5 Street Photography Rules You Shouldn’t Feel Bad About Ignoring

By Jason D. Little 
 


It’s not difficult to find advice about photography, on absolutely any topic that falls — even remotely — under the umbrella of photography. Some of it is good, some is bad, the rest is some mixture of the two.
The main problem, as I see it, with purveyors of photography advice isn’t so much whether it’s good or bad (everyone’s entitled to their opinions), but that sometimes the individuals dishing out the advice can be incredibly dogmatic about it.

I certainly encountered this years ago when I first got into photography. I was the recipient of more than my fair share of dogmatic ideas about street photography in particular.
So, to help new street photographers avoid some of this ideological consternation, here are five “rules” you can take with a grain of salt.

Street Photography Happens Only On The Street

No. Street photography is something of a blanket term that covers a lot of ground. Museums, amusement parks, beaches, subway stations, markets — photographing people in these places also counts as street photography.
Any time you’re capturing life in public places, you’re doing street photography.

Photo by Jason D. Little

Street Photography Must Include Humans

Generally, you can think of street photography as a snapshot of a moment in human civilization. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that people have to be included as subjects in street photography.

Street photography also involves portraying the spaces that humans inhabit and so many other things that give a nod to our existence — discarded items, street signs, construction zones. All of this occurs within the context of human existence and can be a central part of street photography.

Photo by Jason D. Little

Street Photography Is Candid

Indeed, street photography is often done in candid fashion because many photographers want to capture moments spontaneously and with as few filters as possible.
This isn’t the only way to do it, however. You can ask people on the street to pose for you or ask them if they mind if you photograph them while they’re doing whatever it is they’re doing. It’s not candid, but it’s still street photography.

Photo by Jason D. Little

Street Photographers Don’t Use Telephoto Lenses

It’s true that street photographers tend towards smaller cameras and lenses. There are a few good reasons for this — it facilitates an up close and personal approach, it creates a bit of inconspicuousness and it allows you to travel light.
In reality, any camera and lens can be used for street photography. If you’re unconcerned with others’ reactions to you and you have to fortitude to carry around equipment that’s a little heavier, I say do whatever you need to create the images you want.
If you’re a beginner, you might even use a telephoto lens as a “training” lens — you can get used to photographing strangers while keep some distance. As your confidence grows, you might begin to use a 50mm or even a 35mm lens.
Or you can keep using a telephoto lens if you like the look.

Photo by Jason D. Little | Kentmere 400

Street Photography Should Be Black And White

Nope. Unless you just prefer black and white images. But you should never feel that the only way to make legitimate street photos is to shoot in/convert to black and white.
Black and white has the advantage of creating distraction-free images, images that allow the viewer to focus more easily on the subject and not have their eye pulled away by color.
But streets (and the people on them) are often alive with color. If you want your street photography to be representative of that fact, then you should be happily shooting in color.

Photo by Jason D. Little | Kodak Gold 200

Not all street photography rises to the level of art. It doesn’t have to. As long as you’re capturing something that matters to you, you’re on the right path. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be constantly striving for creative growth, but in order to achieve that, don’t fall into the trap of believing that you’re beholden to any arbitrary ideas that purport to govern your craft.

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3 Important Facts About Street Photography

By Federico Alegria 

#photographyeveryday #photographyislife #photographylover


Street photography has become quite popular in recent years, and I find it fascinating. Thanks to the Internet, we have access to endless streams of images that keep our craving for images constantly unsatisfied.
And since this genre has become so popular, it seems important to talk a bit about three important facts that will help you understand what street photography is all about.

What Street Photography Is Not

First, let's start by defining what is not street photography. Street photography is not about shooting pictures of random crowds or the social mayhem that happens within a landscape. Street photography is about looking for the aesthetics that happen within the ordinary daily life of society.
People often comment that certain pictures aren't street photography because they happened inside a store or place, but for me, capturing the beauty of society interacting inside a common place is just another layer of street photography.
Some people think street photography needs to happen inside urban venues – but as a Latin American photographer, I don't limit myself to urbanism alone. Rural venues offer a great deal of street photography as well. For me, the main parameter for defining an image as “street” is the presence of humanity and society. That's why I define myself more as a social photographer because it broadens the possibilities.
Image by Federico Alegría
Some other people say only candid images are “real” street photography, but for me, taking images of unknown people who completely aware you’re photographing them is a valid way to go. The reason I defend this (even though I rarely practice it) is that because even though people may be aware they are being photographed, the previous social interaction makes it a street thing.
To avoid confusion, street photography can be summarized in a single equation:

Aesthetics of society + non-controlled situations = Street Photography

What Is Considered Street Photography

Street photography is just visual evidence of the social moments of human nature that come across our eyes for a fraction of a second and trigger us to use our camera to preserve that moment in time.
Street photography is the reflection of how we see society and humans interact. Perhaps the most evident element you'll find in a lot of street photographs is human nature (in an obvious way), or even in a metaphorical sense, like when we see images of decaying cities on the Internet.
Image by Federico Alegría
Many people tend to narrow their own expression and creativity to a monochromatic format when working in street photography, but you should know also color street photography is great. Why has black-and-white street photography become such a standard format that shooting and viewing color images of the streets is called “color street photography”?
The answer is simple and has nothing to do with glamour and style. The main reason why a lot of people find themselves comfortable while working with black and white on the streets is that these scenes tend to have a lot of colors competing with each other, and the black-and-white format is more efficient for telling a message or a story. Image by Federico Alegría

Seek Meaningful Photographs

Street photography is accessible. You don't need huge and expensive equipment (check out Daido Moriyama in this compelling video, where he shoots with an almost generic point & shoot camera), or models and special lighting setups. Even though Street Photography is easy to start practicing, there’s always something more you need to know. It’s not easy to capture meaningful images on the streets.
I don't know if Keven Carter actually said this, but I like to believe that he did. Also, Robert Capa knew that getting closer to your subject is extremely important, not just with your camera, but as a human being. You need to “connect” with people to create meaningful images.
The term connection is a metaphor; you need to be able to perceive emotions and moments as they happen in front of your eyes. If you’re not quick to recognize those meaningful moments, you need to walk more to connect better with society. You don't need to be extroverted or even awkwardly social; you just need to be able to anticipate and feel those moments that are worth being preserved.
Image by Federico Alegría
Street photography is getting crowded, and its popularity will grow. This is not a problem for any photographer who loves challenges and understands that capturing meaningful images will always be the ultimate goal. Shooting crowds is easy, but the ability to isolate a truly meaningful moment within the teeming crowds is the first step to becoming an excellent street photographer. Image by Federico Alegría
Maybe this list hasn't been as generous as it might have been, and the reason why is because I want to leave the discovery up to you. We are sure you'll become a passionate and talented street photographer simply by knowing what street photography is and is not, and also by recognizing that you need to set your goals high.
Look for work that matters. Rise above the random shots taken at crowds in the streets. And remember to always have a camera with you. You never know when the best picture of your life will cross your sight – and trust me, you want to be prepared for that.

Back to Basics: Understanding the “Sunny 16 Rule” in Photography

By: Adam Welch

In life, we are sometimes met with certain inalienable truths; water will always flow downhill, there will always be an unhappy baby on your flight, and the milkshake machine at your favorite fast food place will always be broken when you need it the most. There are also some self-evident truths that we must accept when it comes to photography; one being, one day, you will need to set your own exposure manually. If you’ve been shooting exclusively in Auto Mode or Aperture and Shutter Priority Modes, this can be an enormous challenge.
Take heart! I’m about to show you one of the easiest and most long-standing methods for calculating exposures. Using it will help you almost always get a usable baseline exposure when shooting your camera in full manual mode. Yes, really.
It’s called the Sunny 16 Rule, and it’s going to be your best friend.

You may very well have heard of it before but never fully understood how simple it truly is to implement (and modify) this handy little formula to fit the situation in which you find yourself shooting.

Getting to know the Sunny 16 Rule

Understanding the Sunny 16 Rule couldn’t be more simple. It’s all based around the relationships between our three key elements of exposure: ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.
Sunny 16 had its roots in film photography when it was used to help photographers figure out their exposure when a light meter wasn’t available. However, it works perfectly well with digital photography too. In fact, since we have the added convenience of on-the-fly ISO adjustments with our digital cameras, the Sunny 16 Rule becomes even more universally useful.

As you might have guessed, the concept of the Sunny 16 Rule begins with bright sunlight and setting our aperture to…*drum roll*…f/16. Bright sunlight refers to unobstructed sunlight on a cloudless day; think noon with a clear sky, and its brightness is virtually constant.
After we’ve got our aperture set to f/16, we can now dial in our shutter speed based on the ISO we happen to be shooting. To calculate your shutter speed based on Sunny 16, all we have to do is put “1” over our ISO. This will be your shutter speed.
Keep in mind that some cameras measure exposure in full, half or third stops and your shutter speed might not be exactly the same as your ISO. For example, in half-stop increments, if you are shooting ISO 400 then your exposure would be (for slight underexposure) f/16 at 1/500th of a second. At ISO 100 your settings would be f/16 at 1/125th of a second. For ISO 800 it would be 1/1000th of a second and so forth.
As far as ISO settings are concerned, it is a good practice to “set it and forget it.” There’s not much need to adjust the ISO as we can vary our exposure using our aperture settings – unless the scene dictates otherwise…more on this in just a bit.

Why the Sunny 16 Rule is so useful

The reason the Sunny 16 Rule is such a fantastic concept is due to the fact it gives us a usable exposure setting based on what will likely be the brightest light you will encounter – the sun. 
Once you know what your shutter speed will be at a given ISO and f/16 in bright sunlight, you can essentially estimate any exposures for darker environments. The reason for this is that ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are all connected. You can adjust each relative to the another so that you can control your exposures based on the needs of a particular scene. If you’d like to learn a little more about how ISO, aperture and shutter speed relate to one another, have a look at this great article on understanding the exposure triangle.
Perhaps one of the best things about working with the Sunny 16 rule is that it’s a great way to teach yourself to read light and adjust your exposure based around the creative requirements for your photo. Let’s look at some considerations to take into account when you need a little more control over your photographs when basing your exposures around the Sunny 16 concept.

How to modify the Sunny 16 Rule

Years ago, when I first heard of the Sunny 16 Rule, my first thought was “That’s great, but what if I don’t want to shoot at f/16?”
Indeed, a great question.
What happens when you need a more shallow depth of field than f/16 can produce? Alternatively, what if the indicated ISO-based shutter speed just isn’t fast enough or slow enough for your subject? Furthermore, you definitely won’t always photograph in blazingly bright sunlight (ironically not ideal for most photography).
The good news is that the Sunny 16 Rule is incredibly flexible.
Remember, the Sunny 16 Rule does nothing more than eliminate variables in your exposure to produce a baseline camera setting which you can then manipulate given your particular needs.

Virtually identical exposures in direct sunlight based on the Sunny 16 Rule with constant f/16
apertures and ISO-dependent shutter speeds.

For example, let’s say you’re shooting a subject that requires a more shallow depth of field, like a portrait or still life that is in bright sunlight. At ISO 100, your resulting Sunny 16 exposure would be f/16 at 1/125. For reference, here’s a sample photo I shot at those settings in direct afternoon sunlight.

Needless to say that if I open up my aperture to f/2.8 (five full stops wider) in order to better blur the background, the resulting image will be completely overexposed, and looks something like this:

Yes…there is a photo there.

So, how to remedy this problem? Since we are working from the Sunny 16 Rule, all we have to do is apply some basic photographic principles (remember the exposure triangle?) to normalize our exposure based on our new, wider aperture.
Seeing as we opened up our aperture by five stops, we simply need to increase our shutter speed by five stops to compensate.
So if my initial shutter speed were 1/125th at f/16, my new adjusted shutter speed setting at f/2.8 would be 1/4000th. Here is the resulting exposure:

Blurred background and a normalized exposure based on the Sunny 16 Rule.

The same is true in the case of fast-moving subjects. If you’re experiencing unwanted subject motion at, say, 1/125th of a second at f/16, and you want to try a faster shutter speed of 1/500th of a second to help arrest the motion, you need to compensate for the faster shutter speed with a corresponding wider aperture setting to allow more light to come into the camera. In this case, 1/500th of a second – two full stops faster than 1/125th – so we would open our aperture by two stops from f/16 to f/8.

Some adjusted Sunny 16 baseline exposures

If you’re wondering about lighting situations other than bright sun, here’s a quick (but by no means definitive) list of baseline aperture adjustments derived from the Sunny 16 Rule. I’ve listed Sunny 16 at the top as a baseline exposure at ISO 100 and 1/125th of a second. To adjust your exposures for varying degrees of brightness, all you need to do is change your aperture.

• Direct bright sunlight with harsh shadows: f/16 at 1/125th of a second and ISO 100
• Indirect bright sun with soft shadows (shade/cloudy): f/11 at 1/125th and ISO 100
• Overcast skies with little to no shadows: f/8 at 1/125th and ISO 100
• Dusk/morning light: f/4 at 1/125 and ISO 100

I also want to point out the elephant in the room which is holding a big neon-yellow sign that reads, “Why not just bump up the ISO?”
In short, you can adjust your ISO settings to compensate for more or less light in the scene. Modern cameras are becoming better and better at reducing high ISO digital noise. The Sunny 16 Rule was based on the fact that most film cameras are limited to the ISO of the film used. In these cases, the ability to read and understand light becomes paramount.
The concept of Sunny 16 gives us digital shooters a way to nail exposures (or come close) every time in-camera without constantly checking our images after each shot.

Final thoughts on the Sunny 16 Rule

Of course, as with most things, the Sunny 16 Rule isn’t a true “rule” in the sense that you must follow it to the letter. Instead, it is a rule in the way that gives something to relate one thing to another; in our case it allows us to relate the luminance of available light to our camera settings to achieve predictable and reproducible results.
Sunny 16 is also a great learning tool to help us understand the nature and measurement of light. Going further, it is a guide that is extremely versatile once you understand just a few basic principles of exposure. I, for one, feel as if I don’t use Sunny 16 enough in my work. I think that is about to change.
Do you practice the Sunny 16 Rule? How has it affected your shooting? Let us know in the comments below!

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By Jason Row

Equipment and Camera Settings You’ll Need for Better Moon Photography

Super Moon, Oxford, England

As the brightest object in the night sky, the Moon has captivated people around the world for centuries. The Moon is simply fascinating, particularly with the recent 50th anniversary of the first humans landing on the Moon. It is also one of the most incredible subjects to learn to photograph. Everyone loves to observe the Moon, but have you ever looked up to the sky at night and thought, “how can I capture this magnificent phenomenon?” Well, as photographing the Moon can be a challenging undertaking, I have highlighted some information about the Moon and recommendations regarding equipment and camera settings you’ll need to consider to achieve better moon photography.
It is initially worth considering what the Moon actually is. Well, in general, the term “moon” denotes an object that orbits something other than the star in a solar system. Earth’s Moon is an astronomical body that orbits the planet and acts as its only permanent natural satellite, orbiting the Earth every 27.3 days. It is the fifth-largest Moon in the Solar System and is an average of 384403 kilometers (238857 miles) from Earth.
When you look up at the night sky to view the peaceful and tranquil Moon, you might notice that the Moon looks a little different each night. This is due to our Moon’s many phases and types.

Phases of the moon

Partial lunar eclipse, England

The amount of sunlight that reflects on the Moon’s surface that we can see from our point of view on Earth varies every day, and this is what we refer to as a Moon phase.
Moon phases change during the lunar month from a New Moon (which occurs the moment the Sun and Moon are aligned, with the Sun and Earth on opposite sides of the Moon) to a Waxing Crescent moon (when a thin sliver of the Moon becomes visible after a New Moon), First Quarter Moon (the moment the Moon has reached the first quarter of its orbit around Earth), Waxing Gibbous Moon, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous Moon, Third Quarter Moon and Waning Crescent Moon.

Different types of full moons

Super Blue Blood Moon, Oxford

A full moon occurs when the side of the Moon facing Earth is fully lit up by the Sun. There are several types of unusual full moons that look different in color and size due to its position to the Sun and Earth. These include blood moons (that appears reddish and occur during a total lunar eclipse, when Earth lines up between the Moon and the Sun); Supermoons (a moon that appears larger because it is closer to Earth), Blue Moons (the “extra” Moon in a season with four Full Moons or the second Full Moon in a calendar month) and Harvest Moons (the full, bright Moon that occurs closest to the start of Autumn), for example.

The equipment

When photographing the full moon or different phases of the moon, you will need some essential pieces of equipment. I recommend you use a tripod for stability. Whilst you may get away with hand-holding your camera, you will get better results by mounting your camera on a tripod and avoiding camera shake. In addition, a remote shutter release cable is a useful bit of kit to help prevent camera shake. It is not essential as you can use your cameras self-timer function.

Which lens to use

Moon over the landscape, Dartmoor, England

The type of lens you use largely depends on whether you would like to capture the moon in the landscape, or as a detailed close-up. Wide-angle lenses are great to photograph the moon as it moves over an interesting landscape. Alternatively, a telephoto lens is a great choice for getting closer to the moon to reveal its surface details. Consider using a long focal length lens with a range of 300-400mm.

Which camera settings to use

Moonrise, England

Once you have chosen a lens and set your camera on a tripod, you will need to select your settings. Firstly, I would recommend setting your ISO to 100 to prevent noise and grain in your images. Next, select an aperture in the region of f/8 – f/16 to achieve clearer and cleaner shots. In terms of shutter speed, 1/60th to 1/125th should be a great starting point.

Focus on the moon

Moon and sky, England

When you have applied the settings, all you now need to do is set the focus of your camera. I like to use my cameras manual focus to focus on the Moon. Once the focusing distance to the Moon looks sharp using manual focus, you are ready to shoot the Moon.
In my experience, manual focus works better than autofocus as the Moon’s surface is sometimes too dark to be recognized by the camera’s autofocus and I find manual focus to be more reliable in obtaining sharper shots in low light. By using manual focus, if you’re camera settings aren’t spot-on for any reason, you will still have reasonably sharp photos that you can recover in your editing software.
If you apply all of these tips, you’ll achieve better Moon photography and be equipped to photograph the Moon at the best time.

In summary, photographing the Moon is one of the most enjoyable subjects any photographer can learn. To achieve better photos of the different phases and types of the Moon, be sure to use a tripod. Also, consider a remote cable release, choose a wide-angle or telephoto lens, get your settings right, and focus your camera on the Moon manually.
Do you have any other tips for better Moon photography? Alternatively, share your pictures below.

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The Third Element: The Rise and Rise of Third Party Lens Manufacturers

By Jason Row  


Let’s have a show of hands. Are you confused by the sheer number of different lenses and lens manufacturers we have today? My hand is quite firmly in the air. It seems every time we visit a group or a forum online, someone is talking about an obscure lens brand that we have never heard of.
Being somewhat of a dinosaur, I come from a time when lens choices came down to two decisions. Cheap or expensive, on brand or off brand. Cutting my teeth in the ’80s, there were the original manufacture lenses, and then there was Sigma, Tamron and Tokina. Ok, there was also Vivitar, but no one that had been into photography for more than a week ever bought a Vivitar. 
So why is there such a variety of different lens and lens manufacturers today? 

Photo by Agence Olloweb

Ease Of Manufacture 

This is not to suggest that making a lens is easy. It is, however, much easier than it was one or two decades ago. Advances in manufacturing equipment such as 3D printers and similar improvements in design software have made it easier to design and build a new lens.
Couple this with lower manufacturing costs, again due to improved technology, it is now easier for smaller companies to gear up and produce lenses on relatively small production runs. 

Increasing Large And Diverse Market

There is a saying, “Everyone is a photographer these days” while that is a cliche, the fact is the interchangeable lens market is much much bigger than a few years ago. Many more people are now taking photographs with DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. 
They might not all be doing photography as a hobby, but they still want lenses to expand their capabilities. Often they prefer budget lenses to professional level ones. 

Beyond the consumer market, many enthusiast and professional photographers are happy to work with the limitations of some budget lenses. If you are the type of photographer that shoots manual focus all the time, why spend three times the price for an autofocus lens? 

Photo by Bram Kunnen

Back To Basics

Many of these lenses are sold at budget prices because they dispense with the advanced features of the manufacturer’s lenses. The most obvious of these is autofocus, many of the lowest priced third-party lenses are manual focus only. 
Another feature that is often cut down is the lenses ability to communicate with the camera body. Camera manufacturers often lock out some of the data that is communicated, meaning that third-party lenses do not get this information.
Things like optical stabilisation three-dimensional exposure and color data and other high-level technologies are often not present in third party lenses.
However, back to basics does not mean bargain basement. Because many of these lenses dispense with expensive extras, the main focus is on optical quality. Here many of these lenses shine and are comparable with their original manufacturer equivalents. 

Photo by ShareGrid

Exploiting Niches.

Large camera manufacturers are not geared up for relatively small production runs of lenses. It’s simply not cost effective to do so. As such look at the lens line up of pretty much any camera company and you will see strong similarities: professional, fast lenses, consumer lenses, telephoto and wide zooms and a smattering of primes. 
For many years photographer’s would buy into this lens ecosphere because there were little to no niche products or those that did exist were hideously expensive. Because many of these newer third-party manufacturers are smaller, they are leaner and can gear up to small production runs of niche products and still make a profit.
One of the prime examples of niche products that are selling well is cine lenses. High-quality video has been around in DSLRs for well over a decade now. Independent filmmakers soon recognised the power of these cameras. The large sensors, small size and low cost made them powerhouses for low budget movies. 

Photo by Voice + Video

Companies soon sprang up creating adapters that would allow cinematographers to attach their expensive cine lenses to DSLR bodies. However, the camera manufactures failed to capitalise on the expanding lower end of the video market with low-cost cine lenses. 
Companies like Samyang saw this niche and brought out lenses designed for filmmakers at very low prices. These lenses feature de-clicked aperture rings and much finer focusing control with a longer focus ring turn. 
Another niche that third-party companies have jumped into is ultra fast primes. Ultrafast was once the preserve of very wealthy or top end professional photographers. Apertures of less than f1.4 were virtually unheard of. Today however you can pick up a 10.5mm f0.95 lens for a little over a $1,000. For $700 you can get an 85mm f1.2, portrait lens. The equivalent original manufacturer lens is nearly $2,000. 
Budget ultra wide primes, perspective control and soft focus lenses such as Lensbaby are amongst the other niche products that are available for considerably less than their original equivalents. 

Photo by Neal Kharawala

What’s In Name

One thing that might confuse you as it did me for a while is the recognisable names from lens companies. Remember we mentioned Vivitar at the top? They are still around; they were bought out and rebranded themselves and are still producing lenses. I cannot comment on their quality these days.
Another very well known brand from history is Voigtländer. Although the company has long gone, the brand name is still in use today on lenses manufactured by Cosina
Other third-party companies have even stranger branding. Ever wondered why Samyang and Rokinon lenses look so alike? It’s because they are the same company. As is another name, Bower. The parent company is Samyang, a South Korean lens manufacturer who has been around since the 1970s. They are testing the other brand names to see which one suits a particular market. 
Because of this, sometimes, it seems like there are many more lens companies than in reality. With that said, however, there are still many more than we had a decade or so ago and that’s a good thing. 

There can be little denying that the rise of new third-party lens companies has benefited photographers. Some of the advantages are:

• High-quality optics for much less
• Ultrafast primes
• Cine lenses for budget lens prices
• Niche and novelty lenses for extra creativity.

It’s a great time to be a photographer. With such a plethora of budget options, we can pick out a niche lens and expand our creative repertoire. 
Let us know in the comments below what your favourite third-party lens is.

5 Tips for Shooting Waterfront Cityscapes at Blue Hour

By: Joey J

When you hear the term “cityscape photography,” what kind of image comes to your mind? It could be those photographed from elevated viewpoints or light trail of city traffic. To me, nothing beats the beauty of waterfront cityscapes – especially those photographed at blue hour.

Hong Kong skyline (18mm, f/10, 199 seconds, ISO100)

Gyeongbokgung Palace (Korea) (24mm, f/8, 30 seconds, ISO100);

Shanghai skyline (18mm, f/11, 164 seconds, ISO100).

In order to capture stunning waterfront cityscape photography, there are a few key points to get right.

Shooting Waterfront Cityscapes at Blue Hour

1. Good sky and light

Michael Freeman, the author of Capturing Light: The Heart of Photography, has this to say.

“In almost all photography it’s the quality of light that makes or breaks the shot.”

This is very true with waterfront cityscape photography as well. If you want your photo to look good, only shoot on a (mostly) clear evening (dark clouds are our nemesis!). The quality of light on sunny evenings is much nicer than that of cloudy evenings, which can be easily noticeable in the resulting photos.

2. Sunset direction

Over the years of shooting cityscapes at blue hour, I’ve come to realize one thing affects the results rather significantly – where the sun has set. If the sun has set towards the direction you’re shooting, you typically see beautiful twilight hues leftover from the fading sun, which makes your blue hour photos extra special.

Singapore skyline (18mm, f/5.6, 409 seconds, ISO100). The sun went down on the right edge of 

the frame, adding a beautiful gradient of colors ranging from reddish-orange to deep blue.

On the contrary, your cityscape photos at blue hour will look dull and monotonous if the sun sets behind you (i.e., you’re shooting towards the sky that is 180-degrees opposite of where the sun has set).
In such a scenario, the quality of light is inevitably affected. The sky lacks the beautiful hues you typically see in the sun-setting side of the sky. With the sky like that, your photos won’t get much better no matter how hard you try editing in post-production.

Shanghai (China) skyline (18mm, f/13, 163 seconds, ISO100). Despite shooting on a clear evening, 

the sky looks noticeably dull, as this is the sky that is 180-degrees opposite of where the sun 

went down (the sunset occurred behind me shooting).

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3. Long exposure

What I particularly like about waterfront cityscapes is it lets me create silky smooth water effects by doing a long exposure. As seen in the photo below, such smoothed-out water adds a dreamy feel that is very distinctive to long exposure photography. It’s the very reason I fell in love with waterfront cityscapes.

Marina Bay (Singapore) (35mm, f/11, 194 seconds, ISO100).

By default, the limited available light at blue hour allows your shutter speed to naturally get longer, especially with the use of a small aperture like f/13. That said, without using a neutral density (ND) filter, the shutter speed probably won’t go beyond several seconds. This isn’t long enough to achieve a silky smooth water effect that you see in the photos above.

Marina Bay (Singapore) shot with 2 seconds of exposure (at f/13) without using any neutral 

density filter. This is way too short to a create silky smooth water effect.

If you don’t own an ND filter yet, get yourself one! There are different densities available (2, 3, 6 and 10-stops are popular), but I’ll recommend a 6-stop ND filter (especially if you’re only getting one), as it hits a sweet spot for photographers shooting waterfront cityscapes.
Let’s say that you get a base shutter speed (when no filter is attached) of 2 seconds, which is quite a typical scenario around 10 minutes before the end of dusk (check your local dusk time at gaisma.com).
As seen in the photo above, 2 seconds of exposure hardly smooths out the water, but by attaching 6-stop ND filter, the exposure gets extended to 128 seconds (2 minutes 8 seconds). Each “stop” of ND filter approximately doubles the exposure time (2 seconds > 4 seconds [1-stop] > 8 seconds [2-stops] > 15 seconds [3-stops] > 30 seconds [4-stops] > 64 seconds [5-stops] > 128 seconds [6-stops]), which is long enough to create silky smooth water effect.

Neutral density (ND) filters help extend shutter speed lengths by reducing light entering the 

camera lens.

I own 3 and 10-stop ND filters as well, but the 3-stop is too mild (2-second exposure can be extended to 15 seconds only) while 10-stops is way too strong (2-second exposure can be extended to a whopping 34 minutes, 8 seconds).
I have found 2 to 3 minutes of exposure is enough to create a silky smooth water effect. You could go longer like 5 to 6 minutes (I won’t go beyond 7 minutes, as long exposure noise starts to creep in), but it won’t change much beyond 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Reflections on water

Colorful reflections of city lights reflected on the water are one thing that gives your blue hour photos a “WOW” feeling. That said, this doesn’t always happen. Even when you shoot the same city view from the same spot for two evenings in a row, you may get completely different results when it comes to the clarity of reflections on the water.
To achieve good photographic results, like in the first photo below, the water has to be relatively still. If the water surface is rough, you hardly get any reflections (the second photo below). Unfortunately, this isn’t something we can control, so we need a bit of luck here.

Marina Bay (Singapore) (TOP: 18mm, f/13, 142 seconds, ISO100;

19mm, f/13, 162 seconds, ISO100).

5. Having thin clouds

While long exposure works best with water, it also works well with clouds, too. This might not be as important as other points above, but if the sky has some clouds, long exposure helps get them rushing across the sky. It adds interesting movement to your photos, as seen below.

Singapore skyline (18mm, f/10, 257 seconds, ISO100).

Alternatively, if you want a greater effect, try evenings with more clouds. That said, if too cloudy, your photos will look just flat and ugly (as the quality of light is severely affected) or might come out crazy like the photo below. I prefer a clear sky with no clouds or just a little bit of thin clouds.

Singapore skyline (20mm, f/5.6, 412 seconds, ISO100).

I hope these tips help you capture epic waterfront cityscape photos at blue hour! Looking back, my love for waterfront cityscapes comes from earlier days shooting sunny beachscapes, which was the primary reason I got into photography a decade ago.
Over the years, my interest has shifted from sunny daytime beachscapes to cityscapes at blue hour, but I’m still in love with water! I frequent cityscape photography spots located at the waterfront locally as well as on trips abroad.
Lastly, if you have any questions or info to share about shooting waterfront cityscapes at blue hour, feel free to do so in the comments below.

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