Night can symbolise magic, madness, mystery, and death. It is also a symbol of the unconscious and a powerful source of imagination. Photographers have long been aware of the aesthetic properties of photographing at night. Alfred Stieglitz and Brassai were among the early masters to exemplify night photography. Brassai famously documented the results in his 1932 book ‘Paris de Nuit’. We’ve listed 30 night photographers working today who capture unique aspects of the night. Believe us; they are worth checking out!
What is Night Photography?
In brief, night photography is taking photographs between the dark hours of dusk and dawn. The power of night bestows many types of photography with hints of mischief, magic, and possibility… A serene landscape transforms into a magical underworld by moonlight. City streets can take on an uncanny or cinematic quality. Genres like astrophotography need the presence of nightfall to exist. Night photographers seek to capture the essence of our world at a time when the majority of people don’t see it. Whether the night is the subject matter, backdrop, or frame, there is something magical afoot in most night photography forms.
Influential Night Photographers to Follow
Let’s take a look at the work of these fantastic night photographers that have inspired us recently. Each of these artists uses the qualities of the night to add something special to their photos.
Ekaterina Mishchenkova
Not every night is dark and silent. Pattern and colour are a staple of Ekaterina Mishchenkova’s work. Her architectural photos, portraits and night photos are bursting with colour. Her images of fireworks displays from cities worldwide celebrate the night as a canvas for explosions of joy. Ekaterina is a prize-winner of the Me & My Leica X Photo Contest and the International Photography Awards (IPA).
A post shared by Ekaterina Mishchenkova (@katia_mi_)
Paul Zizka
Paul Zizka is an explorer and professional astrophotographer. He creates compelling images of the night skies from incredible locations such as Antarctica, Iceland, New Zealand, Greenland and the Canadian Rockies. The textures and contrast of his clean landscape images are enhanced by the darkness of night. Paul offers a range of online courses and workshops for photographers interested in perfecting their skills!
A post shared by Paul Zizka • Banff, AB (@paulzizkaphoto)
Liam Wong
Liam Wong is a Scottish photographer and game designer. His neon-lit street photography brings us into a futuristic night world. Liam’s work in film and video games is evident in his photography style. These cyberpunk cityscapes transport us to the set of Blade Runner or lost in Gotham city. There is a hint of impending action in each of the photos. Something is about to emerge from these streets, but what?
A post shared by LIAM WONG (@liamwong)
Zach Doehler
Zach Doehler is a Canadian landscape photographer. His early interest in photography began with a mission to capture the stars. Zach’s passion for photographing the night sky has continued to produce a portfolio of exquisite landscape photography. A unique editing style emphasises a mystic quality in his stunning night landscapes. His website offers photography presets, in-depth tutorials, and even one-on-one training!
A post shared by Zach Doehler (@calibreus)
Henri Prestes
Henri Prestes is a Portuguese fine art photographer with a passion for the night. His photography reminds us of an impressionist painting with a touch of a soft nightmare. His subjects are lost in their dreams, usually walking alone in foggy moors, fields or city streets. His current series is called Perfect Darkness, which was also the title of his 2018 solo exhibition in London.
A post shared by Henri Prestes (@henrifilm)
Billy Dinh
Brooklyn based photographer Billy Dinh creates cinematic visions by photographing at night. His unique perspectives and framing give a unique appeal to his candid night portraits. Billy’s New York City street photos could easily be stills from a vintage movie. It is unclear if we are the audience of this night movie or have become characters ourselves.
A post shared by ʙ ɪ ʟ ʟ ʏ ᴅ ɪ ɴ ʜ (@billydeee)
Mike Will
Mike Will is a London based street photographer. His images exemplify how the city comes alive at night. His unique perspective, interesting angles, and use of light trails give us a sense of moving through this vibrant city at night. Mike’s editing style enhances the energetic portrayal of architecture, traffic lights and public transport. Mike is a Sony European Imaging Ambassador and the founder of the Shooter community.
A post shared by 🌍 Mike Will | London (@m.visuals)
Tobias Baumgaertner
Tobias Baumgaertner is a conservation photographer with a diverse portfolio. He shoots in stunning location across the globe. Many of his stunning images show us the night world of wildlife and nature. His stunning nightscapes of the Australian landscape are breathtaking. In his wildlife portraits, we access special moments of wild creatures, often at nighttime.
A post shared by Tobias Baumgaertner (@tobiasvisuals)
Emmanuel Coveney
Emmanuel Coveney is a fine art night photographer from Québec. His stunning cityscapes highlight architecture and people often under the curtain of night. There is a hint of magic in Emmanuel’s images. His gothic subject matter and style remind us how powerful and romantic city streets become at nighttime.
A post shared by Emmanuel Coveney (@manucoveney)
Eyesboyzinsta (Kyle)
Kyle is a graphic artist and a master of photo manipulation. This talented visual artist often uses Picsart and Photoshop to merge portraits and night scenes. The results are moody dream-like portraits. Whatever his subjects are thinking about, they are completely entangled in night visions.
A post shared by eyesboyzinsta | KYLE (@eyesboyzinsta)
George Natsioulis
George Natsipoulis is a Greek photographer with a unique vision of night street photography. His portfolio features atmospheric night scenes, where it’s always foggy and mysterious. Georges photos often feature lone figures on their journey into the night. His commercial photography also includes beautiful night wedding portraits.
A post shared by George Natsioulis (@george_natsioulis)
Matthew Vandeputte
Matthew Vandeputte is a talented timelapse photographer based in London. His portfolio features shots of the night sky, which are simply out of this world! Matthew has a great blog on his website that gives helpful tutorials for fellow creators. His beautiful night sky photography is exemplified in a recent time-lapse, ‘The Cloud Palace’. Check it out yourself in the link below!
A post shared by Matthew Vandeputte (@matjoez)
Rachel Jones Ross
Based in the beautiful Canadian Rockies, Rachels Jones Ross captures breathtaking night landscapes. Her portfolio is full of beautifully captured images of star-filled skies, the Northern lights and the Milky Way. Rachel offers a range of workshops and tutorials, including an online night photographers course that you can do in your pyjamas!
A post shared by Rachel ✨Astro 🇨🇦 Banff, AB (@rachel_jones_ross)
Manfred Teh
Manny is a photographer and video creator with a unique take on night photography. He uses unique angles, perspectives, and creative editing to portray shadowy images of forests and foggy streets at night. His night photography highlights the uncanny feeling of how familiar places transform into the unknown after dark: places where we cannot be totally sure if we feel safe or not.
A post shared by MANNY | Content Creator (@manfredteh)
Jeryl
Jeryl’s vast cityscapes are often shot at dusk or night. He uses architectural elements to frame his breathtaking images of the streets at night. Jeryl incorporates light trails, fireworks and other elements to highlight movement and colour in the city after dark.
A post shared by Jeryl 🇸🇬 (@smilewithjeryl)
Danny Sanculi
Danny Sanculi is a Californian neuroscientist with incredible photography skills. His Instagram handle is thelightninja, and it is not difficult to see why! Daniel has an extraordinary way of capturing night scenes adorned with light trails, shooting stars, and other beautiful bursts of light. Looking through his images, we are not always sure if it’s our planet or some fantastic vision of a faraway world.
A post shared by Danny Sanculi (@thelightninja)
Dirk Fleischman (Niphisi)
Dirk Fleischman (Niphisi) is a German photographer who captures breathtaking shots with his iPhone. His portfolio is full of beautiful minimalist scenes, mostly in tones of black and white. The lonely subjects often provide a moment of colour to a space that seems to exist in a world of infinite night.
A post shared by Dirk – Iphone / Lumix G70 -GER (@niphisi)
Daniel Laan
Daniel Laan’s mystical landscape photography portfolio is expansive. Many of his stunning seascapes and ghostly mountainous landscapes are shot at nighttime. His introduction to his Nightscapes and Aurora gallery gives us an insight into his vision: The magical qualities of the night are unparalleled. As soon as the veil of sunlight fades, the night brings us a unique perspective of our place among the stars.
A post shared by Daniel Laan – Landscape Photos (@laanscape)
Anat Seem
Magic is Everywhere states Anat Seem’s Instagram profile. This is certainly evident in her impressive portfolio of magical night imagery. In her photos, we observe carefree children’s silhouettes at play against a background of stunning star-filled skies. Anat’s images invite us into an innocent night world inhabited by fairies and magic.
A post shared by Anat (@anatseem)
Filipe Pinhas
Filipe Pinhas night street photos are brimming with a shadowy atmosphere. He captures quiet urban portraits of solitary night workers or travellers, often surrounded by fog or mist. His subjects are usually shot from a distance, about to board the last train home, or on their singular destination through quiet streets at night.
A post shared by Filipe Pinhas (@filipepinhas)
Brad Hannon
Brad Hannon has an impressive portfolio of stormy sky photography, often shot at night. The self-described Storm Chaser shows us the dramatic beauty of the night sky at its most volatile. His dramatic cloudscapes, tornadoes and lighting photography allow us to revel in the awesomeness of nature (from a safe distance!).
A post shared by Brad Hannon (@bradhannon)
Oliver Wallner
Oliver Wallner’s images are often the result of his photo walks in various cities by night. His long exposure night photos often focus on means of transport and movement. The bokeh lights of street lamps and traffic at night add an extra thrill. Oliver is also a sort of night hunter. Objects and toys he finds during his night walk often become subjects of his night portraits.
A post shared by O l i v e R__W a l l n e R (@o.w.photography)
Sahil Sharda
The night is a frequent backdrop to Sahil Sharda stunning street and architecture photography. His work shows the night as an urban playground for creative visionaries. Sahil is also the founder of Infinite Movements, a Toronto based commercial photography and video team. Their portfolio is another treasure trove of city photography at night.
A post shared by Toronto (@infinitemovements)
Juan Flores
Juan Flores is a landscape photographer based in Indianapolis. His work highlights the serenity of nature, quite often shot on a calm and still night. In his night photography, the still waters of lakes or a lonely barn are silent beneath a majestic star-filled sky. In others, the moon takes centre stage as the subject of his beautiful work.
A post shared by Juan Flores (@johnny.flowers)
Spencer Welling
Spencer Welling describes himself as a nyctophile, from an Ancient Greek word meaning a lover of the night. Looking through his incredible night landscapes, it is not difficult to see why! Spencer is a talented astrophotographer. This is evident from his lunar shots and desert landscapes beneath magnificent views of the Milky Way. His editing style adds some extra magic to his magnificent night photography.
A post shared by Spencer Welling (@spencerwelling)
Ana Julia Gobbi
Ana Julia Gobbi is a talented night photographer based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She shoots in urban areas in the darkest hours of the night. In her portfolio, we see many shots of high rise apartments with a solitary light on the inside. This light could be a tribute to those, like Ana, who celebrate the night and create art when most of the world is sleeping.
A post shared by Ana Julia Gobbi (@anajugob)
Indigo
Indigos Instagram page is awash with images that conjure up magic possibilities of the night. Her psychedelic visions give us access to a night world where dreams have become a reality. Indigos beautiful images often depict people who are literally bathing in the magical realm of night.
A post shared by I N D I G O © (@indg0)
Siroj Ho’janazarov
This talented visual artist describes himself as ‘creating dreams’. This is certainly what comes to mind when looking at Siroj’s visionary images. His subjects are often in the middle of an epic journey, in a faraway land resembling our own. We get to see just a snapshot of the hero’s narrative, usually shot under a splendid star-filled sky, night cloudscape or dramatic supermoon.
A post shared by Siroj Ho’janazarov (@art_siroj)
Tom Baumgaertel
Tom, a street photographer from Los Angeles, focuses on light and colour. His night photos show us shadowy silhouetted street scenes, set alight with smears of acid green or pink light. We are reminded of bleary-eyed walks home from late nights out, not completely in control of our vision.
A post shared by STREET (@bewaremyfuji)
Conclusion
Whether you are a digital artist, astrophotographer or street photographer, we hope we inspired you with our list of night photographers. Now it’s your turn to go out after dark and capture your night photos. Your creative visions may also be transformed by the uncertainty of the night. Did we miss your favourite night photographer? Drop it in the comments below! We are always on the lookout for exciting new night photographers. If you’re a night photographer, and you feel like you should be considered for this list, make sure to drop us an email at emma@expertphotography.com with your bio, website, and Instagram link! Want stunning photos of stars with a basic DSLR and no fancy equipment? Check out our Milkyway Mastery Course to know the secrets!
