Photography at night can be used to create amazing
pictures. For this kind of photography a
tripod is almost a must. If you want to get a
clear exposure with a great depth-of-field, then you
will need a tripod. Usually when we take
pictures of sunsets or bright lights we just center
all the coloring and shoot the picture.
But something that you should think about doing is
adding some foreground item to frame and then
shooting which will
create a greater depth to the picture, and most of the time make the results
look even more brilliant. This picture above was framed with two
overhanging trees and a railing. The aperture was very narrow (high
f/stop), and the shutter speed was about 10 seconds. Even though a
tripod was used, the self-timer was used also, to eliminate any shake.
When photographing sunsets you should not only
include foreground items but use the rule of thirds,
specifically the horizontal section of thirds so you
get a good
perspective on the scene. The sunset picture right here was split up
into about 2/3's foreground and 1/3 horizon, but this same picture would
probably still look good with 1/3 foreground and 2/3's horizon. Also,
when you take the light reading with your camera make sure you don't point
it directly at the sun, if you do your picture will be underexposed.
Take the light reading from the coloring around the sun so you get an
exposure that is ideal to accent all the colors.
When trying to photograph fireworks or lightning you
will definitely need a tripod. There are
different techniques to doing this but probably the
easiest is just setting your camera up pointed at a
good range of sky and setting the aperture narrow
(high f/stop) and setting the shutter speed very
long or just by using the "bulb" function of shutter
speed (the "bulb" function allows you to open the
shudder and close it manually, so its not on a set
time). Many people try this in different ways
so its just good to experiment and try different
things.
Photography at night can be used to create amazing
pictures. For this kind of photography a
tripod is almost a must. If you want to get a
clear exposure with a great depth-of-field, then you
will need a tripod. Usually when we take
pictures of sunsets or bright lights we just center
all the coloring and shoot the picture. 
When photographing sunsets you should not only
include foreground items but use the rule of thirds,
specifically the horizontal section of thirds so you
get a good
perspective on the scene. The sunset picture right here was split up
into about 2/3's foreground and 1/3 horizon, but this same picture would
probably still look good with 1/3 foreground and 2/3's horizon. Also,
when you take the light reading with your camera make sure you don't point
it directly at the sun, if you do your picture will be underexposed.
Take the light reading from the coloring around the sun so you get an
exposure that is ideal to accent all the colors.
