How can I get a deeper, more natural night sky color in city photos?
Asked 1/4/2013
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2 answers
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I shoot a lot of night photos in central London, and the sky color varies a lot: sometimes deep black, sometimes blue, and sometimes a muddy or polluted-looking color. I’d like the sky to look darker and more natural in my images. Is this mainly about camera settings, exposure, or the conditions when shooting? I also edit in Photoshop, so any tips on handling white balance or other adjustments in post would help too.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
9
Shoot during blue hour, just after sunset. Once the sky goes black you lose a lot of impact, the contrast between lit buildings & black sky is too much. Try googling 'blue hour photography'.
Originally by user14404. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user14404
13y ago
0
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Sky color at night in a city is affected by both timing and camera settings. If you want a richer sky, try shooting during blue hour (just after sunset) rather than when the sky has gone fully black. This often gives a more attractive result and better balance with illuminated buildings.
For capture, meter for the sky first, lock the exposure, then recompose. That helps prevent the sky from washing out or shifting unpredictably.
White balance is also a big factor, especially under city lighting. Try a different WB setting such as Cloudy, or better yet shoot RAW so you can fine-tune white balance afterward. RAW gives you much more flexibility to correct blue, black, or orange/polluted-looking casts in post.
If adjusting the sky makes the foreground look wrong, create a second edit or virtual copy with a different white balance for the sky and blend the two in Photoshop.
In short: shoot at blue hour, expose for the sky, and use RAW/white-balance adjustments to refine the color.
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