Best how-to night photography books

When I began exploring night photography, these following instructional books were inspirational and informative. That I still love reading them is a testament to how great they really are. The first two books, I purchased simultaneously. Although I knew quite a few night photography and light painting techniques already, these first two nonetheless had a profound impact on my philosophical and general approach to night photography.

Night Photography and Light Painting: Finding Your Way in the Dark (2nd edition) – Lance Keimig

Well-written and informative, this is a worthy second edition that seems largely re-written. The history of night photography is still there, and still absolutely fascinating. The book covers astro-landscape, long exposures in moonlight, star trails, light painting, light drawing, and post-processing for night photography with an emphasis on Lightroom, although the tips for post-processing can obviously be done in Photoshop, Lightroom, or other programs as well. Lance also includes other photographers and their images, their personalities and approaches adding to the book’s vibrancy overall. The book, even more than the first edition, offers a comprehensive look at the many facets of night photography, managing to cover it in one book. And yes, of course, the photos are mesmerizing, beautiful, fascinating, and gorgeously executed. It includes lots of scenarios and technical information about night photography. And that’s what we want, isn’t it?

Light Painted Night Photography: The “Lost America” Technique – Troy Paiva

This incredible e-book describes Troy Paiva’s pioneering, bold light painting techniques very clearly. Easy to follow and understand but very detailed. Although for the past several years, the author has used ProtoMachines, the book tells how the author created his eye-popping lighting effects with handheld flashlights and a speedlight. It discusses his general approach toward creating images and offers a lot of “real world” advice for beginners and veterans alike. The book has many photos with very readable captions describing the thought process and techniques behind the photos. It also discusses post-production techniques. Readable on any smartphone, tablet or computer, and at just $10, is a bargain. Unfortunately, it is more challenging for him to autograph it for you.

Night Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots – Gabriel Biderman with Tim Cooper

A great introduction on night photography, including basic compositional approaches, camera settings, gear, and “walk-throughs” on how he achieve some of the images, which serve as beautiful illustrations throughout the book. Gabriel’s enthusiasm and encouragement shines through in the book. And like the first two books, this also offers settings and post-processing tips and techniques.

More books worth mentioning

All but the last book are not tutorials, but they are worth mentioning because they offer exquisite photos, which in themselves can teach quite a lot.

In the case of “Boneyard: SoCal’s Aircraft Graveyards At night” by Troy Paiva, each photo caption also offers the camera settings. There’s also a couple of pages describing his technique. The book is crammed full of amazing photos of abandoned airplanes in boneyards.

Also worth mentioning is “The Last Stand: Night Photography and Light Painting in the Mojave Desert” by Ron Pinkerton. More of a fine art museum book or coffee table book, the images always impress. His insightful, poetic writing make me wish there were even more of that.

“Cape Cod Nights: A Photographic Exploration of Cape Cod and the Islands After Dark” by Tim Little is a beautifully executed book of fascinating good night images from the Cape Cod region. I felt like I was being shown the area with a friend. The images are top notch, and showcase many facets of Cape Cod! 

This will look like I am mistakenly recommending the same book again. And that’s sort of true. “Night Photography and Light Painting: Finding Your Way in the Dark (1st edition) by Lance Keimig is an amazing book. I would describe it very similarly  as above except to mention that it has a slightly longer first chapter on the history of night photography. The second edition is approximately 3/4 rewritten, making them extremely complementary. The history section in either book is enthralling. I found the descriptions and considerations to be fascinating, and was especially interested in Carlos and Miguel Vargas, two brothers who operated a commercial photography studio Arequipa, Peru from 1912 to 1927 and made exquisite long exposure moonlight exposures with sophisticated, theatrical lighting from moonlight, lanterns, bonfires, flash powder, and street lamps.

 

VISIT ME, VISIT ME!

MY WEBSITE:
Head on over to the Ken Lee Photography website to purchase books or look at night photography and long exposure photos.  My latest book, “Abandoned Southern California: The Slowing of Time” is available there and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Booktopia, Books A Million, IBS, and Aladin. If you enjoy the book, please leave a nice review.

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Ken Lee Photography Facebook Page (poke your head in, say hi, and “like” the page if you would, uh, like)
Instagram

PODCAST:
Behind the Shot video podcast – interview February 2020

VIDEO INTERVIEW:
Conversation about night photography and my book with Lance Keimig of National Park At Night

ARTICLES:
A Photographer Captures Haunting Nighttime Images of Abandoned Buildings, Planes, and Cars in the American Southwest – Business Insider by Erin McDowell
A Photographer Explores Southern California’s Desert Ruins – Los Angeles Magazine article by Chris Nichols

 

 

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