Night shoots, or run-up as they are sometimes called, are among one of the most popular and challenging aspects within aviation photography. Special shoots are often organized at sunset and in the evenings where static aircraft and/or helicopters are specially lit so photographers can capture them in the most creative way possible. Sometimes pilots are willing to run the propellers and rotors of old aircraft or helicopters as this often gives very nice effects. Technically, a night shoot is not among the easiest aspects within photography as we have to work with slower shutter speeds and external elements such as lighting and a tripod. I would like to offer some simple tips to perhaps make these shoots more enjoyable, even if you have never done this type of photography before.

Where to go?

Aviation night shoots are not all that common but the most successful locations where this may be your best chance to do aviation night photography would be:

• Museum-hosted night photo events.
• Airshow “night shoot” add-ons.
• Airports with official spotting areas or public views of ramps and runways.
• Cargo-heavy airports, since they stay active after dark

Camera Settings

Photographing static aircraft or rotary craft at sunset or in the dark requires a different kind of photography than during airshows. Unlike the very fast shutter speeds we use during airshows, during night shoots we are going to work with slow shutter speeds of one or more seconds. Because of this, it is therefore recommended to set the camera to its manual mode (M) or shutter speed priority (S). The light sensitivity of the sensor in the camera, ISO, should not be set very high since we work with longer shutter speeds and it is best to keep this value as low as possible. If you notice that your shutter speeds start to creep up, 10 seconds or more, you can always play with your ISO value to help control the shutter speed and get what you desired. As a general rule of thumb, I use incandescent WB and start around 1.5″ seconds. That gets me in the ballpark. Setting the aperture in your camera for a night shoot like this is often the hardest part. I prefer around f/8 to f/10. Consider the distance from where you are taking the photos relative to the aircraft for your depth of field or depth of focus. In addition, at night you should always be aware of highly illuminated parts on aircraft such as lights that often look best in photos when they have a star-like effect. This so called ‘starburst’ effect can be obtained by making the aperture smaller (large aperture number) to f/9, f/10 or f/11. Be careful, however, to decrease the aperture because if we do this too extremely, the starburst effect will be too dominating. Also don’t forget to turn off the image stabilization on your lens if you are on a tripod.

Time is not on your side

A major disadvantage of aviation night shoots is that you rarely have much time to take pictures. These types of shoots move fast and they are generally expensive for the pilot and plane. During these kind of organized photo shoots on old airfields or in museums, you often only have a few minutes to take photos. Therefore, it is very useful to set up the camera as well as possible before the start of the shoot so that you lose precious time during the shoot itself. Another useful tip for working quickly is to consult the histogram after each photo, which you can check on the screen of your camera. Thanks to the histogram, you can immediately see if your photo is over- or underexposed. Once you see that the first photos are good, you can leave the settings and then take as many photos as you want since the external lighting of the aircraft usually does not change during the event.

So, to some this up, here is a quick checklist to hopefully help make your nighttime aviation shoots more enjoyable.

• Use a tripod
• Use manual camera settings
• Shoot in RAW
• Don’t set the ISO too high (start at ISO 200 or 400)
• Use longer exposures
• Use f/5,6 to f/11 for sharp images with a good depth of field (DOF)
• Use the self-timer of the camera to avoid motion blur
• Take photos from different viewpoints and angles
• Turn off your image stabilization or vibration reduction
• Be creative and shoot near water or create silhouettes

I would love to know how these work for you and how you have perhaps modified them to make your shots great! Please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.