Shooting Shanghai's darker side

Roaming Shanghai and getting lost with your camera, away from the typical tourist spots, is one of the best ways to discover the city, whether you live here or are a camera-toting tourist.

Although it’s tempting to rise with the sun and shoot all day, much of the real Shanghai only comes out when then sun goes down. 

Local photographer Franc Peret heads out after dusk to show us how to capture the city’s dark side.

Photo op 1: Shanghai survivor

With all the chaos around the city during the day, it’s easy to miss small surviors, showing that life in Shanghai can develop in the most unlikely of locations.

A local shutter bug should look for contrasts like this sprout on old Shanghai tracks to highlight.

Shanghai photography tip from Peret: "A common mistake most people make is trying to reproduce the same daytime shots at night. Play with background motion and narrow depth of field while keeping the camera as steady as possible on your main subject."

(Click "Next" to see more Shanghai night shots and how to take them.)