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Tips to Photograph Cityscape Panoramas
Yotvat Kariti shares her tips on how to take dramatic shots of urban skylines

Sunsets are one of the most popular subjects for photography, and they are great because their beauty lasts a long time. Even after the sun sinks below the horizon, the glow of dusk will illuminate the sky for the next 20 minutes when truly impressive photographs can be taken. To get the most out of these magical moments, try some of Yotvat Kariti’s tips. This experienced NYC photographer has a unique voice and point of view. In fact, her photographic voice is an extension of her personality.
Throughout her career, she has done many types of photography to make a living. Street photography is only a part of what she does, but it is the most interesting. Yotvat Kariti has always loved people watching and daydreaming while walking around and so of course it made sense that taking photographs outside would be one the first thing that she would do when she was starting out.
As the sun goes down, try a different photo of the New York cityscape panorama. Millions of lights give you the opportunity to capture a beautiful night panorama of the city.
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Shooting at dusk is especially good for cities. But low light shooting requires special equipment and some knowledge. Here are some fresh ways to create better panoramas:
First find a good position. Try to find a spot that shows off all the buildings and office lights that are lit. If you are on the street, shooting a city over a water surface like a river or port will result in dramatic glare.
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Often the best time to take a night shot is just after sunset, but before the light is completely gone. In these shots, the sky has a bluish tint, which is often nicer than a black sky or a sky only lit by city lights.
Using a wide-angle lens and shutter speed in seconds, the glow of the city and the visible sky are captured.
To minimize noise and maintain high image quality, use a setting for low ISO sensitivity and an aperture of approximately f / 5.6. This means that the shutter speed will be slow, so you will need to hold the camera steady so that it does not move during exposure.
Compose the composition of the recording using the live view screen; the illuminated screen is perfect for viewing in the dark. You can adjust the exposure using exposure compensation or in fully manual mode by checking the screen.
To focus, select AF with live view or switch the lens to manual focus and use the magnified view.
Use a cable or remote shutter to avoid camera shake. Instead, you can use a 2-second timer to give the camera time to prepare after activating the shutter, but before firing. If your camera has Wi-Fi built-in, you can use the Canon Connect smartphone app to control settings, check exposure, and take a shot. You can then download the image to instantly upload it to social media or a blog, all from your phone.
Changing the white balance will produce different effects; set to classic lighting for shades of blue or daylight for a warm glow. For best image quality and flexibility, shoot in RAW format and choose white balance during post-production.
Take advantage of long exposures by selecting a location where you can see movement, such as passing vehicles near recognizable landmarks. Set the exposure based on the shutter speed of a few seconds. Wait for traffic to start before you press the shutter button. You will notice that the vehicles are blurred almost to invisibility, while the headlights and taillights leave creative striped patterns in the frame. Change the shutter speed to change the effect.
Using the city lights as a backdrop can be a great way to create beautiful portraits. To do this, you need a tripod camera and a flash that will activate on the camera or an external flash mounted. Use similar exposure settings to capture city lights no matter how much you want to increase the ISO value to limit the shutter speed to one or two seconds, so the model has to spend less time in a quiet position. Instead, if the camera provides it, use Night Portrait mode with similar settings.