In the fourth of a series of monthly tutorial articles from Snapfish, we find out how to take great digital snaps at night. Bringing the night to life One of the most exciting and challenging areas for people who really get into photography is shooting at night. Before you know it, you'll be spending hours trying to capture the eerie peace of a moonlit country scene or the vibrant atmosphere of a cityscape after dark. It takes time and a little patience but if you follow some of these tips you'll be truly amazed at what professional results you can achieve. Getting started So what will you need to take pictures at night? There's your camera of course. With a digital camera, you can still adjust the sensitivity of the sensor, just like using faster film in a 35mm camera. In the menus, change the sensitivity from Auto to the highest setting possible, probably ISO 400 or ISO 800. A high ISO rating allows you to capture even quite dim scenes by making the camera more sensitive to light. Note that high sensitivities can also create grainy noise in your image so remember to set it back to Auto when you've finished. In general, most night shots will require long exposure times so your shutter will need to be able to stay open for a considerable time. In some cities and towns, the light is now so bright that you can hold the camera yourself. But if you want to create those shots where cars exist as streaks of light or shots of the moon reflecting on a lake, the camera has to stay still and shutter open for a long period. For these long exposures, you'll find a tripod essential. In some cases, a handheld light meter will be a good idea to ensure that you have enough light to achieve the result you want. You shouldn't forget your flash either. Using the flash adds light but can subtract atmosphere so try slightly under-exposing your shot (setting exposure compensation to -1EV or so) to keep things eerily dark and not too bright. The secret of night-time exposure Once you have chosen your subject and framed your shot as you want it, you just have to consider how the available light will affect the result. A good idea is to focus on a light source near to the subject. Another good technique is something known as ‘Bracketing'. It's your insurance against miscalculating exposure by varying your shutter speed. You take a number of shots of the same scene with different exposure settings to increase your chances of getting the effect you're after. Try taking one shot at –1EV and one at +1EV exposure compensation, as well as one at the correct exposure. Some cameras can bet set up to do this automatically. Or, there's a little trick the professionals use. Dawn and dusk are great times to do night photography. There will be just enough light for you to shoot but the resulting image will appear slightly darker. Hey presto, you have a superb night shot and no-one need ever know. It is just our little secret. Now all you nighthawks out there, grab your camera and start snapping.