Techniques - Night

Bracket your exposure widely at night - double your exposure time for an extra stop exposure. A bracket of two stops should be sufficient, so if the meter reading is one second at f8, shoot at 1/4sec, 1/2sec, two and four sec. Use a tripod
For contrasty scenes, take a reading from a mid-tone area, not a highlight or shadow.
If it is very dark, use a spirit level on your camera's hot shoe to ensure the camera is level.
Avoid setting up your tripod near a busy road or on an elevated roundabout, not only are you going to be in danger, chances are you will get camera shake from the passing vehicles
The best time to shoot night pictures is the hour or so after the sun has gone down. The shy still has some colour in it and won't just come our pitch black and lifeless
Think about your safety, especially in city centres. Some people may take an unwelcome liking to your camera gear. Traffic trails work well on bendy roads where you can get an elevated position on a hillside or footbridge. Start with an exposure of 15 sec and bracket.
Look for night time reflections. Buildings reflected in rivers or lakes and signs reflected in puddles are potential subjects.

Use a slow ISO for maximum image quality. Higher ISO will give big grain and uninspiring images

A solid tripod is essential