Night
Shooting outdoors in low light
Theres an art to low light photography.Our pro advise,essential techniques and key
kit to use will help you take brilliant night shots
THE SAYING”LESS IS MORE”could be applied to many things in photography.Equipment is one you dont need loads of it to take great photography.Composition is another the more you cram into an image,the less appealing its likely to be.Well,its also
the same with light.You might assume that lots of it is required to produce successful
shots,but in reality,the less there is the better.Just look at thsese shots here if you need
any convincing.
Sunrise and sunset are universally regarded as the most photogenic times of
day,yet light levels are significantly lower than at midday.The urban landscape also
looks far more photogenic in the evening,as daylight dies and the colorful glow of man
made illumination takes over.And if you look to the heavens on a starry night,you cant
fail to be impressed by the sight of millions of tiny oinpricks of light flickering in the sea
of darkness above.
But low light isnt just about the great outdoors the same rules apply inside as well.
Think about it.Does your front room look more inviting with all the lights turned on,or do
you prefer the cozy glows of an open fire?Half dozen halogen spots may stop you tripping over things,but if you want to shoot romantic portraits,a dim room will be far more
effective.To show you just how amazing low light can be,we”ve dedicated a section
of this guide to harnessing and mastering it,with a little help from some of our regular
contributions.Let”s see just how low they can go.
Essential accessories
When it comes to light,quality is always
more important than quality.A little special
light betas loads of mediocre light any
day or night,come to think of it.Thats why
low light photography is so rewarding
whatever the subject or the situation,the
lights always good,and when the lights
good,the battle to create a great shot is
pretty much won.
Outdoors,low light shooting begins as
the day ends and ends as the next day
begins dusk to dawn if you’re confused.
Sunset kicks things off.As soon as the
sun dips below the horizon,day starts
its slow transformation into night.Direct
Direct light on the landscape disappears
and the sky overhead turns into a huge
softbox that floods the earth with difuse
illumination,while the sky above the
western horizon burns like fire.Slot a hard
ND grad filter into your filter holder and
you can capture the lot in a single
22
exposure a foreground full of detail
and a sky full of color.
Twilight sees the warmth in the sky
full of color.Seamlessly into colder purples and blues,While daylight l