Nine Night Rules

Having been asked a couple of times (possibly only once) about night shots I thought I'd try and list my process.

1/ Find a location that has some interest and some lights in it.

2/ Camera on a stable platform (a jumper works very well if you haven't got a tripod).

3/ Turn off any stabilisation devices in-camera or on the lens. (They will shake and possibly break the camera).

4/ Timing will depend on light and guess work but the guess work is greatly reduced for me with the EVF that I have grown to depend on (you can also get a good shot at the correct white balance with this too).

5/ Focus and compose. I generally focus on something quite close to the front of the frame even if it isn't the main subject (the water in this case - not the buildings).

6/ Generally I always use ISO 100 for a clean result and long exposure time.

7/ Aperture depends on your lens' "sweet spot"; where it has a sharp and deep depth of field. Usually it's somewhere in the mid range.

8/ Set the timer delay to 2 seconds. (So you don't move the camera when pressing the shutter) and press.

9/ Processing is simple:
Here I have brightened and added a little contrast. Then sharpened with High Pass filter + Hard Light. This adds a little noise so then I use a denoise filter (Topaz Denoise).
Blip!

Feel free to disagree or add your own tips but this is how I approach my "standard" night shots like this. (For advanced methods ask Flashead)

This is the Danske Bank HQ