Top 5 Photography Tips for Shooting at Night

Capturing photos after sunset can be tricky without incurring unwanted blur or under/over exposure. Here are five quick tips to get you started with taking photos with your smartphone - which are equipped with excellent features and capabilities these days.

1. Set the right exposure

Exposure is the process of letting light through your camera lens. These are controlled by three elements: aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

Activating night mode in your phone's camera settings will allow for longer exposure, allowing more light to come in. From here you will be able to play with the exposure time and take some test shots until you find the right setting for you.

2. Keep your phone still and stable

Keeping your phone as stable as possible is absolutely essential for avoiding blur. Use the timer feature on your phone for optimum stability to avoid the shake when you hit the shoot button manually. And if you have room in your luggage, a tripod or phone stand is a great investment to achieve the most precise captures of the scene before you.

3. Avoid flash and be careful with zoom

It sounds a bit counter-productive but the flash feature will over-expose your scene and also result in blur, make sure it's switched off and by manually updating your exposure settings, you'll achieve a much more natural photo.

It may feel natural to want to use the digital zoom in to get the detail of those impressive constellations, but you'll actually ruin the quality of the picture. If your phone has three lenses on the back - it means you have an optical zoom lens which will achieve a sharper look without affecting the details.

4. Research phone apps 

Spend some time researching astrophotography apps.

NightCapCamera is one such option which offers slow shutter speeds and features four astro modes for capturing starlit skies. In addition to manual mode, it also features an element of AI that will auto-adjust to get you the perfect shot. But as before, a steady hand is key!

5. Practice makes perfect

Rome wasn't built in a day so take some time to practice before you travel. Install the Night Sky App to keep an eye on weather conditions and the best constellations, so you can head out on the perfect night to start your journey into night-time photography.

Skies are best captured in rural areas with little light pollution, so it's worth heading away from built up areas to give you the best start.

Do you have any photography tips you would like to share? Email editor@justyou.co.uk to share your recommendations.