6 Ideas for Evening Photography Now That We Can Go Out Again

Thursday 22 April 2021, 20:02 by Nando Harmsen | 5,009 views | 1 comment

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

The days are getting longer and the nights shorter. And now that lifting the curfew makes it possible to go out in the evenings and at night again, we can start taking night photographs.

Although this would even have been possible during the curfew in winter, as it is already dark by 18:00, this period is much more appealing because of the milder temperatures.

So, now that we are allowed out again, I have six ideas for evening photography. They may not be new, but perhaps they will inspire you, or at the very least give you a nudge to leave the television alone and go out for a while.

1. Photograph star trails

The stars circle around the sky. With a long shutter speed, those stars form beautiful streaks across the night sky. Choose a lovely location and get started with photographs that show this movement.

Bring a chair, something to drink, or even a fellow photographer. Enjoy the peace and quiet and the starry sky, and try to recognise constellations or spot the occasional shooting star.

Look for a nice foreground for star trails. It makes the photograph more interesting. You do not always need to get circles in the sky either. Be creative.
Not sure how to photograph star trails? Then take a look at my course on Photofacts Academy. I explain everything step by step.

2. Photograph the supermoon

Did you know that there is a supermoon on 27 April? That is, of course, a great opportunity to photograph it. The best time to do this is when the Moon is low on the horizon. It then appears to have the largest apparent diameter.

On 27 April, the Moon rises at 21:35, shortly after sunset. You will then have the beautiful twilight, when the world is not yet completely dark. This gives you a perfectly exposed image of both the Moon and its surroundings.

The supermoon low in the sky is more interesting than just the Moon against a dark background. The best time is when the Moon sets around sunrise, or rises around sunset as in this photograph, where the last sunlight is still lighting the birch tree.

If you photograph the Moon a day later, it will still look like a supermoon, even though it is officially a day too late. The Moon will not rise until 23:06, though, when the sun has long since set.

3. Play with burning steel wool

Spinning burning steel wool can produce beautiful photographs. You need some steel wool, a metal whisk to put it in, and a rope attached to the whisk so you can spin it.

Find a place where you can do this safely and where there is no risk of fire. After all, you are playing with fire. Go with a fellow photographer and create the best steel wool photographs.

Playing with fire is always fun. Find a safe location and get started with burning steel wool.

4. Find the Milky Way

Although it is difficult in the Netherlands, there are a number of places where the Milky Way can still be photographed. Find that dark place, far from all cities and lights, and capture this beautiful object in the sky.

It is not difficult. Once your eyes have become accustomed to the darkness, you can see the Milky Way. Choose a very high ISO value, an aperture of at least f/2.8, and make sure the exposure is not so long that the stars become streaks. The rule 500/[brandpuntafstand * cropfactor] = exposure time in seconds will help you with this.

Have you never photographed the Milky Way? Do not wait. The amount of light pollution increases every year. Take your chance while you still can. At this time of year, the best time to photograph the Milky Way is between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning.

The Milky Way in the Netherlands, in the Maasduinen to be precise. Find one of the few dark locations that the Netherlands still has to offer, and photograph the Milky Way.

5. Capture car light trails

Go and photograph car light trails. From a bridge over a motorway, or in other places where you have a good view of the road. All you need to do is use a long shutter speed, and the cars will do the rest.

It has to be dark, of course, and there needs to be traffic. If there are no cars, it becomes difficult. You could combine it with stars or star trails. This can lead to beautiful results.

You could also choose to capture the lights of cyclists. Be creative and do not be afraid to experiment with it.

Photographing car trails can produce very creative images. Here I combined them with star trails.

6. Portraits in a nighttime setting

Go out with a model. Take an off-camera flash and a trigger with you and turn it into a strobist shoot. You can get beautiful photographs with the city lights.

Play with a very shallow depth of field for beautiful bokeh balls in the background. Or leave the flash at home and use the light from street lamps to light your model.

Do you not have the option of using an off-camera flash, and can you only use the flash on the camera? No problem. By using walls and facades, you can bounce the flash perfectly. Outdoors too.

A very wide aperture creates the so-called bokeh balls when there are light sources in the background. With an off-camera flash, you can take many beautiful model photographs in the evening.

Other ideas

These are just six ideas for night photography. You can think of many more things to photograph in the evening, when it is dark. Just a cityscape, or a village at night. Double exposures in which street lighting plays a role, light painting... you name it.

Do you have any good ideas for night photography? Share them in a comment below this post. That way, you can also help give others some inspiration. The more ideas, the better.

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