How to shoot film at night

What is the simple recipe?

Two ways work. Use a fast film, ISO 800 or more, and shoot in places that already have light, such as a street with shop windows. Or use a flash and stay within a few meters of the subject. Many people combine them at parties.

Both give grain and some drama. If you try to make night look like day, you will fight the medium and lose.

Why does flash look the way it does?

A small flash close to the lens lights the subject hard and fast, and the background falls into darkness. The result is flat, bright and slightly punchy, with a red-eye risk. It is the look of a party snapshot, and many people love it. Keep subjects between one and three meters away for the best exposure.

Wikipedia's article on flash covers the basics of how it works.

How do I keep the shot sharp?

1. Brace your elbows against your body or lean on a wall or table.
2. Breathe out gently as you press the shutter.
3. Press the button, do not jab it.
4. Wait for the subject to pause between movements.
5. If the scene is very dark and you have no flash, put the camera on a surface for the shot.

Where do I find light?

• Streetlights, which give pools of warm or green light depending on the lamp.
• Shop windows and signs, which give color and shape.
• Car headlights and brake lights for movement and red.
• Candles and string lights at parties, which give a soft glow close up.
• A phone screen held near a face, for a cool cast.

How does Proofsheet handle night?

Proofsheet's Night pack has three looks: Nightbus 800, Static Mono 3200 and Ghost Pop. Nightbus 800 is made for streetlights, with a red glow around highlights. Static Mono 3200 is black and white with heavy grain. Ghost Pop gives cross-processed greens and yellows. They are the app's own digital styles, applied when the roll develops, and the numbers are labels, not real film speeds. See film looks.

The iPhone camera does the exposing, so you can shoot in dim light without fast film. The camera screen has a flash toggle and a switch between front and back cameras. Proofsheet is not on the App Store yet.

What should I know before the look appears?

The viewfinder shows the plain scene. The look appears only when the roll develops. That means you pick the look for the light you expect, not for the light you have in the first minute. For a night out, choose a night look before you leave, shoot without checking and see the result the next day.

What are good night subjects?

Faces lit by candles or screens, a street with wet pavement, a tram or bus window, a row of signs, friends outside a bar. Include some movement. A little blur on a moving person often looks better than a frozen one, because the grain and the light suit it.

For a group, shoot a crew roll and let everyone collect a different set of angles of the same evening. See crew rolls.

What mistakes ruin night shots?

• Standing too far for the flash to reach.
• Pointing the camera at a light source with no flash, which gives a silhouette.
• Shooting handheld at a very slow shutter speed.
• Expecting daylight detail in the shadows.
• Shooting every frame the same way.

How do I shoot a party at night?

1. Use flash for people within three meters.
2. Shoot quickly, since moments pass.
3. Aim for faces, not for the whole room.
4. Move to a lit corner for a group photo.
5. Keep a few frames for the last hour, when the energy changes.

How do I shoot the street after dark?

Walk slowly and look for light first. Find a corner lit by a shop, a bus stop or a lamp, and wait for someone to walk through it. Stand still, brace and press when the person is in the brightest patch. Wet pavement doubles the light and adds reflections.

Without a flash, expect some blur. Treat it as part of the picture. A moving figure in a pool of light is a classic night frame.

What should I do the next day?

Look at the whole roll once without judging. Night rolls always include misses, and the hits are often better than you remember. Circle your favorites on the proof sheet and compare. If you shot a crew roll, see what your friends caught. The proof sheet page explains how to mark frames.

How do I keep colors from going green or orange?

Streetlights vary: older sodium lamps are orange, many modern lamps are white and some fluorescents are green. Film and phones both pick up those casts. You can fight them with flash, which brings in neutral light, or lean into them. A look made for night, such as Nightbus 800, is built to flatter streetlights. If a cast looks wrong, the next frame under a different lamp may be better.