Night Photography: Finding Your Way In The Dark

by Lance Keimig

Night photographers have one big thing in a true love of the dark. Rather than looking at night photography as an extension of daytime shooting with added complications, they embrace the unique challenges of nocturnal photography for the tremendous wealth of creative opportunities it offers. That's just what this book does. But if the idea of setting out into the deep, dark night with just your camera (and maybe a cup of coffee) gets your creative juices flowing, dive right in. Lance Keimig, one of the premier experts on night photography, has put together a comprehensive reference that will show you ways to capture images you never thought possible. If you have some experience with photography and have always wanted to try shooting at night, you'll learn the basics for film or digital shooting. If you're already a seasoned pro, you'll learn to use sophisticated techniques such as light painting and drawing, stacking images to create long star trails, and more. A chapter on the history of night photography describes the materials and processes that made night photography possible, and introduces the photographers who have defined night photography as an artistic medium. A chapter on how to use popular software packages such as Lightroom and Photoshop specifically with night time shots shows you how to make the final adjustments to your nocturnal creations. In this book you'll find history, theory, and lots of practical instruction on technique, all illustrated with clear, concise examples, diagrams and charts that reinforce the text, and inspiring color and black and white images from the author and other luminaries in the field, including Scott Martin, Dan Burkholder, Tom Paiva, Troy Paiva, Christian Waeber, Jens Warnecke and Cenci Goepel, with Foreword by Steve Harper.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art

280 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2010

Reviews

[Timothy Neesam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The quintessential guide to night photography. This book covers the history of night photography, best practices, getting started and different types of night photography. Well written with lots of interesting illustrations. Highly recommended for those sinking their teeth into the beguiling form of photography.

[Kieren Geaney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really what I was looking for. Nothing new to me. Your mileage might vary

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

I was skeptical going into reading this book: I expected lots of examples and then some tips now and then that would only be applicable to night photography. But this book is just the opposite - examples with a LOT of very good, well written, and inspirational information with night (dark) photography as the subject.

The book covers film and digital shooting, which is important. Each of the mediums have a different emphasis and different strengths and weaknesses. Those topics are separated into different chapters so the reader doesn't have to sift through information not relevant to their equipment.

Techniques and strategies are covered in detail: using light correctly, when to layer images, when to shoot a longer exposure and when you don't need to, controlling noise, star tracking, painting with light, HDR, even a whole topic on using the moon's light.

Further chapters cover the challenges of post processing the images, white balance, and in depth raw/Lightroom discussions. I especially liked that the author would explain in detail the WHY you were doing a tweak; e.g., he doesn't just talk about white balance but discusses the important fundamentals of white balance (such as that you use the opposite color to neutralize).

Even if you are only curious about night photography, this book is well worth a purchase. There are so many important concepts covered with applicability beyond night photography. I truly believe a lot of the discussions in the chapters can help photographers round out their technique and skill sets and apply them to their own unique styles.

In all, this is an excellent book, very well written, full of details and technique, and with a dose of great inspiration. Night photography really is more than just a long exposure shot on a tripod.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

a decent book to read about more than just conventional night photography. Author loves fixing FL as f8. More or less, it helps me to understand that by fixing the FL, and be able to play with different films; one can at least limiting the unnecessary elements that are invading and distorting our further understanding of night photography. The prerequisite for this book is to at least have some experiences and failure (successes) on night photography. Author mainly focus a few area that are interesting such as the history of night photography, film based with color, E6/C31, BW, tricks on flare killer, light tracing technique, exposure time, moon settings, temperature settings, HDR, IR, star/moon traces..not for those who have completely NO experiences. Good book for intermediates....my next items: i) night factory ii) light tracer iii) macro iv) very dark background photo-shoot v) night ocean side/mountain side sets.

[Lynnda Ell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an engineer, not a photographer, but I found this book amazing. The stunning photographs, the fascinating history, and the clear technical instructions tempted me to try simple night shots for myself. Of course, some of the technical stuff was over my head. Yet that was in language I could understand, even if I couldn't conprehend all the information a professional photographer would.

If you have photographers in your family, then be sure that Night Photography is on your gift list this Christmas. I promise that it will be one of their favorite gifts. I have only one other recommendation: be sure the one receiving the gift promises you the opportunity to read it - or buy youself a copy!

Thank you, Goodreads First Reads, for sending me a free copy of this book.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was detailed and informative, but not too dense for this novice photographer to grasp. While the subject is night photography, many of the concepts could be applied more generally and my understanding of light as it applies to photography has certainly been enhanced. The many-small-books structure makes this a good reference book, though the sections ended a little too abruptly for my taste. I particularly appreciated the history chapter at the start, as well as the example photographs throughout the book. Though I have no background in film photography myself, I was impressed by the seamless integration of both film and digital techniques.

[Blog on Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Focal Press release that highlights photography beyond the established boundaries of the norm. The first, “Night Photography: Finding Your Way in the Dark” by Lance Keimig is a very helpful volume for those who seek the added drama that nighttime photography brings. Keimig runs the gamut from expanded dynamic range to working with moonlight and capturing star trails. His techniques cover both digital and film photography and the book features guest contributors as well.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! Enough technical information to understand how to attempt night photography, from exposure times and camera settings to what equipment to use to light writing and painting, but still easy to follow. "A comprehensive reference" is right. Now, getting these kinds of results is another story. Practice, practice, practice! I am looking forward to my next foray into the night, camera in tow...Loved it, highly recommend it.

[Sean Halpin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really want to love this book but I am disappointed. Part of my disappointment is, admittedly, because I lack the requisite knowledge to fully grasp the concepts that Keimig discusses. But that is not all. I find his thought patterns to flow between understandable to incomprehensible. Many of the paragraphs read like bullet points that were strung together.

Keimig's photographs are inspiring at least.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books on night photography. Lance knows his stuff. The history chapter is informative, and the technique information is thorough and well written. Whether you're just starting out shooting by moonlight, or a seasoned Nocturne, there is a wealth of information here. Highly recommended.

[Kate Hannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love non-fiction, especially when it is about photography. Lance Keimig has managed to tackle a difficult subject to provide easy-to-understand information for the photographer wanting to improve making images after the sun comes down and before it comes back up. Some of the pointers are so essential that I have a copy on my Kindle and iPad in addition to the hardcover in my studio.

[Erin Lyndal Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not very helpful. Some of the actual tips on night photography were things like "dress warmly on cold nights." I got a little bit of good info about exposure time and such, but I could have gotten that from other sources.

[J.W. Donley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the best reference on night photography I've come across. If you are into night photography you must read this book. I will be rereading this soon and I will be highlighting and drawing all over my copy.

[Beth Lind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book filled with pictures and the "how to" explained in a way that I understood. I learned a LOT about histograms, too.