Are you looking to get into shooting the city at night? Have no idea where to begin? Pierre T. Lambert gives you his insight and advice on how to get started!
The streets at night with their brightly colored lights and windows can seem a very alluring place for photographers to capture the spirit of the city at night, but the first thing you'll notice is that it's not always as easy as it seems. First things first, photographer Lambert, who's an avid and experienced traveler himself, explains the different ways of photographing your night time city shots. You may want to shoot long exposure or capture frozen moments of strangers. For each of the situation, Lambert gives his advice on how best to approach it, such as what camera settings to use.
But what about your gear? Lambert's video also touches on what camera gear he has found to work best for his night time shooting, with a strong focus on the choice of lens rather than the body. But if you're all set with the technicalities of night time photography, what about the hardest thing there is, namely, what to shoot? Lambert covers this with a bunch of ideas to get your creativity going if you're feeling stuck.
Have you got any other ideas to inspire others to shoot the city at night?
Lead image used with the permission of Pierre T. Lambert.
welcome to Malaysia !!!
Thank you Michael!! :)
Thank you Anete for sharing!
Some good info here. I think the mindset is aimed more at people shooting with DSLR or mirrorless with full frame or APS-C sensors.
I personally rarely shoot with cameras that big on the street anymore. I honestly don't care too much about sensor noise, but that's my personal taste. I used to shoot a lot at night back in the 90s with film like Fuji 1600, typically pushed one stop, just so I could shoot handheld at night, and the noise and acuity I get from even a 1-inch sensor shot at 6400 with an f/3.5 lens is still better than anything I ever got off high speed film, so noise and grain don't bother me, I'm just used to it. It's more important for me to get the shot that I otherwise wouldn't have had I not pushed the system.
Although of course you'll get better IQ off a full frame or APS-C sensor, I personally prefer a decent 1-inch or M4/3 camera for street work, day or night, because they are compact enough to always be with me. This allows you to get an image that pops up as you are just going about, as opposed to purposely setting out with all your gear looking for shots. People generally are also less intimidated by the looks of the compact cameras as opposed to DSLRs and large mirrorless cameras. My tripod for such tiny gems (a Giottos Ball Pod) also fits in my pants pocket!
Of course, these are my personal tastes. If you want to make it a project shoot, going out with full frame or good APS-C camera will certainly yield better quality results, and his tips here are handy if the hardware is within your budget (RE: fast lenses).