I love shooting city shots at night, when the city lights come on and the streets empty out. My love of tinkering with manual camera settings has worked well over the years for me, especially for long exposures. Pushing the camera to the MAX is when I seem to get the best results and obtain those majestic Chicago skylines you will love.
Chicago is an amazing city for photography. I am always looking for my newest and best spot to capture.
Some of the camera techniques that have always worked for me
Manual Settings
I always keep my camera set to manual. Especially got long exposure night shots. You have the time to setup, so don’t trust any auto settings the camera may think you need – Big Mistake!!
Blue Hour
The Blue Hour isn’t a must, but most of the time it sure can add some depth to your images. The colors of the sky can make your image spectacular or just nice.
Good Camera Lens
This is the single lost important factor in getting quality images. Don’t buy an expensive camera, and put a cheap lens on it. It money is a dealbreaker, get a cheaper camera and good lens.
Chicago has some incredible skylines. Lots of wonderful buildings to photograph, especially at night.
The city is just the right size to see most of the downtown loop area in one day and night to get these majestic Chicago skylines you will love. When the sun goes down, and the city’s lights illuminate the the sky, it becomes a photographers paradise. If you do a little investigating, you will find many great vantage points to get great pictures, like the images below. Since I am a street photographer, I’m always walking around many parts of the city at all different times. Some of these great vantage points can only be seen when its dark, and the lights come on.
Chicago Night Skylines
Chicago Night Photograph Night Photography Go Loyola Pictures Chicago From Navy Pier Majestic Cityscapes Train Passing Chicago Skyline
Long Exposure Cityscapes
For the best results at night, I photography my city shots during the Blue Hour. It’s not a must or else, but more of a personal preference of mine. My favorite blue hour time to shoot actually towards, when the sky turns a very deeper blue, just before it turns gray.
Custom Prints for Sale
Our prints are made on metal, canvas, and fine art photo paper by two professional photo labs that specialize in the highest industry standards. As a result, it may take a little more time, but well worth the wait, because I want to make sure their are no imperfections. They are sent to me so I can inspect them before sending them to you. Most of the big box companies print very low resolution pictures with low grade materials to keep the pricing as low as possible which is not for me.