The Enthusiast's Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography, 1st Edition

36. SLOW SHUTTER SPEEDS AND DEEP DEPTH OF FIELD

LOW-LIGHT SCENES require you to use long shutter speeds to allow enough light to enter the camera and reach the sensor. Many times, we use the widest aperture possible to allow the most light to reach the sensor, but with night photography, you can get really great results by using a very long shutter speed with a small aperture and a low ISO.

The idea here is to use a shutter speed that is long enough to really compress time, and in doing so, create a more interesting image. The long shutter speeds will allow any item that is moving in the frame to become just a blur and any lights that are moving ...