Case Study: How A Street Photographer Takes Night Street Photos

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Here are my top 12 tips to help take some great night street photos

Introduction

At night, the city shows a different face: the atmospheres are different, and people have indifferent mental dispositions: they are more open, go out to a party or meet people (which has its share of advantages and inconveniences), and the clothes are unusual. Therefore, the nighttime cityscape is quite nice and beautiful.

There is also a whole life that those who never go to bed late can never see: people work at night and are invisible during the day. All these constitute interesting subjects because they are unusually difficult to see without making a minimum of effort: street photography at night requires more effort because you have to go out when you most often want to sleep. It requires more courage because the nocturnal situations are more Caucasian.

It is also much more technical and requires specialized equipment for good results. This article aims to give you some tips so that you can have the basic tools and express your creativity around night activities that punctuate city night photography. Artificial lights are a wonderful playground for photographers to highlight subjects more abstractly and creatively than when the sole light source comes from the sun during the day.

Find Some Excellent Locations for Your Night Street Photography

Taking night street or city photos can be challenging for photographers, but before capturing those captivating images, it’s crucial to carefully choose excellent locations that will make your photos truly stand out. Here are some tips for helping you to look for some great places:

Seek out the light source – During night street photography, light plays a crucial role for photographers. To avoid underexposed images in low-light conditions, finding locations that offer various light sources, such as neon signs, street lamps, or car headlights, is essential. These lights can add intriguing storytelling elements to your pictures.

Look for contrasts – Contrast, as one of the most commonly used photo composition techniques, can create a remarkable visual impact for your viewers, particularly when shooting in the nighttime streets. Consider selecting a location that contrasts between bright lights and a dark background. Light and shadow can create a captivating contrast in your images. Additionally, you can seek out contrasting elements such as textures and colours.

Find fast-moving streets – Motion and stillness are two intriguing photo compositions in photography. Opt for lively streets filling with people, as they can introduce a vibrant and energetic atmosphere to your photos.

Safety and Privacy

When capturing night street photos, it is important to be mindful of people’s privacy and abide by the law. Prioritize safety and respect for others before starting your photography.

Respect others’ privacy – When capturing photos in public spaces, be mindful of people’s privacy and avoid disturbing their personal lives.

Study local laws –  Take the time to understand the specific regulations and laws regarding photography in your shooting area.

Consider cultural sensitivities – When photographing in different cultures or foreign countries, be aware of and respect cultural and religious traditions.

Wide Angle Lens or Prime Lens

In general, as I have been able to advise many times in my previous articles on street photography, I advise you to bring a wide-angle or prime lens. This will allow you to include in your image what makes the main interest of the night photo: the environment. The artificial lights of the shops, the reflections on the facades of the buildings … etc.

All this gives a special, cinematic atmosphere to street night photography. Shooting wide also gets closer to your subject, which offers a more immersive impression to the future viewer than using a telephoto lens, which will compress the image and make it much flatter. Getting closer to people is the opportunity to meet great people.

People are more open and inclined to let you enter their privacy during the night-time street. Getting closer is to increase the chances of capturing a decisive moment. Beyond all these advantages, the wide-angle lens has the technical qualities that can improve the image quality of your night photos for a simple reason: the wider the lens, the more you can afford to shoot with a slow shutter speed without fear of having a blurry image.

This is very important for the night photographer: to capture as much light as possible without worrying about a poor image. There is a simple calculation to determine the minimum shutter speed according to the focal length of your lens. The minimum shutter speed is equal, more or less, to the focal length of your lens.

For example, if you want a clear image using an 85mm lens, you should not go below 1/85 s. For a 28mm, you can go up to 1 / the 30s.

Here are some great lenses for taking night city street photography:

35mm -A lower focal length allows a slower shutter speed when capturing handheld images. This lens is ideal when struggling to achieve higher shutter speeds, boasting a maximum aperture of typically f/1.4;

The 50 mm -Night street photographers highly favour this lens. It offers various aperture options, with the largest aperture being the most expensive. You have a choice between f/1.8, f/1.4, and f/1.2.

85mm – The lens excels in portrait photography while performing admirably in other genres. It boasts a fast aperture, but it’s important to note that increasing the ISO may still be necessary due to the longer focal length and the faster shutter speed required.

If you have no idea how to choose the best camera lens for your night street photography, you could check out our 35mm vs 50mm vs 85mm: Which One is Right for You?

Widest Aperture

As you will understand, the challenge of night city photography is to be able to photograph all the subtleties of contrasts and lights. Some lights lack intensity, so you’ll have to maximize your chances of capturing it without sacrificing sharpness, which could hinder the action, the moment, that you’ll be looking to capture in street photography. Besides having a wide lens, I advise you to opt for a lens with a large aperture. These fixed lenses are generally more expensive than the basic zooms of your camera.

If you have no choice, use the larger focal length of your zoom, as the apertures are usually variable and are larger at larger focal lengths. I prefer to be frank with you: it will be difficult to take a night photo if you do not have a maximum aperture greater than f2.8 without sacrificing the image quality (due to the increase in iso and, therefore, the noise too pronounced on the image). Investing in a fixed focal length, which greatly opens up, means having more latitude regarding the picture’s exposure.

When using my Fujifilm Xpro3, I often consider that F2 is already a good aperture and F1.4 is a luxury …. By opening your image to the maximum, and you will see that your photos will appear much more aesthetic: the bokeh will diffuse the artificial lights in the background, which generally an effect much appreciated to highlight the subjects and give a cinematic dimension to your images.

High ISO

It goes without saying that in addition to a large aperture and a low shutter speed, you will need to get the performance of your camera to increase the ISO sensitivity to the maximum to capture the most light without sacrificing too much image quality due to noise. Modern cameras work wonders when it comes to managing the ISO increase. Depending on your camera line, do some tests beforehand to judge the maximum capabilities of your camera based on ISO sensitivity and your sensitivity. Opting for a large aperture, such as f/2.8 or f/2, is often considered ideal and necessary in many situations.

Also, some cameras have a more aesthetic noise than others. This noise brings it closer to the film grain, which can be a creative choice and corresponds to the photographer’s expectations. Generally, I advise you not to exceed 6400 iso on a modern camera. Full-frame cameras with few megapixels are generally more efficient in low light than smaller sensors (M4 / 3 and APS-C) but are generally much more expensive (especially when the camera price is added to the lenses. which are very expensive).

If you are considering doing night photography as a priority, you should be interested in investing in this direction … In post-processing, noise can be reduced due to high ISOs thanks to powerful software. A simple technique also consists of superimposing, in post-processing, a more aesthetic film-look grain, which, superimposed on the noise, will make it imperceptible and more beautiful.

Tripod

The tripod is, in a way, the forgotten accessory of street photographers. And for good reason: they are often big, heavy, difficult to transport, constrain, or put in place when telescopic. They slow down the photographic process, and speed is an important quality for a photographer.

However, I think it can also be used to the advantage of street night photography: it slows down the process and gives a better reflection on its composition. When you stop at a place with a tripod, people tend to forget you; you are part of the scenery.

They don’t know if you are shooting or filming, which is a real plus because people are less resistant to video. Beyond that and from a technical point of view, the tripod will allow you to gain stability and reduce your shutter speed without fear of motion blur, along with longer exposure times.

Thus, you will be able to obtain interesting effects known as “panning” of light (such as the headlights of cars that move, for example, or the light of a large wheel of an amusement park), which will give movement to the composition of your image.

If you find the tripod too difficult to use, or if you don’t have one, you can use your surroundings to stabilize your camera and get a similar result: a bench, a low wall, a stone … etc. One in-between many photographers recommend is the monopod, which allows you to gain stability without losing too much ease of movement (lighter, easier to set up, more manageable).

IBIS

It is one of the options most sought by today’s photographers, especially those who do low-light photography. IBIS, or Body Image Stabilization, is a mechanism internal to your camera that compensates for the movements of your sensor when you hold it freehand so as not to have blurry movement during a snapshot.

The most efficient IBIS allows you to make up to 6 stops, which are huge and interesting on city streets at night. With this option, you can afford, as with a tripod (but without its drawbacks), to close your diaphragm a little more to gain depth of field or to take even longer pauses without fear of degrading the quality of your image in terms of sharpness. So do not hesitate to use it if your camera has this option. In addition, some lenses are stabilized and also allow to gain a few stops of light. This can guide your choice.

Low Shutter Speed

As said above, you must quickly determine the minimum shutter speed you can use without fear of blur. There are several types of blur, including motion blur, which corresponds to intentional or unintentional movement of your camera when capturing the image. The action blur corresponds to an action captured through a long shutter that will appear blurry.

It is generally difficult for people on the move to freeze the action below 1 / 125sec. You can go down to 1 / 60 seconds for subjects moving very slowly. For completely still subjects, freehand, repeat the calculation stated above according to the focal length of the chosen lens. However, I can only advise you to deal with the blur during your night cityscape photography.

Artificial lights on a black background lend themselves particularly well to this type of exercise, and you can express all your creativity. It’s even a lot of fun to focus on the effects you can get with the light effects. So do not hesitate to increase your shutter speed to give movement to your composition.

Using A Flash

It will certainly seem crazy to you to imagine using a flash in the practice of street photography! And yet! This accessory is often assimilated, wrongly, on the one hand, to poor quality amateur photographs or conversely to professional photos in studio conditions! It can be unsightly, unnatural, bring out flaws in people … etc. Precisely, it is because it has a unique effect that it can be used in night scene photography.

Used in a certain way, it can give very aesthetic results! Often used in candid photos “on the spot” and very frontal (à la Bruce Gilden), they add a surprising dimension to your photo and have the advantage of freezing the movement. I invite you to look for night street photos taken with the flash on the internet; you will be shocked by the results obtained. This technique is not recommended for the shyest who wants to disappear when taking street night photography. The flash will draw attention to you and may surprise your subject, aligning with the results you wish to obtain. If you have the confidence to do this, use it!

Underexposition and RAW

In general, I always advise underexposing your photo at the time of the shooting by at least 2/3 of a stop. This is for simple reasons: you will preserve your highlights, which are the most difficult to recover in post-processing, but you will also gain maximum shutter speed and ISO sensitivity. You will, therefore, have a better chance of freezing action and having good image quality. In the city street photos at night, I advise you to look for a low-key effect, that is to say, to underexpose your photo as much as possible.

This is for aesthetic reasons: the night city photos must be dark to contrast the artificial lights, emphasizing the general atmosphere. But also, in post-processing, you will have more latitude to recover your shadows. I recommend using the histogram live display on your camera when taking the picture.

Use together with the exposure compensation wheel that you will adjust according to your histogram to avoid overexposing the light sources and to keep a maximum of details in the medium/dark tones. Of course, this will be of better interest if you shoot in RAW (or RAW + JPEG), which allows you to capture as much detail as possible and then proceed to better-quality retouching.

Set the White Balance

There isn’t a good white balance, in my opinion. What I mean by this is that the white balance should allow you to play around with the ambience of the scene you are capturing. In auto-white balance, cameras often struggle to assimilate all the information in night street photography because the colors often have different temperatures (depending on bulbs, neon lights, etc.).

You will, therefore, often be disappointed with the result obtained on your jpegs. Fortunately, if you take my advice and shoot raw, catching up with this in postproduction is possible. For those who want to shoot in Jpeg only, it is normally very easy to modify your white balance on your mirrorless camera and see the result live on your screen.

Do not hesitate to play with the color temperature, either so that the photo appears closest to what you see yourself or, on the contrary, closer to what the scene makes you feel. White balance is a great way to express all your creativity, so overdo it.

Single AF Point

Autofocus is often a sticking point for night photographers. The sensors are still inefficient when detecting elements in low light, even if modern cameras have greatly improved their performance. The lens used will also have a lot of impact on the speed of acquiring a sharp image. It is tough, if not impossible, to use the focusing zone in low light because it would be necessary to close the diaphragm to have a wide, sharp zone.

This is difficult in low light because, as said above, we need to open the lens diaphragm to capture light. On the other hand, be aware that APS-C and wide focal length lenses have advantages in this regard, compared to full-frame cameras and telephoto lenses: an APS-C lens, which opens at f2.8 for example, will have a wider sharp area than an f2.8 lens on a full-frame. The same goes for an m4/3 camera: the smaller the sensor, the greater the depth of field at the equivalent aperture.

Regarding the lens, the wider the focal length, the greater the depth of field (a 16mm 2.8 will have a greater depth of field than a 50mm at 2.8). It is challenging to use the AF-C mode in low light. To increase your chances of acquiring the focus, I recommend using the AF-S mode on a fairly small area and placing the focus squarely on contrasting lines.

If, at the widest aperture, you have trouble focusing, a simple technique is to sacrifice the aperture of your lens a little to give the focus calculation a little breathing space (for example, if focusing is difficult at f1.4, close your lens at f1.8). Finally, for those who feel comfortable with it, I mainly recommend using manual focus in low light because, when used properly, it is reliable and fast.

The bottom line

Taking captivating street photos at night can be challenging, but by keeping these tips in mind and practising regularly, you will undoubtedly capture some remarkable images!

Do you have any additional tips for night street photography that you would like to share? Which tip from the guide resonates with you the most, and are you planning to implement it first? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

FQA

Is f2.8 enough for night street photography?

Yes. By allowing more light to enter the lens, a large aperture like f/2.8 or f/2 enhances the brightness and vibrancy of the resulting images.

What is the best shutter speed for street photography at night?

You will need a fairly fast shutter speed of around 1/125 sec to 1/200 sec.

What is the best ISO for night street photography?

ISO value of approximately 1600 – 6400.

Is night photography hard?

Yes. You should let much more light enter your camera.

What camera settings for night cityscape?

Set your apertures to f/1.4, f/1.8, or f/2.8

Is a 50mm lens good for night photography?

Yes.

Do you need a tripod for night photography?

While a tripod is not always a requirement for night photography, it can prove immensely beneficial in achieving optimal results.