs. Ideally, it should be anywhere between 20 and 30 seconds to get the best pictures.

Step 7: Post Process the Photos

Taking the photographs is only one aspect of the nighttime photography but the work continues long after you’ve taken the photographs. Aurora HDR Pro is one of the best tools to make your great night photographs stellar. Aurora HDR can reduce the noise by a few simple clicks, something which is an unavoidable thing in nighttime photography. You can try it here: https://goo.gl/l5WzTw

Aurora HDR Pro can also help you change the color temperature and hue of the photograph which can make a great deal of difference in your final results. Conclusion The ultimate tip in nighttime photography is to practice. Nothing beats that.

Conclusion: the ultimate tip in nighttime photography is to practice. Nothing beats that.