1 Timing and location: check the sunrise and sunset time. Choose a location with buildings that have plenty of lights, illuminated windows, river or beach and other interesting features.

2 Use a tripod:  Set your camera up on a tripod so that you can capture long exposures or dark scene. 

3. Camera settings:  Set your camera to Av mode or manual mode. In most cases, set the aperture to f/16 or above combined with the long exposure so that will produce a ‘starburst’ effect from the lights in the scene. Noise can be a problem with long exposures in low light, so keep the ISO to 100 to counter this.

4. Composition and focus:  Switch to Live View mode to compose and focus the shot (this also means the mirror will be locked up to minimize camera vibrations). Compose the shot using leading lines such as a bridge or river to draw the eye into the scene. To focus, switch your lens to manual, then zoom in on a key feature (St Paul’s in our case) and adjust the focus to get it perfectly sharp.

5. Remote release: Use your camera’s self-timer or a cable release to take the photo with absolutely no blurring. if you don’t have one, you can use the 2-sec Self-timer option in the AF/Drive settings).