Photographing the skyline - the best tips

Capture the skyline at night or at dusk

Pictures of cities are particularly interesting if they are taken in the late evening or at night. Then the numerous lights come into play and a very high-contrast picture is created.
If there are clouds in the sky, you can use them for a dramatic mood during or shortly after sunset. The sky is already darker than during the day and is therefore not easily overexposed.

An exposure time of several seconds makes sense at night and at the same time provides interesting effects: water in the image blurs and appears calm. Exciting light gradients are also created on busy roads.
To further increase the exposure time, you should choose a small aperture (about f / 8.0 or more) and a low ISO value of 100 or 200.
It is important that you keep the camera still. Therefore, use a tripod or place the camera on a firm surface. A remote trigger to prevent vibration can also help.
Note: When taking a tripod, you should deactivate the image stabilizer, if available. Otherwise, the electronics could try to compensate for movements that do not take place - the image can then become slightly blurred.

For a coherent end result, make sure that the image is as straight as possible. If necessary, you can rotate the photo on the computer.
Long horizon lines also look interesting when you take a panorama picture. Many cameras offer a special mode for this, in which you take several photos in a row - this then results in a panoramic image.

In the next article we will show you further tips and suggestions on how to take pictures correctly with long exposure.