Nikon's tips for night photography: Skillfully capturing stars and city lights
Night photography is one of the most fascinating types or genres of photography. It opens up new perspectives on landscapes or cities and achieves something almost magical in astrophotography of the night sky. Photographing city lights or stars: In many cases, this reveals unique details that the human eye cannot otherwise see at all. And so sooner or later, almost all photo enthusiasts are looking for an introduction to night photography. Here you will find help with many Nikon tips for night photography.
What is the right equipment for night photography?
Low-light photography or photography at night requires some planning, know-how and finally suitable equipment in your camera bag. The camera should have the following:
- large sensor,
- wide dynamic range and a
- high ISO range
It doesn't necessarily have to be a Nikon camera, but Nikon has a larger selection of camera models with optimal characteristics for night or astrophotography. Even an older Nikon like the D750 will suffice, as will the Z5 series. Nikon cameras in the Z6, Z7 or Z8 series then already meet at least semi-professional requirements. In addition, night or low-light photography worth seeing does not necessarily require a special lens.
Good portrait, landscape or standard lenses are usually also suitable for photographing stars or city lights at night. In principle, a lens should allow a lot of light to pass through - with an aperture of at least f/2.8; f/1.8 or f/1.4 is even better. In addition, the longest possible focal length is recommended. An all-round lens such as the AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D from Nikon fulfills all these criteria.
Conclusion: You don't need expensive equipment for night photography. For fascinating images, the camera settings at night are more important. You also need a tripod for night photography. A lot of photography is done with long exposures, where the tripod prevents motion blur or camera shake.
To transport your valuable equipment safely and comfortably at night, we recommend a high-quality camera bag. The Frankfurt camera bag combines elegant design with functionality and offers sufficient space for your Nikon camera and additional accessories. Ideal for night-time photo tours in the city.
Practical tips: 5 optimal camera settings at night and for astrophotography
These five tips will help you take great night shots with Nikon and other cameras:
1. mount the camera on a tripod.
2. turn off automatic and switch to manual settings.
3. select a large aperture; as already mentioned at least f/2.8, ideally a larger aperture between f/1.8 and f/1.2.
4. set the ISO as high as possible in the dark - starting with an ISO value of 800 and slowly approaching the lighting conditions in low-light or dark night. This is where the quality and performance of a camera comes into play, as not every model is able to avoid image noise at high ISO values. Nikon cameras with half-format sensors, for example, still produce sharp images up to ISO 3200 or 6400. Models with a full-frame sensor from the Z6 series or higher do not produce image noise even in the low five-digit ISO range.
5. Adjust exposure or shutter speeds: To photograph city lights, the optimum shutter speed is between two and ten seconds. The exposure time for stars should regularly be set to ten seconds or more. The shutter speed always corresponds to the available light. Trying out different speeds and ISO values not only produces great pictures, but also quickly leads to the possible effects of night photography.
A comfortable and spacious photo backpack is essential for longer photo tours at night. The Matterhorn photo backpack not only offers space for your Nikon camera and several lenses, but also for a 14" laptop and other accessories. So you are perfectly equipped for creative night shots.
Further tips for night photography
Select RAW format in the camera settings at night: RAW files require more storage space, but only they can reproduce the wide dynamic range that is important for night photography. Much less detail remains in a JPEG image, which also greatly limits the possibilities for post-processing compared to RAW images.
Take your time: There is no universal recipe for low-light photography and night shots. Only trying out different settings with a few test images will lead to perfect pictures. Don't worry, this has nothing to do with photographic know-how! Even long-time professional photographers regularly have to invest several hours or the whole night here.
Choose a location: Especially for astrophotography, longer distances to good photo spots are worthwhile. Even near small villages, there is still a relatively high level of light pollution in large parts of the night, which blocks out many details in the night sky. Special world maps for photographing at night help you find the best places to photograph stars free from disturbing lights.
Use a remote shutter release: A tripod is often not enough. Simply pressing the camera shutter release button can still blur some images of the stars. A remote shutter release or shutter release cable avoids this risk.
Safety and comfort are particularly important on night-time photo tours. The Mosel camera strap has integrated cut protection to protect your camera from theft. An indispensable accessory for photographers who are out and about in urban environments.
Creative through the night: with a Nikon and tips for all other cameras
Capture star trails: The movement of the stars in the night sky or the Earth's rotation beneath the stars can be captured impressively in astrophotography. To do this, select an exposure time of 30 seconds to several minutes. The longer the time is set, the longer the stars will leave their mark on the images. A large aperture brings a lot of light into the camera and the lowest possible ISO in the dark leaves only the traces of movement of the stars without any image noise.
Moon and landscapes: Good shots of moonlit landscapes need a lot of balance between the bright satellite of the earth and the dark world on the ground. The moon and the foreground are in focus - possibly with additional depth of field. Here too, it is best to start with a low ISO value and then slowly adjust the incidence of light. A slower shutter speed helps to capture more ambient light without overexposing the bright moon.
View of the Milky Way: The Milky Way can only be seen in all its splendor in a few places away from all settlements. To capture its fine details in a photo, you usually have to go further afield and also challenge your camera. Fascinating Milky Way images are only created with higher ISO values; ISO 6400 and more as well as large apertures. A shutter speed of 20, maximum 30 seconds is sufficient, otherwise the first star trails will appear. If you use a wide-angle lens here, you will capture even more of the endless dimensions of the universe.
Photograph atmospheric city lights: The contrast of deep darkness and bright lights, sometimes complemented by special weather conditions such as fog, makes night photography in cities particularly appealing. Here you can slowly approach the perfect image with an ISO value of 64 and an aperture of f/8 for sharpness. Slower shutter speeds bring traces of movement from vehicle lights into the image and, in addition to sharpness of detail, give it additional dynamism through the streaks of light. A city at night with its lights also offers unusual backgrounds and image accents for portrait photography. Just try it out!
City or starry sky: night photography is a huge playground full of exciting motifs and possibilities with a Nikon camera or other cameras. Admittedly, this type of photography can sometimes be exhausting. You certainly always need suitable clothing for the cool night temperatures, stamina and perhaps a coffee or two to stay awake. Nevertheless, photography at night is not a one-night stand for most people, because with a little patience and practice, these very special pictures always leave you wanting more.
The George camera bag is the perfect choice for transporting your equipment safely and stylishly. It offers enough space for your Nikon camera, lenses and other accessories and impresses with its classic design - ideal for night-time photo tours.
