Digital night photography tips

These digital night photography tips will help your night photography to look stunning.

If you're outside at night there's something magical about all those lights, set against dark skies.

And if you're inside there's the cosy-ness of log fires and candlelight, or for partygoers the bright lights of a night on the town.


Here you'll find digital photography tips to help you take better night time photos, whatever the situation or occasion.

Jump straight to the digital night photography tips.

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The problem

The main difficulty with night photography is the light. Or lack of it. Professional photographers are always going on about "good light". There's a reason for this - it helps make better photos!

For portraits, studio light is great because it's so controllable. For landscapes early morning or late afternoon gives the best light, because we get nice saturated colours (midday light can be too harsh).

Night photography? Well, that's a different kettle of fish. You won't please your partner by setting up that romantic candlelit dinner into your studio "just to get the light right"!

These digital night photography tips will help you to use the light to your advantage.

night photography image

The solution

The solution is to work with the light you have, and make something of it.

Adding your own light (flash, usually) is like walking a tightrope with "bleached out features and red-eyes" on one side and "kill the mood" on the other. Use flash with care!

In fact, of all the tips I could give you, not using your flash tops the list.

The tips

Depending on the situation, digital night photography tips vary. In other words, there isn't one single tip that covers everything. Apart, perhaps from turn your flash off!

Below you'll find links to pages with specific digital night photography tips, covering many of the common night time photography situations.