Settings for Night Photography (Tips for Beginners & Examples)

In this night photography guide we’ll go over the best night photography settings to elevate your photography. Over the years I have learned to love night photography. If you’re new to photography night photography can be difficult to learn. Since there is less light for the camera to capture you’ll be tested to know your camera and settings. I have put together a list of night photography tips that will help improve your photography.

Essential Camera Settings for Night Photography

Here’s the step-by-step settings for night photography. Including using a tripod, camera settings, and tips while shooting:

• 1. Set Your Camera to Shoot RAW
• 2. Use a Tripod or Support Your Camera on the Ground
• 3. Set Your Camera to Aperture Priority Mode
• 4. Manually Set your ISO between 100 and 1600
• 5. Set Your Aperture Low (f/2.8-f/5.6)
• 6. Set Your Shutter Delay to 2 Seconds

1. Set Your Camera to Shoot RAW

First you’ll want to set your camera to shoot RAW instead of JPG. This is important since it gives you more editing flexibility and allows you to change your white balance in post-production.

2. Use a Tripod or Support Your Camera on the Ground

Using a tripod or finding somewhere to sit the camera securely is essential to crisp pictures at night. Your camera will be capturing an image for multiple seconds so you will need to keep the camera steady so holding the camera isn’t an option. Luckily there are plenty of affordable tripod options that range in size and quality. If you don’t have a tripod you can always find a ledge to sit your camera on. I often just sit my wallet underneath my lens and sit the camera on the ground.

3. Set Your Camera to Aperture Priority Mode

My favorite mode for night photography is Aperture Priority. Many people will prefer manual mode but I think beginners will prefer starting with Aperture Priority. Aperture Priority mode will lock your lens aperture to a specific f-stop. The label for Aperture Priority mode is different on brands but it’s usually (AV) on Canon or (A) on Sony and Nikon. This basically will lock your aperture to a specific f-stop and the camera will automatically figure out the rest of the settings.

4. Manually Set your ISO between 100 and 1600

Since you’re going to be using Aperture Priority mode your camera will automatically set the shutter speed and ISO. This won’t work for night photography since you want to get a clean noise-free image. To achieve this you’ll have to set your ISO manually. This is one of the most important camera settings for night photography since this will enable you to take sharp images at night. You’ll want to set your ISO on the lower end to reduce grain. Anything between ISO 100-1600 will give you a crisp image while taking photos at night. All camera’s noise levels differ so if your photo is grainy you should lower the ISO.

5. Aperture and Shutter Delay

Set Your Aperture Low (f/2.8-f/5.6) and ensure you Set Your Shutter Delay to 2 Seconds. Using a shutter delay helps to avoid camera shake when the image is captured.

Summary of Night Photography Settings