There are two rules I follow every time I photograph city nightscapes, shooting RAW and using manual white balance. Typically the lighting in cities will result in overly warm photographs so you’re going to need to adjust your white balance to make it look a bit cooler (this can be done by adjusting your Kelvin number a bit lower). Shooting in RAW will give you more flexibility to pull details out of shadows and adjust the white balance without resulting in artifacts and loss of detail.
Original Image with auto white balance
Do you have any cityscape tips that have helped you capture some really great shots? You can share them in the comments below or submit one of your images with the details through Photo Journal located on the Submit an Article page.