Basic Photography Techniques
Photographic techniques of night photography
- Black and White
- Infrared photography
- 3-D photography
- Flash photography
- Large Format Photography
- Video Photography
- Macro photography
Night photography can yield interesting results from both film and digital photography. Both cameras have the capability to successfully capture creative images in the dark.
When using an SLR film camera it is best to use a tripod and no flash. Night photos require long exposure times so the shutter of the camera must be left open for long amounts of time. The shutter can be left open for indefinate amounts of time with an SLR camera. There are different shutter speeds that are automatically set, and then there is an open speed or "bulb" setting, where as long as you keep the button depressed the shutter reamins open. This allows whatever light is around, whether it be in the form of artificial light or natural light, to penetrate the camera and make an image on the film.
There are filters available to offset any color from artificial light that may appear onyour film. Certain artificial lights leave certain colors, for example, a tungsten light (street lights and other outside lights) leave a yellow glow and inside lights (flourescent) leave a greenish glow. It is a good idea to buy filters for the SLR's lens to avoid any unwanted color effects. Digital cameras have a "white balance control" setting. It is possible to override the default setting of digital cameras and for the photographer to program them. More expensive digital cameras have an automatic adjustment. If you point the lens at a lighter part of the setting the camera will automatically adjust itself to the needed setting.
Digital night photography is possible because a photgrapher can adjust the shutter speed on a digital camera as on an SLR film camera. Also, a digital camera requires less tripod useage than an SLR. One thing to be concerned about with digital night photography is that when shooting into dark areas the digital is unable to accommodate the lack of color or image and so therefore the larger image has a pixilation, or lack of pixels, for that particular area of the frame. This is called "noise", which is the same as a film's "graininess". On some of the upper end models of digital camera there is a noise reduction function.