The Frustrations of Night Photography

Just to change things up a bit, I thought I would talk about an aspect of photography that I am nowhere near mastering.  Because this blog is primarily intended for other photography hacks like me, who are still learning techniques and are using cheaper equipment, I decided to touch on a topic that frustrates me and others like me.  I generally believe that you can still take great pictures with a cheap, regular digital camera.  However, when it comes to special lighting situations, like night shots, I have to take that statement back to a certain degree.  The fact of the matter is, even if you camera has a night setting and you use a tripod, you will still struggle with night photography without a nicer camera.

I don't attempt much night photography, and when I do, my results are not consistent.  I have used many different settings, and none of them consistently yield good results.  I don't own a tripod (I really need to get on that), but I have used flat, stable surfaces to take night shots, and it still isn't a guarantee.  I tried to do some night photography this winter, and out of dozens of shots, I only got a couple worth keeping (see below).

My main problem is blurriness, and I have to resort to editing to fix the photos as much as I can. Stability is improved with a tripod or hard surface, but even then the picture often doesn't come out how I want.  If anyone out there has good advice for getting better pictures with TYPICAL digital camera at night, I would love to hear it.  The reason I use the word "typical" is because suggestions for a fancy camera aren't going to help me or anyone else who has no plans to upgrade anytime soon.  If you have any advice to offer, you can go ahead and leave a comment to this post. If it is good advice, I may mention your suggestions in a later post for those that might have missed them in the comments.  Remember:  You don't need an account to comment on my blog.  Anyone can comment!