Toronto's historic Distillery District
The Distillery District by
Cheese&Apple on Flickr
f/8 at 24mm, 2.0 sec and ISO 200
Out last weekend trying to brush-up on night shots...I do find them a significant challenge. Suggestions are most welcome.
Then a suggestion you shall have...
Keep in mind when you're shooting night shots that the same principles apply as those taken in daylight. Most pictures benefit from a good sense of hierarchy, a certain 'logic' to the image that tells us where the primary point of interest lies. This point is often referred to as the "subject," but I find that term causes a lot of confusion because people often assume that the "subject" is what the photo is "about," which is not necessarily the case. Anyway, in addition to this primary point, there could also be secondary and tertiary ones (or more), but those should not compete with the main point of interest.
In your photo, the primary point is established pretty well: the closest window is the largest lit area and attracts the eye first. It's lacking a strong visual pay-off, however--the kind of interest or 'aha moment' that tells us why we should be looking there (as opposed to any of the other windows which appear to be identical). Then the repeating lights march the eye into the distance, where it finds the lit sign on the bridge. The lit sign is also quite large in the frame, has lots of texture, and even some red color. The sign is therefore competing for interest, even though it's up against the margin and extending out of the frame (which tells us that it's not supposed to be very important). So the sign also does not provide us with that sense of closure/discovery.
So: when you're out shooting night scenes, as you would with daylight scenes, ask yourself which point in the picture will be the anchor, the primary point of interest. If that point is getting the right kind of light and you can find a 'supportive' composition for it, then you're probably going to end up with a nicely resolved photograph.
I hope that makes sense!