A Guide to Capturing Better City Skyline Photographs
Most of us see a city skyline every day of our lives, but capturing a photograph that does justice to it can be a little tricky. Here are a few ideas that can help you get that unforgettable shot of your home town skyline.
Tip 1 – Turn Off the Flash! – If you’re shooting a skyline photograph there is absolutely no reason to have a flash, unless you have the entire city under the world’s largest matte box. Light will bounce off nearby reflectors, shiny things, and even the balmy night air if the flash is bright enough.
Photo by Papalars.
Tip 2 – Tri-pod – Unless you want your picture to be a blurry mess of sodium vapour streaks then I strongly suggest using a tri-pod. A Tri-pod allows you to take long exposure and time laps photographs. This one is a no brainer folks!
Photo by Pear Biter.
Tip 3 – Spot Metering – If you have a decent DSLR then you should have the option of putting your camera in Spot Metering Mode. What this does, is let the camera know what to properly calibrate for proper exposure. Do this with the most prominent feature in your composed photograph and the rest of the shot will fall into place.
Photo by Mugley.
Tip 4 – Compose Your Shot – Look for major landmarks in the skyline that will draw the eye – maybe a crane, or bridge or large building. Sometimes, getting out of the box will give you a unique shot, like focusing on a lesser-known subject or even a bird flying high above the city lights.
Photo by Sister 72.
Tip 5 – Use A Remote – Use a remote to trigger the shutter on your camera for night shots. You may not know, but just pushing the shutter button can allow enough shake to blur night shots. By using a remote, you can avoid this.
Photo by Werkunz1
Tip 6 – Use The Natural Gradient – Have you ever looked at a sunset or sunrise and wondered why the hell it was so beautiful? Well one of the reasons is because the gradient of the sky is so colourful and unique that you can’t take your eyes off it. Try shooting a city at dusk for dramatic effect, or even use the natural light pollution as a gradient for your photo.
Photo by Joisey Showaa.
For more more help on cityscape photography and skylines, check out these great articles:
Thanks for sharing these tips! I’m a novice SLR user and really learning from this!
kelvinlls said this on June 11, 2009 at 7:43 am |
Now I wish I lived near a city! Beautiful photos. Thanks for the tips.
Shelli said this on June 11, 2009 at 11:11 am |
Also – use a low iso to get a long exposure with low noise.
thanks for the other tips!
Tel Aviv Photos said this on June 11, 2009 at 1:16 pm |
If you don’t feel like buying a remote, use the 2 or 10 second timer, gives you enough time let the camera get still.
Armstrong said this on June 11, 2009 at 1:24 pm |
good photographs the tip 4 city is really Beautiful.
hawek mane said this on June 11, 2009 at 1:55 pm |
Good tips, esp the one about the flash. drives me crazy when people try and take a landscape with the flash on!
Mun said this on June 11, 2009 at 2:01 pm |
Very good guide.. however I would say that Tip #4 is most important here. Composition is key with such wide open landscape shots. If your shot is not well composed or lacks interest.. doesn’t matter how well exposed or blur free it is, it just won’t be that interesting.
Fernando said this on June 11, 2009 at 2:07 pm |
One more tip that works well in place of a remote–use your camera’s self-timer, which gives the camera an opportunity to stabilize before the shutter opens. Works like a champ with no extra hardware required!
Mark Ehr said this on June 11, 2009 at 2:15 pm |
An alternative to using a remote is to use the timer function. Set it for a short delay between press and shutter and you will eliminate the shake introduced by your hand.
D Wells said this on June 11, 2009 at 2:43 pm |
wish i had a city skyline like those to shoot.
holidays to tenerife said this on June 11, 2009 at 2:49 pm |
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Tutorial/Tips/Photographers Watch (June 11, 2009) at Imaging Insider said this on June 11, 2009 at 2:51 pm |
examples are like, all HDR.
kthomas said this on June 11, 2009 at 2:55 pm |
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A Guide to Capturing Better City Skyline Photographs « Timed Exposure « Netcrema - creme de la social news via digg + delicious + stumpleupon + reddit said this on June 11, 2009 at 3:23 pm |
Also, if you do not have a remote, consider using the timer feather on most cameras. This will allow time for the camera to stop shaking before taking the shot.
Seby said this on June 11, 2009 at 6:15 pm |
You don’t mention HDR, yet a few of those pics are obviously HDR’d.
someguy said this on June 11, 2009 at 7:39 pm |
If you don’t have a remote release (Tip #5), use a time-delay shutter setting with your tripod.
My pretty low-end digital camera has a both a 2 second and a 10 second delay. The idea is to release the shutter without vibrating the camera, so it accomplishes the same thing.
My ancient 35mm SLR (legacy silver media) also has a mirror lock-up feature, combined with a mechanical delay timer, so there is no vibration added from the mirror swing when the shutter releases.
Martin said this on June 11, 2009 at 8:15 pm |
Here’s another great example:
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Skyline photos « Wondering & Pondering’s Weblog said this on June 12, 2009 at 5:09 am |
wow! the photos on your blog are breath-taking!
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[…] A Guide to Capturing Better City Skyline Photographs A few tips on improving your skyline photos. Most of them have to do with taking the photos at night, while the last one (spot metering) is a little iffy. An interesting read though. (tags: skyline landscapes improve tips guide technique) […]
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Top Posts « WordPress.com said this on June 13, 2009 at 12:14 am |
These are really nice night shots. Night photography is the hardest area to get good at because of the low lighting.
Bruno said this on June 13, 2009 at 9:35 pm |
Hey, can somebody else leave another reply suggesting we use the timer instead of a remote? I don’t think there are enough comments on it yet.
Redundave said this on June 25, 2009 at 3:40 pm |
Keep it up!! Nice pictures there!!
Digital Camera Guide said this on June 30, 2009 at 1:05 am |
wowww!awesome photographs!!!tip#4 is really great!!very informative.thanks for these great tips!!!!!!
jenni said this on July 4, 2009 at 11:45 am |
GREAT POST THANK YOU !
jules andre brown said this on July 16, 2009 at 5:20 am |
Two years later, I too would like to suggest the aforementioned use of time-delay! Lol
ha-ha! said this on September 6, 2011 at 9:28 am |