Photography tips

Night photography

Illuminated facade of the Hotel Schweizerhof Lucerne on the shore of Lake Lucerne at night

Key tips

  1. Choose a closed aperture like f/11 to achieve a sharp rendering of architectural details during night photography.
  2. Use a longer shutter speed for night photography to capture the light reflections on the water surface in detail.
  3. Pay attention to steady camera handling at a focal length of 13 mm to avoid blur in this night photography situation.

Photographs on this topic

17 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 City Mountains Architecture Lucerne Pilatus
Night illumination of the facade of the Jesuit Church in Lucerne on the Reuss river 12 mm · f/2 · 1/25 s · ISO 2000 Reflection of the Lilu Light Festival light projections in the windows of a historic building in Lucerne 45 mm · f/9 · 1/2 s · ISO 500 Historic building at night, illuminated in blue during the Lilu Light Festival in Lucerne 18 mm · f/4 · 1/13 s · ISO 500 Lion Monument in Lucerne with light installation at night 24 mm · f/4 · 1/20 s · ISO 5000 Hotel Schweizerhof in Lucerne with festive lights at night 42 mm · f/4 · 1.3 s · ISO 200 The illuminated Hofkirche in Lucerne with a glowing Christmas star between the towers and candles on the forecourt 12 mm · f/9 · 1.6 s · ISO 1000 Facade of the Christmas-lit Hotel Schweizerhof on the lakeside promenade in Lucerne at night 12 mm · f/9 · 1.3 s · ISO 1000 The illuminated Hotel Schweizerhof in Lucerne at night with Christmas star decorations. 66 mm · f/14 · 2.5 s · ISO 1000 The illuminated Chapel Bridge and Water Tower in Lucerne at night. 12 mm · f/2 · 1 s · ISO 400 Illuminated KKL Luzern at night with reflection in a puddle during the Lilu Light Festival. 15 mm · f/20 · 30 s · ISO 800 View through a stone archway at an illuminated light installation during the Lilu Light Festival in Lucerne 15 mm · f/4.5 · 1/2 s · ISO 800 Wasserturm in Lucerne during the Lilu Light Festival 2025, viewed through an archway 30 mm · f/6.3 · 1.6 s · ISO 800 The illuminated Old Swiss House restaurant in Lucerne at night 30 mm · f/32 · 13 s · ISO 800 Portal of Lucerne train station with blue computer code projection during Lilu Light Festival 2024 24 mm · f/4.5 · 1/8 s · ISO 1600 Facade of Lucerne railway station with a colorful light projection from the Lilu Light Festival 2024 at night. 24 mm · f/4.5 · 1/1 s · ISO 400 Facade illumination of the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Lucerne during the Lilu Light Festival at night 27 mm · f/18 · 20 s · ISO 100 Close-up of the illuminated tower of the Bern Minster at night 209 mm · f/22 · 30 s · ISO 400

Related topics

  • City
  • Mountains
  • Architecture
  • Camera settings
  • Light
  • Perspective
  • Composition
  • Lucerne
  • Pilatus
  • Night
  • Rain
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