Night photography - Gardens by the Bay

The Gardens by the Bay, at Marina bay, an icon and a central piece to turning Singapore into a "green city". It consists of 3 integral parts. It opened for a preview for a week, but the official opening is only for 2012. But we are not here to talk about that.

Night photography, a total different way of shooting. The exposures are longer, and the settings and lighting can make a whole difference. Want some rules of thumb? Some tips perhaps?

Well here are some useful advices.

rule 1. ALWAYS shoot using a tripod. It will give you the greatest flexibility to get the angles you need while keeping your camera steady for those long exposures. But guess what, for the photos taken below, I did not have a tripod. I did not even have a SLR. So I should go back and do the shoot one more time, properly that is.

TIP 2. Use wide angles. I love wide angles for night photography. I am not going to explain why, just try it out for yourself and you will find out why.

TIP 3. You want to minimize flares from outside light, simple... Use a lens hood.

TIP 4. Bring a flashlight, there are some very powerful 3watt, LED pen-size flashlight bring one along. Why? Simply because your camera requires light to focus. For some darker objects or subjects shine the flashlight onto it,this will allow your camera to focus properly.

TIP 5. Shooting water and traffic lights? Try long exposures, 15sec and above.