Photography tips

Night photography

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

Key tips

Choose a closed aperture like f/11 to achieve a sharp rendering of architectural details during night photography.
Use a longer shutter speed for night photography to capture the light reflections on the water surface in detail.
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

5 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

The illuminated Hotel Pilatus-Kulm set against a starry night sky in Central Switzerland.

15 mm · f/4.5 · 13 s · ISO 10000

Night view of the summit area of Mount Pilatus with illuminated buildings under a starry sky with the Milky Way

20 mm · f/5 · 13 s · ISO 6400

Night view of the Pilatus summit with hotel building and starry sky

7 mm · f/1.8 · 1 s · ISO 6400

Observation deck on Pilatus Kulm at night with starry sky and telescopes

12 mm · f/2 · 10 s · ISO 1600

Lightning storm over the summit of Mount Pilatus in Central Switzerland at night.

225 mm · f/7.1 · 1 s · ISO 8000