The Canon 600d has proven itself as a solid DSLR option with a large, wide ranging number of photographers using it as their camera body of choice. The Canon 600d is a popular option with entry level and intermediate level photographers with some professional level photographers choosing to use it as their camera body of choice too.
Due to the 600d being used by such a wide range of experience as well as in pretty much every major photography niche you can think of, we constantly see people reaching out every single month for advice on how to improve their image quality with the camera. Although we see a huge veriety of different questions, over the last month or so, we have noticed more and more people asking for tips to improve their Canon 600d night photography.
The main thing with night photography is that the lack of available light for your photography sessions can end up causing problems for even an intermediate level photographer who is used to working in other niches. Due to this, we have decided to publish this article going over as many different tips and tricks that we can think of when it comes to night photography to help any of our readers who use the Canon 600d and are looking to improve their image quality.
We have tried to ensure that the majority of the tips and tricks below are for general night photography but some of them are more prevalent and useful for some specific night photography sub-niches. That said though, we hope we have something for everyone no matter what you are planning to do with your Canon 600d and are confident that we can help you capture better photographs.
Consider An Online Night Photography Course
So many people instantly dismiss this as they instantly think that there will be a high price tag attached to enrolling in a decent online night photography course. Although this is normally true, all of our readers are able to claim their no-obligation trial for Skillshare premium without having to spend a cent for the trial.
This allows you to try out their excellent range of photography courses for the duration of the premium trial without you having to pay for the course. This includes their outstanding night photography course that has tons of excellent reviews as well as one of the best reputations amongst the photography community too.
Even if you are an intermediate level photographer and you have used your Canon 600d for years, we would still recommend that you consider checking the course out as it has high-quality video lessons jam-packed with tips and tricks. This is why it has managed to earn the reputation of being the best online night photography course available right now and the majority of other students have had to pay to enroll on it.
Get Yourself A Lens That Is Ideal For Night Photography
We know that many people are able to get some excellent results when using the standard kit lenses with their Canon 600d, this is almost always in other photography niches that have optimal lighting. The slower aperture on the kit lenses available for the 600d can definatley be a hinderance when using them for night photography but thankfully, you dont have to break the bank to upgrade to something more suitable.
There are a large number of cheap lenses that will mount directly to your 600d without you having to also purchase a lens adaptor or lens convertor too. If you shop around on sites such as eBay, you can almost always pick these lenses up for cheap if you are willing to add a pre-owned lens to your collection of camera accessories.
For the vast majority of people who we see reaching out and asking for advice on night photography and ways to capture better photographs, adding a decent, suitable camera lens to your camera accessories will almost always offer the best improvement. We know many of our readers are new to photography and may not have a huge budget available but as we mentioned, sites like eBay or local pre-owned stores can offer you excellent deals when it comes to upgrading your glass.
Invest In A Suitable Tripod
Again, another quick and easy win when it comes to capturing better photographs with your Canon 600d can be as simple as adding a decent, cheap tripod to your collection of camera accessories too. We know that a large number of people reaching this article will probably already have a tripod so we won’t dwell on it but even a slight movement in your hands when holding your Canon 600d can spoil the photograph in low light.
The image stabilization provided by even a cheap tripod can remove this and ensure that you are able to get the best photograph possible for the time. With the prices of carbon fiber coming down so drastically over the last five years, you can usually get a decent tripod much cheaper than most people think. On the flip side of this though, the improvement to your image quality can be huge!
Consider Getting Some Steel Wool
More and more photographers are starting to realize the benefits that trying to integrate some steel wool into their night photography sessions. Steel wool is cheap, easy to use, and adds an additional light and movement source to the photograph to really change the type of image that you are able to capture as seen in the photography above.
As you can see, the additional light and movement from the steel wool really does change the quality of the photograph. It helps to ensure that both the subject and bridge in the image stand out while also adding some excitement to the image too. Without the use of steel wool, it would just be a very low quality photograph of a bridge that you would probably not even be able to see.
If you think outside of the box, you are able to integrate steel wool into a number of different popular night photography situations. You are also able to use steel wool to your advantage when it comes to ensuring that your night photography photos stand out on social media too. You are able to ensure that your photograph stands out from the competition for a popular hashtag and helps to draw the eye and potentially grow your social accounts at a faster pace.
Get Yourself A Remote Trigger
Although there are definitely better camera bodies out there for astrophotography, some people do use the Canon 600d for it with a high zoom lens. Although it may seem simple, so many people still physically press the capture button on their Canon 600d when working at these super zoom lenses.
Even pressing the capture button on your camera is able to cause slight vibrations that can end up having a surpassingly negative effect on your image quality with a super zoom lens. This is where a remote trigger comes in as it removes the requirement to actually touch your Canon 600d to capture your photograph. They are usually less than $20 and can end up drastically improving your image quality for astrophotography.
Take Advantage Of The Landscape
This is another common mistake that many photographers, no matter their experience level end up making. This is usually due to people becoming laser targeted on the initial photographs that they had planned but always look around you to see if you are missing any opportunities. Take the photograph above for example, even integrating a rock formation into an unplanned photograph can resulting in an excellent night photograph.
If you are in a city or other urban area then take bridges, tall buildings, statues and pretty much anything else that you are able to find into account too. No matter what location you are in, there is almost always opportunities available that most photographs end up missing as they are simply not looking for them.
Experiment With Manual Focus
We see so many photographers, even at the intermediate level who have ended up falling into the habit of letting an auto focus system do all the work. Due to there being limited light available for the majority of night photography sessions, this instantly becomes a problem for using your Canon 600d to capture photographs at night.
Even the best auto focus systems in the world right now still have issues when it comes to focusing in low light as they just force the frame in and out of focus constantly. This is where your manual focus skillset comes in at is does not have this same issue. Hopefully, you have been working on your manual focus skills rather than just letting your auto focus do everything as this will make the switch much easier.
If you have neglected your manual focus skillset though, it doesn’t take too long to brush up on it and although it may seem difficult at first, it quickly becomes easier. It is highly beneficial to get used to using your manual focus too as it is also useful in other photography niches outside of just night photography so get practicing.
Plan Your Night Photography Session
Our final tip is for you to quickly Google to check the conditions before you head out for a night photography session with your Canon 600d. This will let you get a better idea of the cloud cover, the phase of the moon, and the weather letting you decide if it is even worth leaving the house or not. We have lost count of the number of people who dont take this simple step and end up wasting hours due to the weather and cloud not being ideal for what they wanted.
