With the opening of Nightscape: A Light and Sound Experience by Klip Collective, our guests will have many fascinating subjects to photograph. However, nighttime photography poses a unique set of challenges, and requires a much different approach than taking pictures during the day. Here are some tips to avoid blurry, washed out images:
- Turn off Your Flash. Using your flash for evening shots will wash out the foreground and leave the background completely black.
- Hold Still! Capturing sharp images in low-light settings can be difficult. To get a sharp image, you will need to hold your camera as still as possible.
- Stay Focused. If your images are blurry, the problem may be focus. This happens more often on close-up shots. If possible, turn off your auto-focus and adjust your camera’s focus manually. Touch the screen on your smartphone to select your area of focus.
- Experiment and Have Fun. Look for interesting reflections in our lakes or puddles on a rainy evening, or capture silhouettes of your friends. Experiment, have fun, and capture artistic light patterns!
- Prep Your Equipment. Choose a camera that performs better in low light situations. Quality lenses can be set to let in more light (a fully open aperture, like 2.8 f-stop). Adjust camera to a higher ISO to allow for more light sensitivity. If possible use a fast lens, such as F2.8 through F1.4. Also, keep shutter speed between 1/50–1/80 to avoid motion blur when shooting hand-held.
- Enjoy Your Surroundings. Look up from your device to stop, relax, and enjoy!
We love to see the Gardens through our guests’ lenses—please share your pictures using #Nightscape.
*Editor's note: Nightscape returns Wednesdays through Saturdays, August 3–October 29, 2016.
