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\nConsider the average city scene just before or just after sunset. You\u2019ll see light from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- The sky, which is orange in the \u2018golden hour\u2019 and purple\/blue in the \u2018blue hour\u2019.<\/li>\n
- Streetlights, which often have a distinctive orange glow.<\/li>\n
- Headlights, brake lights and indicators of cars, which leave white, red or yellow trails when photographed with long exposures.<\/li>\n
- Shop windows, with colourful displays lit by halogen lights.<\/li>\n
- Office windows lit by fluorescent lighting that can take on a green cast.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
And probably many more light sources, too. The key to photographing a scene like this is not to try and make things look more like daylight, but to embrace the confusion of colour. That said, white balance is important here, as different settings will produce pictures with different looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get Your Timing Right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Picking the colour of the sky in your picture is a fundamental thing to decide, and the first thing to tackle. Depending in the time of day you photograph, the sky will be either:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Warm orange \u2013 in the golden hour, just before sunset or just after sunrise.<\/li>\n
- Cool blue \u2013 in the blue hour, just after sunset or just before sunrise.<\/li>\n
- Black \u2013\u00a0at night, when all traces of sunlight have faded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Of course, the way in which each of these very different canvases is selected is by carefully choosing the right time of day or night to photograph. Research your location well, so you know where to stand and what to photograph well in advance of the light being right. You can predict when the golden and blue hours will be by using an online tool like the The Photographer\u2019s Ephemeris<\/a>, which also tells you where the sun will be at any specific time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re not sure which look to go for, arrive in time for the golden hour, then shoot right the way through blue hour, too, and into the night. You\u2019ll get the full gamut of backdrop colours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
White Balance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There is no \u2018correct\u2019 white balance for scenes like this, so learn to see white balance as a creative tool that you can use to give your images a distinctive look and feel, a little like Film Simulation modes. You can adjust white balance by either selecting a preset, such as Daylight, Fluorescent, or even something off-the-wall like Underwater. You can also fine-tune these presets to adapt them to your needs. Or you can set a colour temperature manually from the White Balance setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou can see the effect of these changes onscreen or in the camera\u2019s viewfinder. (If you\u2019re using Manual exposure mode, make sure that PREVIEW EXP.\/WB IN MANUAL MODE option is turned on from the SET UP > SCREEN SETTING menu.)<\/p>\n\n\n