Gru Bo - Night Photography: Crafting Moments in the Dark

Smashwords Edition. LicenseNotes

This ebook islicensed for your personal use only. No part of this ebook may begiven away, resold, copied or reproduced in any forms by any meansor otherwise without the prior permission of the Author. Thescanning, reproduction and distribution of this ebook via any meanswithout the permission of the Author is illegal and punishable bylaw. If you would like to share this ebook with another person,please buy an additional copy and respect the hard work of theAuthor.

Theinformation in this ebook is for informational purposes only andnothing contained herein should be considered a legalnote.

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Foreword

Ipersonally enjoy photographing at low light situations and it hasbecome a major part of my photographic journey. I would like todedicate this ebook to all my photographer friends who haveaccompanied me in countless dark nights to get the shots Iwanted.

Cheersto all night light seekers exploring and experiencing the darknessto get the shots.

Tableof Contents

Chapter 1 - Introduction to Night Photography

Basantapur Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal

Beware thoughts that come in the night. They aren't turnedproperly; they come in askew, free of sense and restriction,deriving from the most remote of sources. ~WilliamTrogdon

Night photographyis easy. Besides the gears, all you need is that freaking energy tostay away from the crowd and friends. If you are passionate aboutNight Photography and are willing to stay awake till you get thatshot, you will eventually master this. Make sure you plan wellbefore you decide to go for a night session. Make sure you planahead of time of who to take with you. Organize a session withother Photographers who are also willing to go out to experiment ormaster. If you choose to take friends, make sure they wont behurrying you to go back home. You need to be focused. You need toplan it precisely, period. Photography is an amazing journey andNight Photography is addicting.

Like they say,one of the major aspects in photography is to find your unique wayto shoot the subject. Some photographers give up early. They areuncomfortable getting close to their subjects. Remember, if you arereally passionate about this hobby, you should never let anythingget in your way. It isnt that easy. You will encounter numeroussituations throughout your journey. Situations that will discourageyour enthusiasm. However, its your persistency that pays at the endof the day. Its that never ending energy that will take you tothe next level. And thats how you differentiate yourself fromothers. Thats how you brand yourself. Learn, explore andexperiment. Thats the only way towards the beginning to see anentirely different world of Photography.

Remember, Night Photography can produce some unbelievable anddramatic images, only if you do it the right way. You will getample time to be creative and explore the unusual lightingconditions at night. This is an excellent opportunity. You get toreframe the shot, you will have opportunity to change the angle ofthe shot, you can play with the exposure settings, play with theISO and what not. You can do all of them without worrying about theambience light. Because it will be the same till sunrise. Precious,isnt it? However, the only thing youve got to have is thatpatience throughout the night session. Ive known many nightphotographers who love to take night images, however, theyre notthat passionate enough to experiment. They dont want to play withthe different options (in camera/in lights) available and end upproducing mediocre images. Lack of patience is the key and thatswhere they screw up. Therefore, if you are persistent with yourexperiments when pursuing night photography, youll definitelyproduce some amazing and artistic night images.

Over the last fewyears, Ive been addicted to night photography like never before.The reason behind this addiction is because of the depth in colorsI am offered at low light situations. Also, I can take all my timeto frame, compose and shoot the surrounding areas with no one tobother. I can pursue my creativity silently and take home somegreat light trails or say take home some amazingly lit images thatIve been dreaming of.

Ivetried to share as much as I can through this ebook so that you canwitness some fascinating experiences through the darkness. Theseexperiences might help you even if you are starting out inPhotography and have limited knowledge in the field of Imageprocessing. Once you know the basics you can capture someexcellent, colourful and beautiful images during thenight.

Chapter 2 - Camera Basics and Impact

Before youventure out in the dark, its important to know the basics ofphotography. Once you are familiar with the basics and thetechnological aspects of your camera, it becomes much easier to getthe results you want. Its pointless to stagger in the dark withyour gears when you dont even know the basics of photography andyour camera. Knowing them is, therefore, crucial and thenpracticing them with your camera is equally important.

Focus

Adjusting the camera lens to get the clearest and sharpestdetail out of a subject, as desired, is termed as focus inphotography. Getting a perfectly focused image in night photographyis a challenging task. The camera cant find its focus point on itsown if the subject you are trying to capture is completely dark.Therefore, you have to find a bright spot so that the camera canauto focus at that spot. Once you find a focus point, you canchange the focus from auto to manual and then work on yourexposure combination to get a perfectly lit image.

Howto get a perfectly focused Image?

First, select thepoint you want to focus on and make sure the camera focuses on thatpoint. Once you set the focus, take a sample picture to see whetherthe picture is sharp or not. Some people prefer to put their cameraon timer if they dont have a remote shutter release or if theirtripod is not steady enough to hold their camera. Once you set yourcamera on timer, just press the shutter button and the camera willtake the picture. Remote shutter release is a device that takes apicture without manually pressing the shutter button. You are worryfree in shaking the camera of shaking the tripod. Its highlyrecommended if you are planning to do night photography seriously.Those devices can be purchased on Amazon, B&H Photo Video, eBayand many other sites that sell camera equipments.

Youre going totake multiple exposures of the same shot/frame to get differentresults. If you are happy with the frame/angle of the shot, youshould use manual focus mode. But before you go for manual focus,set the first shot using the auto-focus and then without alteringanything, switch to manual focus. If you dont switch your camerato manual focus, it might have difficulty focusing in the dark asit will repeatedly search for a focus point/focus lock.

If you areshooting with a camera that has a live view, you should use thatlive view. Live View is really helpful in getting a perfect focus.First, turn on your live view and then manually focus the subject.Adjust the focus until you are happy and the image is crisp. Onceyour focus is locked, you can turn off the live view and capturethe image.

Aperture

Aperture, in photographic term, is the adjustment of the lensopening (also measured as f-number), which controls the amount oflight passing through the lens. Remember that, the higher thef-number, the smaller the lens opening. The smaller the lensopening, the less light it enters through the lens openingresulting greater depth of field.