Photographing neon at night

Neon signs look effortless to the eye and surprisingly hard for a camera. Notes on exposure, colour and reflections.

2 July 20252 min read0 viewsNotes

Neon signs stacked along a narrow Japanese street

Streets full of neon signs are one of the most photographed scenes in East Asian cities, and for good reason. But the camera sees them differently from the eye.

Expose for the signs. Neon is very bright compared with the street around it. If the camera meters the whole scene, the signs often blow out into flat blobs with no lettering. Dial in some negative exposure compensation until the tubes keep their shape and colour. Saturated reds and magentas are the first to clip, so watch them closely.

Accept some darkness. The shadows will go deep, and that is usually fine. Night scenes look more natural when not everything is visible.

Think about ISO. Handheld at night, you choose between a slower shutter (risk of blur), a wider aperture (less depth of field) and a higher ISO (more noise). Modern cameras handle moderate ISO well, and a little grain is far better than a blurred frame.

A neon-lit street reflected on wet pavement at night

Look down after rain. Wet pavement acts as a mirror and doubles every colour on the street. Lowering the camera closer to the ground makes the reflections larger.

Leave white balance flexible. Mixed light from signs, shop windows and street lamps never has one correct colour. Shoot RAW and decide later whether the scene should feel warm, cool or neutral.

A figure with an umbrella in a neon-red alley at night

Give the light a subject. A single figure, an umbrella or a passing scooter turns a display of signs into a scene. Neon alone is decoration; a person inside it becomes a story.

Photos: binmassam, 4601460, masashiwakui on Pixabay, used under the Pixabay Content License. These are not my photographs.

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