Table of contents:
- 1.- Know your mobile
- 2.- Know the place
- 3.- Always use night mode
- 4.- Use a tripod or full support
- 5.- Play with the professional mode
- 6.- Use RAW mode whenever you can
- 7.- Activate HDR
- 8.- Do not use the flash, use another mobile
- 9.- Take advantage of the light sources
- 10.- Arm yourself with patience
The technology of our mobiles is amazing. Especially when we compare it with a few years ago. You could almost forget to recognize a person's face in a photo taken in the dark just five years ago. And much less knowing that you could take party snapshots or with light and dark contrasts and enjoy details. Elements that make us leave the camera at home and we only have to go out with the mobile loaded in our pocket. But do you know how to take advantage of the photo camera of your smart mobile phone at night ? Here we give you some tips and tricks.
1.- Know your mobile
The first thing you should know is the characteristics of your own mobile. And it is essential to know what situations to face or know their weak points. Some manufacturers such as Huawei and Google have managed to make the cameras that make up their most current mobiles respond with great clarity in situations with low light or even in total darkness. If you have a Huawei Mate 20 Pro or a Google Pixel 3, you will know what I mean. If this is not the case, you will have to take into account several of the tips or tricks that follow to achieve better results.
2.- Know the place
In a night photograph, it is not only worth getting more or less light and detail. The framing and the elements of the photo are equal or more important than in a normal photo in broad daylight. That is why we recommend you to know the place you are going to photograph. It can be a starry sky, a street with street lamps or a corner lit by a neon sign. This will allow you to know which is the best framing or how to get the most out of the little light that there is. Take a walk, try different frames and get to know the place in detail.
3.- Always use night mode
That's what it's there for. With it, the exposure is generally lengthened to increase the amount of detail in an image. That is, the photo takes longer to take but has more details. It is the best method for taking a night photograph, although the colors may be altered.
You can use this mode even when there are strong contrasting lights in the scene. In fact you will get a much more striking result. Depending on your mobile and its photographic capabilities, the lights may be burned out, but the contrast will be more marked and showy.
4.- Use a tripod or full support
It is something closely related to the above. Extending the exposure time and the amount of detail puts the definition of the night photo at risk. And it is that, the simplest movement during the capture will make it reflect in the final result. Therefore, take advantage of the night mode only when you have a firm support or a tripod. It is in this situation when the night photo not only looks more detailed than with the normal mode in the same conditions, but just as sharp.
5.- Play with the professional mode
The real problem with night photos (after fixing the blur with a tripod) is noise. It is the natural problem that appears when the ISO sensitivity is raised to capture detail in the dark. Some manufacturers use Artificial Intelligence to clean those dark colors that subtract detail from photos. The rest of users can play with the professional values.
And it is that almost all photography applications now have a professional mode. If you have enough patience and photographic knowledge, you can go through its options and play with exposure and ISO sensitivity. This doesn't eliminate noise, but you can apply your logic and personal insight to the result instead of waiting for the noise-filled automatic photography that normal mode would take.
6.- Use RAW mode whenever you can
Some mobiles have a professional mode that produces photos in RAW format. It is a format that does not compress the photo and, therefore, offers much more detail and information. But this does not mean that the photograph is necessarily better or has more detail at a glance. It means it has more detail that you can bring out with tools like Photoshop, Snapseed, and other photo-editing applications. So take advantage of it to get shine up, change color, apply filters and make other adjustments avoiding imperfections.
7.- Activate HDR
If your mobile has HDR mode, do not hesitate to use it. It's another way to lengthen the exposure and get the best possible result given the situation. In the end the dark still shows detail and the light does not break with the rest of the image. The result should be more natural and with more detail, so keep an eye on this feature.
8.- Do not use the flash, use another mobile
The LED flash of your mobile is prohibited to get good night photographs. This is so. A divine law of the world of photography that cannot be violated. And it is that the flashazo only manages to burn colors and elements that are close to the mobile, without clarifying the scene. Something that works well for a light-hearted photographic style, but not for quality night shots.
However, if you have a second mobile or another light source, you can play with it in this case. Place it in different positions always focusing on the protagonist element of the scene. Or to illuminate the stage more widely. In this way you will gain in luminosity without falling into that “flash” that makes night photography ugly.
9.- Take advantage of the light sources
If you want to create a portrait or highlight an element within a night photograph, you better put the protagonist or the object or place next to a spotlight. The light from a shop window on a dark street, a sign from a bar, a lamppost… any source of light is valid to, at least, show some detail of the main subject. The key is that you place it nearby and do the relevant tests. Without light there is no detail.
10.- Arm yourself with patience
Especially if you are new to this area. Trying out these tips and tricks is not something to master in one session. You will know your mobile and its objective the more you use it and the more situations in the dark you portray. Little by little you will know how to take advantage of it and you will identify the scenarios with the most possibilities to get portraits and details.
Testing lots of errors is key to finding the optimal result
Take the pictures that are needed and try the different modes of your camera. Be patient and you will get better and better photos in dark places or at night.
