Photography tips

Blue hour

View of Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus with illuminated villages at night

Key tips

  1. Make use of the blue hour to achieve balanced lighting between the illuminated Wasserturm and the natural ambient light in the sky.
  2. Pay attention to the interaction between artificial light and the ambient brightness during the blue hour.
  3. Pay attention to your shutter speed during the blue hour to ensure that both the bright areas and the fine details in the fog remain visible.

Photographs on this topic

16 photographs with tips

The exact camera settings for each shot are shown below it - a starting point for recreating the look yourself. Click through to a photograph for detailed photography tips on that specific shot, under "Photography tips for this image".

All subjects Landscape Architecture City Mountains Lake Lucerne Lucerne Pilatus
Hotel Schweizerhof on the shores of Lake Lucerne at night 100 mm · f/25 · 20 s · ISO 400 Illuminated Wasserturm in Lucerne during the Lilu Light Festival with Mount Pilatus in the background 27 mm · f/4 · 1/2 s · ISO 500 Illuminated Water Tower in Lucerne in front of Mount Pilatus at night 37 mm · f/4 · 1 s · ISO 500 Chapel Bridge with Water Tower in Lucerne at twilight with reflections in the Reuss river 13 mm · f/13 · 5 s · ISO 400 View over the rooftops of Lucerne at sunset 26 mm · f/4 · 4 s · ISO 100 Wasserturm and Chapel Bridge in Lucerne at twilight 30 mm · f/32 · 4 s · ISO 100 View of Lucerne city across Lake Lucerne at dusk 15 mm · f/8 · 13 s · ISO 100 View from Chapel Bridge towards the Jesuit Church in Lucerne at blue hour 30 mm · f/10 · 6 s · ISO 100 The illuminated old town of Lucerne along the Reuss river at twilight 30 mm · f/10 · 3.2 s · ISO 100 View through the interior of the Chapel Bridge in Lucerne at dusk 15 mm · f/16 · 13 s · ISO 100 Jesuit Church on the banks of the Reuss river in Lucerne during the blue hour 15 mm · f/22 · 6 s · ISO 100 View along the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower in Lucerne at twilight with Mount Pilatus in the background 18 mm · f/22 · 15 s · ISO 400 View of nocturnal Lucerne and Mount Pilatus during the blue hour 22 mm · f/16 · 30 s · ISO 400 View across Lake Lucerne towards the illuminated city of Lucerne and Mount Pilatus at dusk 22 mm · f/11 · 10 s · ISO 400 The Wasserturm and part of the illuminated Chapel Bridge in Lucerne at night, viewed through an ornamental iron railing. 7 mm · f/1.8 · 1/9 s · ISO 2000 Low angle view of a paved alley in the old town of Lucerne with illuminated building facades. 7 mm · f/1.8 · 1/35 s · ISO 1000

Related topics

  • Landscape
  • Architecture
  • City
  • Mountains
  • Light
  • Camera settings
  • Composition
  • Perspective
  • Lake Lucerne
  • Lucerne
  • Pilatus
  • Blue hour
  • Snow
  • Night
  • Fog
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