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How to Take Better Night Photos

by Evan Shamoon on November 1, 2008 at 05:16 PM



DIY photography Web site Photojojo has compiled a series of tips for aspiring night shooters. It might take a little bit of work and planning, but you can shoot great photos at night. The article goes through various approaches you can take -- using your camera's Night-Portrait Mode, being the most obvious -- and helps you sort through what might be most appropriate for your particular situation. It covers (in minimal detail) high ISO settings (the digital equivalent of using different-speed film on analog cameras), as well as motion and color tips.
Our favorite tip, however, is the last one.

"Bokeh" means the parts of your photo that aren't in focus. We like those parts.
A quirk of physics dictates that unfocused points of light in a photograph take on the shape of the aperture. You can make a lens hood with a specially-shaped aperture (a heart, for example) and turn all the points of light into that shape.

It's really easy, super cheap, and lends an unexpected "how-did-you-do-that?" touch to night photos. Make any shape you want: stars, ghosts, butterflies. You can even buy specially-shaped hole punches at craft stores.
Now, young photographer: go forth, and bokeh. [From: Photojojo]

Tags: advice, bokeh, photo tips, photography, PhotoTips

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