Twilight Panorama of the San Francisco Bay
Last week we talked about photo processing. This week is the last week of the in-person course.
The topics covered in class included Astrophotography, suggestions on what equipment NOT to get for Astrophotography. We also discussed the limitations of Lightroom and Photoshop (see Lesson 5) because we did not cover them all in the last class.
To conclude our lesson series we present our greatest tips. Many of the tips you may be familiar with – especially if you have been with us on a workshop. Some tips will be a surprise.
Our Best Night Photography Tips
- Shine a bright flashlight through your viewfinder at night and it will show you what is in your shot. Much easier to figure out where the edges of your frame are when it is too dark to see well.
- A flashlight will not illuminate the sky where your shot is constrained by your lens, but a bright green laser through the viewfinder can accomplish that!
- Put glow sticks or LED slap bracelets around your tripod at night. Not only can you find your gear easily, but others are less likely to trip over it.
- Have a bluish LED light that you need to make less “cold”? Bounce it off the palm of your hand… or a warm colored shirt.
- Want to see well in the dark? Don’t wear a head lamp! Shadows and contours are hard to see when the light is coming from close to your eyes. Instead keep a DIM light at waist level. Bright lights ruin your night vision. And headlamps make it painful to talk to one another… you ruin their night vision when you look at them.
- Before you spend the effort traveling for night photographs, consult the weather and the moon phase.
- It is astonishing how much you can pre-plan a shot without having to go the location… hint: learn to use Google Maps + Street View!
- Don’t overlook the hundreds of tips we have for you here on this site… the search box is your friend.
- Dark skies are good… but better is to know which direction you want the sky to be dark so you can make the right compromises.
- Sometimes being behind a hill is a great help to prevent unwanted stray light.
- Want to photograph (or see) the best part of the Milky Way? You need to know when it is up. A planisphere (rotating star chart) is your best bet.
- Velcro is a great way to keep things handy and secure on your tripod. Velcro your intervalometer to your tripod.
- Lens hood – use one all the time to protect your lens and prevent stray light from causing glare.
- Do not use any filters – especially not a clear or “ultraviolet” filter. All filters make your image less desirable by causing extra surfaces that can reflect light and cause glare. Our only exception to this rule are 1: polarizing filters – which are useless at night, and 2: a filter to seal your lens in really nasty environments like rain and blowing sand.
- Test your tripod stability before you move away from it. If your tripod is secure, take a few steps back and make sure the center column is vertical. It is common to set a tripod up so that it leans in a way that makes it vulnerable to a fall.
- Another tripod tip: on a hill or slope, put two legs on the downhill side, one on the uphill side.
- Short straps (or no straps) on your camera is better for stability if there is any wind at all. We have personally seen cameras thrown over by wind gusts.
- Do not cheap out on a tripod. A sturdy tripod is more valuable for night photography than a “better” camera.
- The histogram is your friend. Be sure to check it before you conclude your shot is a good one.
- If your tripod has a hook below the center column hang your camera bag on it for even more stability. Be sure you’ve taken out all you need before you start shooting. Oh, and this may NOT work well if it is really windy or your pack is light.
- Study the place you plan to go during the daylight. It is not fun falling in holes or stepping on nasty things while wandering in the dark.
- Take a friend along for added safety, camaraderie and comfort. Also you do not have to outrun a bear, you just have to outrun your friend. 😉 [Do NOT try to run from a bear, by the way. That just makes you look tastier]
- A ball head works a lot better for night photography than a pan-tilt head. But get a sturdy head! It is useless having a sturdy tripod with a head that can not stay put.
- If there is anyone who may care: tell where you are going and when you expect to be back. Stick to the plan, too.
- Do not assume you will have cell service – some of the most amazing places to photograph have no cell coverage at all. Oh, and your battery might die.
- Overshoot. It is so much better to have two or three times as many shots as you think you will need than to find out you did not even get one quite right.
- When shooting sequences or panoramas… use your lens cap between sets so you can figure out when one set ends and another begins. Take it one step further and do what we do: use your hand forming an E, N, W, or pointing down to indicate the direction you are facing when you take the shot.
- Dark gloves make great “emergency stray-light reduction” devices – and they can keep your hands warm, too.
- It will always seem colder at night than the temperature might indicate. Dress in layers.
- Planning to leave your camera shooting for a long sequence and walk away? Use a GPS to record the camera location (you can do this using most cell phone map software, too).
- Respect people and their property. Ask for permission. You may be amazed how much farther courtesy and thoughtfulness will get you than being an intentional trespasser.
Have a tip you think is really super helpful? Please comment below!
Last Week’s Homework
Photo edit a “better” foreground into a star trail image.
Final Homework
- Comment below with what you’d like to learn about next.
- Get creative and leave us a comment below with a link to your super image.
- Comment below with the best tip you have learned about doing night photography.
Milky Way and Waterfall – we talked about how to get the Milky Way aligned where you want it.
