Long exposures will display your location's light activity.
Taking photographs at night can be difficult depending on your subject matter and actual light available. There are several steps you can take to improve a night photo, and if possible, you should do all of them. When you find a method that works, play around with it until you've found the optimal situation.
Add More Light
This is a simple, but often overlooked stepped when shooting at night. If there is any way you can turn on a light or use a flash (without ruining the shot), do so. If you are unable to create light, position yourself and your subject so you are taking advantage of all the light available. When posing have your subjects directly face the light and put yourself between them, with your back to the light source. This will illuminate them more than facing the side.
Slow Shutter Speed
Make your shutter speed as slow as possible without encountering motion blur. A slower shutter speed will brighten your exposure. If possible, use your camera's flash in conjunction with a slow shutter speed. This will illuminate your subjects, but still allow the ambient light to appear in the photo. When taking photos, ask your subjects to not move for the duration of the photo, which may be longer than they anticipate.
Tripod
A tripod will let you take even longer exposures without experiencing accidental camera shake. Mount your camera and use the self-timer mode on your camera to avoid shake when pushing the shutter button. Such a setup allows for extremely long exposures, which show the light activity in your location.
Wide Open Aperture
Many DSLRs have the ability to open the lens aperture up to its maximum amount. The more your aperture can be opened, for example to f/2.8 or lower, the easier you will be able use your camera "normally" (with a normal shutter speed and without a tripod). Additionally, wide open apertures create "bokeh", which is the blur in the foreground and background of a photo. This bokeh creates an interesting effect when lights are in the background.
Tags: shutter speed, your camera, your subjects, light activity, light available
