Night photography is an area of aviation photography that has picked up dramatically over the last two years, with the growing opportunities of onbase photo shoots and night operations, questions and queries are increasingly being posted across the internet on how to reproduce the stunning pictures we often see, Michael Buckle puts together a 'how to' for AeroResource, based on his experience of night photography.
What do you need?
- Tripod
- Remote Shutter Release (Optional)
- D-SLR/Bridge Camera (That allows manual control of Aperture and Shutter)
Tripod
A tripod is essential for night photography, the use of long exposures mean that any movement of the camera whilst the shutter is open will result in a blurry photo.
The main rule when buying a tripod is 'you get what you pay for'; a sturdy and stable tripod will prevent the risk of movement whilst the photograph is being taken and make sure that the camera is secure on the tripod. However that doesn’t mean a cheap tripod won't do the job perfectly - They will! A good tip is that most tripods have a hook underneath the center column; it's always a good idea to hang your camera bag off this to give the tripod added stability, especially on a windy evening.
Shutter Release
As mentioned above, during the process of taking a long exposure the camera must be perfectly still at all times. However there is a problem, when you press your shutter release button, your movement will cause the camera to shake. This is where a remote shutter release device is helpful; it will allow you to fire your shutter remotely ultimately removing the possibility of camera movement. There are two options available, a wireless IR remote which are reasonably cheap for most cameras - normally under £20 or a corded release, which are a lot more expensive. Obviously the main disadvantage with a IR Remote is that if several people are in the vicinity of each other and all using the same manufacture of camera with IR Remotes, you will be setting each others camera's off!. Which is where corded shutter releases come into their own.
You'll notice the 'what do you need' list had (optional) placed next to remote shutter release. The reason for this is that you don't need one, most cameras have a self timer feature, allowing you to press the shutter button and then 'X' seconds from then the camera will automatically fire the shutter. The amount of time the camera waits until it fires ('X') is often programmable, however I wouldn't advise anything less than 4 seconds as you need to allow enough time for the camera to rest before the shutter is released. Obviously the self timer has a flaw when trying to photograph active aircraft (taxing), due to you have to predict when they are going to stop (5 seconds ahead) and then hope that they stay still for the length of your exposure. But it is possible (see Picture A - B-2).
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| Picture A / B-2 at RAF Fairford / 195mm - 8 seconds - F/16 |
Settings
Below are a list of settings you may need to change depending on the environment you are taking your pictures in, with an explanation to why and when you'll need to change them.
ISO Low - ISO is the measurement of the sensors sensitivity to light - Although you may think that due to the lack of light when taking night photos you will need to set a high ISO setting, that isn't the case. High ISO speeds (depending on the camera) introduce noise to your images, in some cases you don't have a choice such as action shots where a higher shutter speed is needed. However with static aviation night photography, you have the ability to use long exposures, so choose the lowest setting your camera will allow (100/200 will be fine) and increase your exposure time to compensate.
Long Exposure NR On - Long Exposure Noise Reduction - This setting is quite self explanatory; When taking long exposures certain pixels on your sensor heat up which then results to noise in your image, the Long Exposure NR setting reduces that noise by taking a second exposure but with the shutter closed (dark). From this second image it can then identify the hot pixels and remove the noise from the final image.
Exposure Delay/Mirror Lock Up - Although you won't touch the camera to fire a shot, there is still a small possibility that the camera can move when the picture is taken. The mirror inside the camera has to flip up to allow the sensor to take the photo, the 'slap' of that mirror can vibrate the camera. This isn't a massive issue and in most conditions will not result in a blurry photo. But there are two settings you can use to prevent this from occurring; Both the Mirror Lock-Up and Exposure Delay features do roughly the same thing. The mirror is raised before the exposure is taken, therefore reducing the vibrations caused by the mirror slap.
White Balance - White balance is the measurement of colour balance/temperature in the photo (measured in Kelvin) - The setting you use for white balance is dependent on the environment you are shooting in, many airport/bases aprons use sodium flood lights which will give your photo an orange cast (e.g. street lights are sodium) by setting your white balance correctly this will remove this cast. If you are shooting JPEG it is best to get this right before you take the photo, however if you are shooting RAW the white balance is adjustable in your RAW Editor. For sodium lights you need to choose the Incandescent Preset on your camera. But I would advise you shoot RAW just incase so that you can fix it after if it’s wrong!.
Once the above settings have been configured (I normally do so before leaving the house if you know your environment). You only have two settings to worry about - The Shutter Speed and Aperture
Aperture- As with daylight photography, you want to maintain your lenses 'sweet spot' which is the aperture that your lens is sharpest throughout the photo (Normally F8/F9 +). As with the ISO Setting, you may think that due to the lack of light you want to allow more light through the lens by choosing a aperture such as f/2.8 or f/4; Once again that isn't the case, with static aviation photography you can gain light by using a long exposure and in the end you will have a well exposed picture that’s sharp throughout, rather than a well exposed picture with certain parts of the aircraft soft. Also, the smaller the aperture (higher the number), the larger any flare will be on aircraft lights and apron lights etc. (also known as star burst).
(See Pictures B, C, D, E for examples of star burst lights)
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| Picture A | Picture B | Picture C | Picture D |
Shutter Speed - Through out the guide I have mentioned using long exposures to gather light, this is because at night there is very little light for the cameras sensor to use to capture the picture. To allow more light to enter the lens, a slower shutter speed needs to be used; this will keep the shutter open for a longer period to allow more light to enter through the lens. Normally over 1" (a second) is needed.
For very long exposures such as aircraft light trails, its possible to use a shutter speed setting called 'bulb' which will allow you to decide when to close the shutter by pressing the shutter release button again.
Camera Mode - There are three modes that you can use for shooting at night (Excluding Auto/Scene Modes).
Aperture Priority - Will allow you to control the aperture only, the camera will work out the shutter speed using its exposure meter. This can be a good mode providing you are not shooting into a bright light (such as Picture A - A109) which the cameras metering may choose a faster shutter speed and underexpose the image.
Shutter Priority - Will allow you to control the shutter speed only, the camera will work out the aperture using its exposure meter, of course the same problem with bright lights fooling the meter apply with shutter prioirty also, with the camera selecting a high aperture.
Fully Manual - The mode I personally now always use when shooting at Night; It allows you to have full control over your picture, with you choosing both the aperture and shutter speed yourself, leaving very little to the camera. See below for help exposing your picture correctly.
Exposure - Most cameras that allow manual control of the aperture/shutter have a exposure meter in the view finder (sometimes on the top/rear LCD too). An exposure meter looks similiar to this [+ . . 0 . . -]. The idea of the meter is, if the vertical lines are to the right of the 0, the camera thinks the picture will be under exposed. If the vertical lines are to the left, the camera thinks that the picture will be over exposed. When the vertical lines disappear or show where the 0 is, the camera thinks that the exposure is correct.
Adjust your shutter speed/aperture until the meter indicates that the picture will be exposed correctly. This does not mean that the picture will be, like with the Shutter/Aperture/Auto modes, this is just what the camera's exposure metering thinks is correct and there are many factors that could fool the metering.
The only judge of exposure is your eye, either by looking at the picture on the LCD Preview or checking the histogram. From this decide if your picture needs more exposure (slow down the shutter speed or lower the apeture) or needs less exposure (speed up the shutter speed or make the apeture higher).
Focusing - In well lit conditions (under apron flood lighting) auto focus should function fine, however in poor lighting conditions it may not be very accurate, manual focusing may be needed.
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Hopefully this guide will assit you in improving your night photography, as with most aspects of photography practice certainly makes perfect, so take these points on-board and go give it ago!
Photography: Michael Buckle & Duncan Monk
| Comments (1): |
 Sirs
Many thanks for the above Info.I am off to a evening shoot
at Coventry Airport in Dec and the above will be a great,
great Help. Terific picture .Once again Many thanks
Regards
Ben  |
| 2nd November 2010 - 10:48 am - Ben Wagg |
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