CAPTURE GRACEFUL LOW-LIGHT CITYSCAPES

Jason Parnell-Brookes explores the creative art of low-light cityscapes using long-exposure techniques

- Jason Parnell-Brookes

1 EVENING

We joined Nikon School UK at the Centre of Excellence in London for a masterclass on capturing creative low-light cityscapes (if you don’t use a Nikon the techniques here are applicable to any make of camera). We started by brushing up on our low-light theory, and then headed out onto the busy streets of London’s West End to capture traffic trails, before moving to the Embankment.

First, we learned how camera settings and using a tripod are the two most crucial factors at play when shooting the city in low light. We looked at how a wide aperture, such as f/2.8, produces a shallow depth of field – perfect if you want to include bokeh effects in the background – while at the other end of the aperture range, stopping down to f/11 will create a starburst effect on stationary lights due to the effects of diffraction.