The Canon 200d keeps on going from strength to strength with each passing month steadily growing its core customer base of users. The camera body seems to have found its niche in the market as a middle price point camera within the entry level camera price range and the performance and versatility of the 200d has ensured it is dominating.
That said though, with so many people who use the Canon 200d being entry-level photographers or absolutely brand new to photography in general, we always see a ton of different questions being asked about the camera. Although these questions usually span a wide range of the popular photography niches, the question that we have noticed being asked more and moreover the last few months is based on how you are able to improve your Canon 200d night photography.
We know that night photography can be a total pain to get to grips with, especially when you are first starting out due to the lack of light available for your camera sensor being much lower. This can end up causing a ton of problems with your image quality and with night photography being such a popular niche, we have decided to publish this article to try and help any of our readers who use the Canon 200d and want to improve their night photography image quality.
As we touched on, we know the majority of our readers who are using the Canon 200d are at the start of the photography journey so we have tried to keep the tips and tricks as cheap as possible with many of them being totally free. In addition to this, we have also tried to include a bunch of general night photography tricks that you are able to use as well as some sub-niche specific tricks that can be particularly tricky until you are more experienced in them.
Consider An Online Night Photography Course
This is a commonly overlooked option that is able to provide you with an absolute ton of value with minimal effort being required. In addition to this, our readers are able to claim a trial of Skillshare premium with no obligation or cost being attached to it too. If you are new to photography, especially night photography then we would highly recommend that you take advantage of this offer.
Skillshare has some world class photographers on their platform creating excellent courses that most people have to pay for to enroll on. With out trial offer, you are able to enroll on these premium courses without having to pay while still being able to complete the same, high-quality course.
Although there are a wide range of photography courses on the Skillshare platform that you are able to take advantage of, we feel that this night photography course could be particularly useful. Not only does it have a huge number of positive reviews and a great reputation amongst photographers but we feel that it is one of the best night photography courses ever made too.
Get Yourself A Lens That Is Ideal For Night Photography
There is no doubt in our minds that one of the main problems that we see amongst photographers who use the Canon 200d and are looking to improve their night photography image quality is their lens. We know that it is an entry level camera and picking up a bundle deal with the kit lens offers a bargian but the kit lenses available for the 200d arnt really suitable for night photography.
We would still highly recommend the kit lenses to our readers are they are great, cheap lenses that offer some solid image quality for many popular photography niches but the aperture is just not suitable for low light niches. Thankfully though, there are a large number of great, cheap lenses that you are able to use with your Canon 200d for night photography and better yet, many of them are available on sites like eBay allowing you to pick up a pre-owned lens without breaking the bank.
Invest In A Suitable Tripod
Another very common problem that we see is that many people will try to hold their Canon 200d in their hands during their night photography sessions. Although hand held photography is usually fine when it comes to other photography niches with optimal lighting, it is usually not recommended for night photography.
The tiny little movements that we make when holding out cameras in our hands can end up having a surprising effect on the actual image quality that we can capture. This is due to their being such a low level of light available that means even a very slight movement of the camera can result in bluring.
If you have not added a decent tripod to your camera accessories yet then we would highly recommend that you check out the Zomei Z699C. It is an excellent tripod that is very cheap considering the image stabilization and performance that it offers you. That said though, there are a large number of decent tripods in the sub-one hundred dollar price bracket these days that can work well.
Consider Getting Some Steel Wool
The use of steel wool in night photography really has taken off over the last few years as it is able to add an element of excitement to the photo as well as an additional light source. The photograph at the start of this section above of a bridge at night serves as an excellent example of this.
Without the use of steel wool, it would just be a really bad photograph of a bridge and you would not be able to see the person in the photograph either. Add a little steel wool and the additional light helps both the subject and the bridge stand out making it a great little photograph.
The lesson to take from this is that even in the worse possible lighting, you can integrate some steel wool into your night photography session to make the photograph better. In addition to this though, you are also able to use steel wool to draw the eye or make your photograph stand out against the competition.
There are large numbers of landmarks that are photographed over and over again every single day. This means that your photograph can end up getting lost in the masses when shared on social media. Add a little steel wool though and your photograph not only draws the eye but can also attract people to your social media profiles and help you gain followers quicker.
Take Advantage Of The Landscape
Even if you are an intermediate or even professional level photographer, we see this same mistake made time and time again as people become so fixated on what they had planned to photograph. Ensure that you are always taking your surroundings in as you walk around your location to see if the local landscape is offering you anything unique as seen in the image above.
Although people living in an urban area don’t have access to lakes or mountains, you still have bridges, tall buildings, and statues so there is almost always something that you may not be factoring in or missing. Taking a few minutes to think outside of the box can allow you to spot these often overlooked opportunities that can result in some excellent night photography photographs.
Experiment With Manual Focus
We have lost count of the number of people we see reaching out each month for tips on improving their night photography who are using an auto focus system rather than their manual focus ring. We really cant stress this enough but you should be putting the time in to get better at using your manual focus, especially if you know you will be working in low light photography niches on a regular basis.
Even the high end, expensive auto focus systems on the market can struggle with low light as they are unable to workout what the subject of your photograph is and force your frame in and out of focus constantly. This makes it close to impossible to get a nice, crisp photograph but using your manual focus does not cause this issue.
Although it can be a little difficult to get used to, building up your manual focus skills is well worth it and it will serve you well throughout your photography career. Additionally, it is also an extremely useful skill to have in a number of other photography niches outside of night photography too.
Plan Your Night Photography Session
This is another common mistake that we see in even professional level photographers who fail to spend a few minutes planning their session and end up totally spoiling it. You are able to get all the information you need from quick Google searches to let you see the cloud cover, weather, phase of the moon, and visible stars in the location that you want to capture your photographs.
Theres no point in traveling all the way out to get on location only to see that it is raining with low cloud cover and you are unable to see anything. Countless hours have been lost over the years by not checking simple things like this before leaving your house so try to get into the habit of checking it as often as possible.
