Last night was another beautiful foggy night in Charleston. Nights like this have been rare since I’ve lived here, but lately it’s been a little more common. There are few things I love more than exploring in the fog with my camera and tripod, and last night was made better because I was actually with friends instead of being alone. Pictures like this always come out better on a tripod, using a remote or timer for the shutter. In long exposures, even the slightest movement can blur the picture.
Night photography in general can be very challenging. Finding the right exposure can be tough if you are using natural existing light. When the street looks good, the lights in a store might be completely blown out. Long exposure times up to 30 seconds are common for me when I’m just shooting a street. But when people are going to be in the picture, the situation is different because you have to keep the shutter speed pretty quick. That means either using some of your own light like a flash (which usually comes out cheesy and looks fake) or finding some cool natural light that gives a more accurate portrayal of the environment. This usually requires a larger aperture (which provides a shallower depth of field) and a higher ISO (which can give the images a grainier look). The image below was taken at 1/8 of a second on the tripod, which is a bit slow for a portrait. Luckily she was really still, but she was still slightly blurry.
