Instructions for taking beautiful photos of Mid-Autumn lanterns with a camera

On the full moon night of August, when the full moon shines brightly in the sky, all the small alleys and streets in Vietnam are lit up by thousands of colorful lanterns. Star lanterns, carp lanterns, and military lanterns… each type carries its own story and meaning, contributing to creating a bustling, sparkling, and warm atmosphere.

For those who love photography, this is a golden moment not to be missed. Mid-Autumn lanterns are not only beautiful because of their brilliant colors, but also because of the emotions they evoke. From the innocent smiles of children, the sparkling eyes of parents when taking their children out to play, to the magical space of the whole lit-up neighborhood, all are endless sources of inspiration.

However, capturing those moments is not easy. The dark night scene, complex lighting, the constant movement of people and lanterns... are big challenges. Many people, after taking the photo, realize that the photo is blurry, shaky, or the color is not as seen with the eyes. Therefore, mastering the techniques of taking lantern photos is extremely important. This article will help you have a complete guide, from preparing equipment, choosing the time, setting parameters, to being creative with exposure and post-production editing. Helping you easily create sparkling photos that are both rich in art and contain the soul of Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival.

1. Prepare photography equipment

No tool can replace the eyes and emotions of the artist, but to turn a moment into a work of art, equipment is indispensable.

DSLR/Mirrorless Camera: If you own a DSLR or mirrorless camera, it is the ideal “companion”. These two lines of cameras allow full control over aperture, speed, ISO. In addition, the large sensor helps capture more light, thereby limiting graininess.

Modern Smartphones: Don't have a professional camera? Don't worry. High-end smartphones today such as iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel... are all equipped with impressive Night Mode. With AI image processing, you can take sharp, bright photos of Mid-Autumn lanterns, and even use short exposures to capture shimmering light streaks.

Suitable lens: The lens is a big factor in determining the quality of the photo. A large aperture lens (f/1.4 – f/2.8) will be extremely useful in low light conditions. If you want to capture the delicate details of the lanterns, you can choose a 50mm or 85mm lens. And if you want to cover the whole street, a wide-angle lens (16–35mm) is a wise choice.

Tripod and accessories: Tripod is the “secret weapon” in night photography. It helps you fix the camera, avoid blur, and at the same time opens up the opportunity to experiment with exposure techniques. In addition, you should prepare a remote control, spare batteries, a memory card with enough capacity, a lens protection filter or a creative filter like a star filter to turn the light into sparkling rays. Careful preparation from the beginning will help you create with peace of mind, not missing out on brief but priceless moments.

2. The ideal time to take pictures of lanterns

Light is the soul of photography. With Mid-Autumn lanterns, the light changes with each moment of the day, bringing different emotions.

Blue Hour: Around 6pm – 7pm, the sky still has a soft blue light. At this time, the lanterns are lit but not too harsh, creating a wonderful blend of natural and artificial light. Photos taken at this time are often clear, with harmonious colors and full of poetry.

Night: When the night completely falls, the lanterns become a brilliant highlight. This is the ideal time to take close-up shots, capturing the shimmering light. However, you need to control the ISO and shutter speed appropriately to avoid graininess and blur.

Bright Moonlit Night: Some people like to combine both moonlight and lanterns in the same frame. When the moon is high, the soft light will complement the lanterns, creating a magical scene reminiscent of fairy tales. Each moment has its own beauty. The trick is to experiment with different time frames to diversify the emotions in your photos.

3. Camera parameter settings

Many people think that all they need to do is point their camera and press the shutter. But in reality, to get a good photo of a lantern, you need to control the parameters closely.

Aperture: If you want to take portraits with a blurred background, open the aperture wide (f/1.8 – f/2.8). If you want to keep the overall detail, close the aperture to f/5.6 – f/8.

Shutter Speed: Children carrying lanterns move continuously, so a speed of 1/125s – 1/250s is needed. If shooting a still scene, you can reduce it to 1/30s or expose for a few seconds with a tripod.

ISO: Keep it at 100–800 to limit noise. For extremely dark environments, you can increase it to 1600–3200, but remember to post-process it.

White Balance: Select “Tungsten” or adjust manually to keep colors true and avoid yellowing.

Photo format: Always shoot RAW if possible. This allows you to easily recover details in post-production, both highlight and shadow.

4. Choose the shooting angle and composition

Many people have good equipment and standard settings but their photos are still "bland" because of a lack of creativity in shooting angles.

Close-up details: Close-up to clearly see the pattern, cellophane and reflected light.

Low Angle Upward: When the camera is lowered close to the ground and pointed upwards, the lantern will stand out against the dark sky, creating a sense of awe.

Panorama: With crowded streets like the lantern streets in Saigon or Hoi An, taking panoramic photos will help you capture the hustle and bustle.

Incorporate people: Photos with people are more emotional. A child holding a lantern, a family walking down the street, or an old man selling lanterns all tell a story.

Good composition doesn't have to follow the rules 100%. Sometimes breaking the rules can bring originality, as long as you master the emotions in the frame.

5. Secret to taking pictures of lanterns without burning them

One of the common errors is the light being “burned out” – too bright, losing detail.

· Reduce EV to -0.3 to -1.0 to preserve highlight detail.      

· Use Spot Metering for accurate light metering.      

· Avoid shooting directly into harsh light, instead choose an angle or diagonal.      

When handled skillfully, you will retain vibrant colors that are both realistic and emotional.

6. Taking photos of children carrying lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival

Children are the “soul” of the Mid-Autumn Festival. But photographing children is not easy because they are always moving.

· Use a fast shutter speed (1/250s or faster) to capture the moment.      

· Turn on continuous shooting mode so you don't miss smiles and unexpected glances.      

· Lower the machine to the child's level to create closeness.      

The light from the colorful lights will reflect in the children's eyes, making the photo both sparkling and full of innocence.

7. Creative exposure techniques

Exposure is how a photo turns into a work of art.

Long Exposure: Using a tripod, set the shutter speed to 2–10 seconds to capture the light trail as the child carries the lantern.

Light Painting: Move the lantern in a heart shape, circle… the machine will record the magical light.

Combine moonlight: Use a small aperture (f/8 – f/11) to keep both the moon and lantern details.

This technique requires experimentation and patience, but the results will surprise you.

8. Post-production photo editing

The original photo is important, but post-production is the step that helps complete the work. A beautiful Mid-Autumn lantern photo needs to be skillfully processed to both maintain the natural look and increase the brilliance and attraction. In Lightroom or Photoshop, you can start by adjusting the brightness and darkness to balance, avoiding the bright areas being burned or the dark areas losing detail. Next, gently increasing the saturation will help the lantern's color become more prominent, but still ensure authenticity. If you have to shoot at high ISO in low light conditions, noise reduction is a necessary step to make the photo look smoother and sharper. Finally, consider cropping the composition to remove unnecessary details, focusing the viewer's gaze on the main subject. The most important thing in post-production is subtlety, avoiding over-editing, making the photo "virtual" and losing the soul of Mid-Autumn. A beautiful photo is one that still retains real emotions, recreating the shimmering and warm atmosphere that the photographer experienced.

9. Practical advice when taking photos

To get beautiful photos on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, you also need to pay attention to some practical experiences. First of all, go early to choose a beautiful location, avoid being obscured by the crowd or losing a good shooting angle. Besides, preparing spare batteries and memory cards is extremely important, because you will take a lot of photos and do not want to miss precious moments just because of running out of capacity or the device running out of battery. In a crowded festival space, pay attention to keeping the device safe, both to avoid collisions and to limit the risk of loss. Finally, always respect the common space and the people around you, especially when you want to take photos of young children. Tact, sophistication and respect will help you get natural, emotional photos, and at the same time make the Mid-Autumn Festival photography experience more complete.

Taking photos of Mid-Autumn lanterns is not only a creative activity, but also a journey to preserve memories and spread cultural values. A beautiful photo will not only stop at the sparkling light, but also tell the story of joy, reunion and traditional beauty of the nation. Prepare your camera, smartphone or any device you have, step out to the lantern street this full moon season and try to capture the moment. Who knows, the photo you take will become an unforgettable memory for both you and your loved ones.