Recently we were in Eindhoven in the Netherlands for a night photography workshop. You can also take beautiful photos with your smartphone in the dark. We’ll show you an example.
About night photography
Eindhoven is also called the city of light. The name has nothing to do with Philips. But with match manufacturing in the19th century.
Cities – and therefore also Eindhoven – are nowadays illuminated by modern (LED) lamps. In the evening, this often produces beautiful images. The artificial light often creates atmosphere. And details that you can see well in daylight often become less visible in the dark.
Pay attention to your camera’s settings
If you’re shooting in the dark, it can be challenging to get your photos correctly exposed. After all, you don’t want a photo that’s too dark or that’s almost entirely black. You also want a photo without motion blur in it.
A real challenge is the ISO value. With the ISO value, you can control the sensitivity of the camera sensor of your smartphone. When it is dark, the ISO value goes up automatically. That creates noise in your photo. And that in return means that your photo is less beautiful to look at.
A larger amount of noise can be made less visible by applying noise reduction in post-processing.
Circumstances
The conditions were good. It was a dry and clear evening. The advantage of clear air is that the artificial light does not reflect against the clouds. Those reflections are captured by your smartphone’s camera as a yellow glow. Tastes differ, but we prefer a blue-black sky. And therefore we need a clear night.
Composition
The photo was taken spontaneously. On the square in the city centre, the illuminated shop windows and entrance to the bicycle storage always stand out. The fountain had splashed water around and the pavement was wet. That caused the reflection.
The colors in the foreground are mainly warm and the colors in the background are cool. There is also a lot of depth in the photo. That starts in the foreground with the lines between the tiles. And is reinforced by the buildings on both sides of the square.
These elements together make for more than just a photo of the September 18th square.
The Photo: Night photography in Eindhoven
Used phone and settings
- Smartphone: iPhone 14 Pro
- Camera: main camera
- ISO value: 640
- Exposure compensation was not needed
Editing mobile phone photos
Of course we do our best to create a photo ‘in camera’ as close as possible to the desired end result. Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement. Or rather: some space for editing so that your photo looks the way you want. We are used to editing our photos. Snapseed was used for this photo.
Snapseed is a simple app that you can download for Android and iPhone. The is free of charge. With a few basic edits, the photo was finalized.
Do you want to discover more about mobile phone photography?
Then take a look at our blog. And if you have any questions, feel free to let us know. Or leave your comment below this blog.
We’re here to help! If you have any questions about the blog, feel free to leave a reply below and we’ll get back to you. And if you’re curious about mobile photography, ask us anything! We’d love to chat with you. Get in touch through this page.
About Better smartphone Photography
Better Smartphone Photography is a new company aimed at improving your smartphone photography skills. Our aim is to provide helpful advice, tricks and tutorials to help smartphone photographers like you, regardless of your experience level. Meet Frank and Yvonne, the founders of Better Smartphone Photography with over 22 years of experience as professional photographers. With our guidance, discover how to create and capture exceptional photos with your smartphone.
Get ready for your next steps in smartphone photography
Better Smartphone Photography is official dealer of Ulanzi, VIJIM and MOJOGEAR.
Do you want to work with us?
That is possible. Companies are also welcome. Check out this info.
Better Smartphone Photography is a part of Betere Landschapsfoto (website in Dutch).
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