Words by Raj Hunjan

Capturing images of the stars at night is enticing to many budding photographers. Some of you may even be fortunate enough to witness the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights as it known, and want to take images to remember the amazing dancing lights. Night photography doesn’t have to be a ‘dark art’, with a few pieces of equipment and some technical tips, anyone can capture the night sky in all of it’s glory.

Number One: Camera

It almost goes without saying that the first thing to prioritise when it comes to night photography is the camera. This guide has been written on the assumption that you will be using a Digital SLR or DSLR camera. The reason for this is that they tend to allow greater control on the photo capture parameters and also have more sensitive sensors that are less prone to capture noise compared to a point and shoot camera or a mobile phone.

The key thing to bear in mind is that the camera’s intelligent auto settings are not going to work at night, they need the light to determine how best to take a picture. To this end, you will have to use Manual mode (ideally) or at the minimum shutter speed priority. The camera will need to be set to manual focus as the camera will not be able to focus on anything in the dark. If the camera has mirror lock function then enable it as this will prevent a slight vibration that can add a bit of blur to a long exposure when the mirror closes.

The camera settings will depend on the night sky and subject you are looking to capture, be it stars, the moon or the Aurora. There will also be a level of experimentation on your part while out in the field to what works best. The key variables to change are the Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO.

Aperture is the amount of light that you let in through your lens, the lower the number, the more light you let in. For example an Aperture of F3.0 will let in more light than F6.0. The ideal with night photography is to use as low an aperture as possible as this will allow you to have the shutter and ISO set to lower values, which will improve the quality of your images.

Shutter Speed is the amount of time that the cameras shutter is open and capturing light, this will typically be much longer at night than during the day. Some shots may require you to have the shutter open for minutes rather than fractions of a second.

ISO is the sensitivity of the cameras sensor. In order to capture fine detail of the night sky the ISO will typically be higher than during the day, however there is a balancing act between turning up the ISO and creating a noisy image because of the long shutter speed. Newer cameras are much better at dealing with sensor noise, which will show up as fine white spots on any images you take. You’ll need to play around with the ISO to see what balance of image detail and lack of noise works best for the image you are taking.

Below are some broad brush guides on setting Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO for various Night Photography subjects:

Number Two: Wide angle lens

This may seem obvious but having a suitable lens that will capture a large amount of the view is crucial, ideally a lens of 35mm or smaller.

Number Three: Tripod

A tripod is essential to night photography, as the shutter speed will be too slow in all situations to hand hold the camera, even if you have super steady hands.

Number Four: Remote Shutter

-Most DSLR cameras will only allow a maximum aperture of 10 or 30 seconds, to shoot the Milky Way, a starlit landscape, star trails (how to guide to follow) and the Aurora Borealis you’ll likely need a much longer exposure. To overcome this, DSLR cameras are equipped with a Bulb mode, which basically holds the shutter open for as long at the trigger button is pressed. It is not possible to press the trigger on the camera without moving the camera a minute amount, even when attached to a tripod so the best way to use this mode for long exposures is with a wired or wireless remote, which will either allow you to hold down the trigger manually and time it or preset a timed exposure, for example of 60 seconds. Playing around with the time you open the shutter will lead to different amounts of light and therefore brightness of the image, with the tradeoff of extra noise and over exposing some elements of the view.

Number Five: Torch or remote Flash gun

You can use these to selectively highlight the foreground details, they only need to light up the trees or building for example for a fraction of the total exposure, otherwise they will look too bright in contrast to the star. Like other aspects of this photography, an element of experimentation is required on location to get the best results. With a torch the best method is to slowly move it around the foreground object at a steady speed before turning it off when you have gone over the whole object.

Number Six: Disposable Handwarmers

There are hand warmers that heat up from being exposed to the air once opened. These are ideal for attaching to a lens while out in the night and there is a mist rising, particularly in a damp environment, like next to a river or lake. This will stop your lens misting up while you are taking photos.

Number Seven: Photo editing software

Editing your images in software programmes like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom to adjust the exposure, contrast and noise will enhance the final look of them hugely. Photoshop will also allow you to combine a number different exposed images of the same scene to get the optimal lighting of all sections into one image, making it incredibly striking yet natural looking if used correctly.

And finally don’t forget to wear warm clothes if you are out in the cold at night, keep all loose items in a secure bag, such as lens caps to prevent you losing them in the dark and struggling to find them when you are packing up to go home.

With a bit of preparation, practice and perseverance, night photography is within you reach and can result in breathtaking images for your portfolio.