I used to wonder how photographers shoot images of well-lit buildings at night showing the sky as blue. When I first owned a Nikon D3000, I tried taking night shots yet I could not achieve what I really wanted. It was disappointing and I was then convinced that those images with blue skies were heavily post processed - edited in Photoshop.

Until I came across what they call "blue hour". My wife, then girlfriend, told me about it and that she'd been studying it as well. We'd then exchanged ideas. It took me quite some time to learn the craft. It involved a lot of reading forums and watching Youtube tutorials but that wasn't enough. I had to go out and shoot many times to practice and it was challenging as it is not always that you get a 'blue hour' photo.

Nonetheless, over the years, I can say that I can now produce blue hour images that I like. As they say, photography needs a continuous learning and practice.

So what is Blue Hour? Blue hour is the time of the day where the sky turns predominantly blue in shade. It occurs twice in a day – before sunrise and after sunset and it last only about 15-20 minutes every time.

You can check blue hour timing based on your location through: http://jekophoto.eu/tools/twilight-calculator-blue-hour-golden-hour/

Pearl Farm Beach Resort Nikon D750  |  f/10  |  30 sec.  | ISO 100

Here is a basic blue hour camera setting and workflow.

To be able to take blue hour shots you need the following gears:

1. Digital Camera – Point and shoot camera or DSLR that can shoot manually or has aperture priority setting.
2. Tripod – Vital to avoid blurry shots

The basic settings:

•  Prior in shooting blue hour, you should first be familiar with the basic settings of your camera specially when shooting in manual mode. Make sure that your battery is full because shooting long exposures consumes power. You should have enough space on your memory card because I advise to shoot in RAW or RAW+JPEG if you like.
•  Morning or Evening blue hour? It does matter. Morning blue hour happens before sunrise. This means that if you intend to shoot in the morning you need to wake up very early- and I mean VERY early. Be on your location 1 hour before sunrise to scout for a good perspective. Morning blue light is subtle. Evening blue hour occurs after sunset. I prefer evening because you have the luxury of time to scout the location without waking up early. You can take picture of sunset while waiting for blue hour too. Evening, for me, is a better time to capture light trails since more cars will pass by.
•  ISO – Use the lowest ISO of your camera. ISO 100 or less is preferred to avoid grainy pictures.
• Aperture – I usually shoot F10 or F8 as my base aperture. This is because I want my foreground and background to be sharp. Further, this setting produces star bursts in lights.
•  White Balance – Set white balance to Auto and you are good to go.
• RAW – Use RAW file so that you can salvage more details when post processing. RAW+JPEG is good so you can share JPEG files easily.
• Timer – Set your camera to self-timer of 5 seconds or 2 seconds, whichever you like. Keeping your hands off your camera will eliminate vibration.

Taking the shot:

• Scout for a good location - whether a seaside, building, or street. Look for a sweet spot. Compose your shot. Make an impression.
•  Make a trial shot. Use Aperture Priority Setting. Set Aperture of F10, ISO 100, and self-timer of 5 seconds. The camera will shoot in slow shutter because of the low light that enters the camera. This may take time - the reason why you need a sturdy tripod to minimise blur.
•  After your trial shot, make adjustments using the manual mode and try firing a shot again. Remember, photography is subjective. Experiment as you like. Be creative.
•  Blue hour last for 20 minutes - more or less depending on your location. Make the most out of the time. Take as many shots as you can. Try different perspectives. Don’t panic.
• If you are not satisfied with your shots, don’t be frustrated. There will be another day to shoot. Always remember that a good shot takes time.

Marina Bay Sands - Singapore Nikon D90  |  f/10  |  13 sec.  |  ISO 100

-R