Pixiq

Cities appear most beautiful when they are photographed at twilight.  The cobalt blue sky mixes with the golden tones of artificial lights and the combination is striking.  Because of the camera’s ability to accumulate light over a long exposure, even if a cityscape doesn’t look stunning to your eyes, the way a digital sensor captures it will make you a believer. Light and color appear more intense and more dynamic than they do to the eye.

Light meters are not reliable when photographing at night or twilight because they are programmed to read middle toned subjects or scenes, but when the sky is almost dark it is not middle toned.  If you rely on the camera’s meter, you will most likely take overexposed pictures.  The guideline I follow for good exposures at twilight is 10 seconds at f/10 with 200 ISO.  I check the LCD monitor on the back of my camera to make sure I’m getting what I want because light varies so much at this time of evening.  The factors that influence exposure are:

1. The precise time of evening you shoot.
2. The atmospheric conditions,  i.e. is there fog, low clouds, rain, etc.?
3. The intensity of the artificial lights, and
4. Your proximity to the architecture

 It’s an easy matter to adjust the exposure once you take the initial test shot.  Simply use the exposure compensation feature on the camera to tweak the amount of light in the image.  You can do this in 1/3 f/stop increments.

I always use a tripod when photographing in low light situations such as twilight because this enables me to use a low ISO for maximum picture quality and a minimum of digital noise.  Noise shows up most in the shadows, and that's the last thing you want.  Therefore, don't be lazy.  Use a tripod when shooting subjects like the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore (top) or the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul (above).

One mistake I see my photography students make when their goal is to capture the deep cobalt blue color of the sky is that they take the pictures too early.  There is a difference between dusk and twilight.  Dusk is when there is still some light lingering in the sky from the aftermath of the sunset.  Twilight is just before dark when you can actually see the deep cobalt color.  Even if there are low clouds, rain, or fog, you will still get the rich, blue color that makes twilight so dramatic.