Most of the time shooting video or photography at night will leave you with a blurry dark mess. While newer iPhones have a great camera that can adjust to the night and give you a clear shot, most can not. iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max all have a night setting called night mode you can turn on at the top left. If you’re stuck with an older camera, I will give you some tricks on getting a better shot.
The iPhone camera will lower the shutter speed which allows more light to enter, giving you more light in the scene. This means it will actually take longer to take the photo or capture the light when filming, not by which you will notice with the naked eye. When shooting at night you need to keep the camera extra still. Any motion will make it look like a blur. This is where a tripod will come in hand!
You can always change the lighting to look better in the edit, but did you know you can do it before you even press record? With the camera app open, swipe up and down and you will notice it getting lighter and darker. The trick here is to make it look natural on the screen before you start recording. This means move it up or down so the blackness doesn’t look grainy anymore. Once it looks like how you see it in real life, press record! It will come out more natural-looking.
If you want to get really creative, use the darkness and light to frame your videos! For example, if there is only one center light source during the night, the outer edges will look black. Put your subject in the middle and it can come across as a natural border which brings more attention to your subject. Another popular trick is to create a silhouette. This is done by having one light source behind your subject. This can be easily down with lighting on the street.
Shooting at nighttime doesn’t have to be a headache. It can cause you to think outside the box for even cooler shots you wouldn’t have thought about before. Use it to your advantage next time. What are some ways unique ways you use nighttime to your advantage?