San Francisco

Night Photography Workshop

In-depth Level 

San Francisco

Night Photography Workshop

Quick Facts

Class Date

July 12th 2025 (Sat)

8:45pm-11:45pm

Length of workshop

3 hours

  3 Locations

Pier 14, Lombard Street, The Palace of Fine Arts

Transportation included

Transit by Uber (or drive your own vehicle)

Pricing

$275/person

Limited to 8 attendees only, now 6 spots left.


Insightful instruction

The workshop is more than a photo tour; you'll learn a good amount of game-changing knowledge and theories.

Can't attend an in-person class?

Watch the Online One

Sign up for the San Francisco Night Photography Online Class for only $99!

What's included?

1. Full instructions in all the 3 iconic night photography locations in San Francisco (Lombard Street, The Palace of Fine Arts and The Embarcadero Coastline for the Bay Bridge view).

2. The Basic settings that applies to all types of night photography + more variations (e.g using a black card).

3. The exact locations.

4. Using the sophisticated equipment (Canon R5 full frame mirrorless camera + Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8 lens).

5. Using the budgeted equipment (Canon R50 APSC mirrorless camera + Canon RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 lens).

6. Bonus: Using ND + GND filters to photograph the Bay Bridge during the sunset time.

Recommended for local and photographers who are visiting the San Francisco Bay Area

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FAQ

  • IMPORTANT: What are the equipment and accessories that I need for this class?

    • A camera body
    • A wide angle lens (recommended equivalent focal length: 16mm-24mm)
    • A sturdy tripod, it should be at least 1.8m high when is fully extended.
    • ***Shutter release/ Remote (a must for a successul night shot; please test if it works before you come to the class)
    • Non-reflective black card or black cloth (also provided during the class)

    ***If your camera has Touch Shutter, then you won't need a shutter release/ remote.


    What is Touch Shutter?

    When you can take a photo by lightly touching the LCD screen of the camera, then your camera has Touch Shutter.


  • Do I need to bring my own camera?

    Attendees are expected to bring their own cameras & lenses for this workshop.


  • What lenses should I bring for this workshop?

    Recommended lenses for this workshop:


    1.Wide angle lenses are needed.


    2. Recomended equivalent focal lengths for the wide angle lens: 16mm (to get the S curve on Lombard street and the entire architecture of the Palace of Fine Arts), and 24mm (best for the Bay Bridge at Pier 14).


    3. Recommended lenses:

    • 16-35mm F.4
    • 17-40mm F4
    • 11-24mm F4
    • 24-70mm F2.8, F4
    • 24-105mm F4
    • 10-18mm F4.5-5.6
    • 18-135mm F3.5-5.6
    • 28-70mm F3.5-5.6

  • What is the prerequisite?

    The Beginner & Intermediate I or II Photography Workshops OR ability to use the manual mode of your camera: Attendees are required to adjust the exposure in the manual mode VERY proficiently.

NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY IN SAN FRANCISCO​

San Francisco is a city that never sleeps. From the colorful sky during the magic hour over the Golden Gate Bridge, to the beautiful light trails of on-coming traffic in Lombard Street, the city's night has fascinated many photographers. In this workshop, we will meet at our learning center for a briefing, we will then photoshoot the Golden Gate Bridge from Lincoln Boulevard around the magic hour, when the sky is vibrantly colored and the headlights of the traffic flow are just on. We will move to the Palace of Fine Arts where you can photoshoot the Greek-styled architecture and its reflection on the water. Your collection of San Francisco night photos would never be complete until you've got those "S" shaped light trails created by the traffic on Lombard Street. Our 3rd location would be Lombard Street, and you would need a piece of black cloth to get excellent shots of the light trails there. Finally, we will move to the Embarcadero Coastline where you'll shoot the bay bridge with long exposure time. The water surface will be just as smooth as silk when you expose the camera for at least 30 seconds. We will dismiss at Embarcadero. 
 LOMBARD STREET
In this location, we are going to show you how to use a piece of black card in night photography and create this magical shot. 
*I blew up a 26 "x 38" photo that I shot at the Lombard Street and hang it up in my living room, it looks awesome. Every guest coming to my house just loved it! 
The PALACE OF FINE ARTS
Its design was inspired by ancient Roman and Greek architecture.  
THE BAY BRIDGE

The longer the exposure time, the smoother the water surface.
BONUS: THE BAY BRIDGE DURING SUNSET

  • This is a bonus for those who are also interested in sunset long exposure photography: Arrive 45 minutes (8pm) before the class starts to learn how to shoot sunset long exposure with your own ND and GND filters. 6-stop ND filter and 4-stops GND filters recommended.
  • If you are only interested in night photography, we will see you at the start time of the workshop, which is 8:45pm.
  • If you plan to join the bonus sunset long exposure part, please arrive at 8pm and don't be late. We will just give the instruction once and at 8pm.
  • Note that shooting Sunset Long Exposure Photography using ND & GND filters is included in the Online Class.

What do our attendees think?

ITINERARY OF THE NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP


1) Meet at Pier 14


2) Photoshoot at Pier 14 (45 min)


3) Transit to Lombard Street (15 minutes)


3) Lombard Street Photoshoot (1 hour)


4) Transit to the Palace of Fine Arts (15 mins)


5) Palace of Fine Arts Photoshoot (45 minutes)


Dismiss at the Palace of Fine Arts