Cairo at Night: Capturing the Best Photos from a Nile Cruise Deck

Cairo at Night: Capturing the Best Photos from a Nile Cruise Deck

One joke that urban photographers make is about Cairo being a city which never sleeps but capturing the beauty of this city from street levels at night is something that will push your patience to the limit. With all the bright lights from cars plying through the city, the chaos caused by the overhead electric cables and the flashy lights of the shops, taking a nice, beautiful, and cinematic picture of Cairo from the sidewalk at night becomes virtually impossible. All you will end up with are pictures full of asphalt and cars.

However, the same expansive and historic city can be seen from an entirely different angle. The Nile River.

The hustle and bustle of the busy roads soon give way to a sense of tranquility as you find yourself on the deck of an open-air Nile cruise ship once darkness sets in. The large expanse of the river itself is like a huge reflector of the vibrant neon lights of the city above it, creating an aura of soft glow that spreads across the whole night sky. The beautiful stone bridges, impressive minarets, luxurious hotels, and tall high-rise buildings make the entire cityscape a sight worth experiencing and capturing in one’s memory forever.

To take amazing night photos in Cairo, you can go for a dinner cruise on a Nile boat. Below is a detailed guide on how you can take the best night photos from the deck of the ship.

Phase 1: Know Your Route and Iconic Landmarks

Even before taking the photograph on your mobile device or camera, it would really help to know in advance about the visual landmarks that will be approaching you so as to avoid being caught off-guard. There are very typical routes which almost all Nile dinner cruises take as they travel back and forth along the Nile River between Zamalek, Garden City, and Cairo. Familiarity with the landmarks enables you to adjust your camera setting ahead of time.

Cairo Tower (Burj Cairo): The famous modern landmark in Cairo is the Cairo Tower. This latticed tower stands majestic at the Gezira Island. It illuminates and gradually changes color in the evening. While on board the cruise, point your camera upwards to shoot its illuminated pinnacle cutting through the dark skyline with reflections of its colors shining from the water body beneath it.

Historic Bridges (Qasr El Nil and 6th of October): The two architectural wonders serve as an ultimate paradise when it comes to taking photographs. When you cruise under the imposing stone arches of these bridges, you will be able to find amazing leading lines. Rows of warm street lights over the bridge appear like ribbons of fire under the dark indigo-colored sky.

Waterfront Promenades and Palaces: Facades of historic hotels located on the banks of Nile River, old diplomatic structures, and palm trees waving in the wind form a textured backdrop.

Phase 2: Mastering Smartphone Night Photography on the Water

There is no need for you to lug along a professional DSLR camera or even an expensive telephoto lens to be able to take fantastic pictures of the Cairo skyline. In today’s world, there are powerful mobile phones with computational sensors that allow them to extract tons of details from the dark environment they are in.

One difficulty that arises when taking pictures while on board a moving boat is that of motion. Even in situations where the ship is moving at a consistent pace, any minor vibrations coming from the engine can affect a delicate low-light picture. Below are some guidelines to ensure your pictures remain tack sharp:

Night Mode, Yes. But Remain Absolutely Still: Most phones come with Night Mode, which automatically comes into effect when shooting in the dark. When you take the photo, breathe in a little extra before you shoot and keep your elbows firmly pressed against your ribs to form a human tripod.

Focus On the Object to Optimize Exposure Settings: When trying to capture the glow of such bright elements as a bridge or the Cairo Tower, especially when placing it against a background of the dark sky, your mobile device may find it difficult to focus on the correct exposure settings, and your photos will look too bright. You need to tap the brightest point in your frame and slightly drag down the small sun symbol. It helps darken the image, improve its contrast and keep all the details of lights.

Forget About Using Your Flash: One of the main rules of night photography is never to use the flash of your phone when taking pictures of the monuments placed across the water. All that your flash will illuminate are the dust and humidity in the air, which will lead to the blurry picture.

Phase 3: Capturing Stunning Portraits That Don’t Look Muddy

Want to capture a beautiful portrait of your loved one, family member or even yourself in the backdrop of Cairo's skyline that lights up the area? Taking portraits at night aboard a moving boat becomes difficult due to the excessive brightness of the background city lights while the person being photographed on the deck remains in shadows.

Go for Soft Lighting: Rather than photographing someone in pitch darkness at the edge of the deck, place them near one of the soft wall lighting, ceiling lights, or the lights in the bar areas on the upper deck. This lights up their face naturally but keeps the glimmering skyline of the city in the blurry background.

Make Use of Portrait Mode: In case your smartphone camera has the Portrait Mode or Depth Effect, make sure you use it. The effect created by using it results in a beautifully blurred background with sparkling city skyline in the backdrop of your portrait.

Phase 4: Playing with Motion (And Turning It Into Art)

Do keep in mind that your boat is moving downstream. In that way, it’s not only about being quick with your frame and having stable hands, but also about getting really interesting and artistic opportunities that are not available anywhere except in the water.

For instance, if you’d like to make a cool and artsy photo, you may try to hold your phone or your camera still and take pictures with another bright tour boat, the lights on the corniche or even a ferry sailing in the opposite direction. That way, you’ll get some kind of a motion blur effect where lights will become bright trails moving through your image.

Final Thoughts: Put the Phone Down for Five Minutes

It is quite remarkable how one can get too preoccupied with taking "the perfect shot" for his/her social networks that he/she ends up spending the whole 2 hours of cruising behind a glass screen rather than enjoying the experience with one's own eyes.

The following suggestion seems to be a reasonable solution: devote the first 20 minutes of the cruise when the boat leaves the docks and passes the most recognizable landmarks of Cairo to snapping photos of the skyline, taking some portraits at the railing and crossing the list of the shots off from his/her mental checklist.

After one takes the wonderful photos, puts the phone securely into the pocket, goes to the railing, rests the forearms against the cool brass and enjoys the beauty of Cairo illuminated by stars with one's own eyes.