Aim for the Light

Eiffel Tower at Night

What better place to try out night photography than in the City of Lights at night. We were in Paris after the millennium and the Eiffel Tower was brightly lit. There were plenty of people with the same idea, and crowds aren’t a good place for tripods. So, I set the camera on a fast shutter speed – with point and shoot cameras, try the sports icon or the night icon.

Make a temporary tripod out of your elbows by resting them on something stable. Aim the little light meter square in the view finder at the light, hold the shutter half way down to lock it in, recompose and shoot. And then, do it again, and again, and again. Night photography is tricky and the first shot won’t necessarily be the best one.