Tabla de contenidos para Low Light Photography 2nd Edition en Low Light Photography

Today’s cameras are great for low light photography, although many camera users are unaware of the wide variety of situations this genre encompasses. They can range from total darkness where only relatively bright objects are visible, through to fairly straightforward scenes with deeply-shadowed areas (including indoors). You don’t require elaborate equipment for low light photography; even a smartphone can deliver surprisingly good results. But you do need to know how to use the camera’s controls to get photos you’ll be proud to display and share. Shooting in low light levels isn’t difficult; many situations require the same adjustments as you would use in daylight – but often cameras may be pushed to their technical limits. When you understand these limits, it’s easier to work within them. You should learn how…

Artificial lighting is often needed after dark, and most photographers enjoy taking photos and recording movie clips in locations that have been lit by one of the many light sources in common use in our cities and towns. Some of these lights have specific colour biases, which can add atmosphere to a scene; others, like neon signage, can make interesting subjects in their own right. In most cases your camera will be capable of the adjustments required to take night shots but it helps to know which settings to use. It also helps to know when to introduce additional lighting in the form of flash or LED light. If you’ve followed the shooting tip in the previous chapter and set the auto ISO limits for your camera, managing sensitivity shouldn’t…

The transitional periods between day and night – sunrise and sunset – have inspired artists since time immemorial and most photographers continue to appreciate their magic. The changing colours in the sky are the obvious attraction for most people. Prior planning will maximise your chances for memorable shots. If possible, scout out a location beforehand, while the sun is relatively high in the sky. Try to predict where the sun will touch the horizon and look for compositional elements that might add impact to your pictures. A useful tool to help you is The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE), a mapcentric sun and moon calculator that is available at www.photoephemeris.com and works with the latest versions of most popular web browsers. This app is available for Android and iOS devices as well…

Many situations involve low light levels and not all of them are after dark. Shooting indoors, in galleries, auditoriums and sports venues will require you to think carefully about exposure settings, especially if you want subjects to be sharp. Correct metering is essential. Exposure metering Even entry-level cameras provide a selection of different metering patterns, which place emphasis on recording brightness levels from different sections of a scene. Understanding how they work enables you to decide which one to use in different situations. Multi-pattern evaluative (or matrix) metering is the default setting for most cameras because it can assess scenes containing widely differing brightness levels. The field of view is split into several segments and each is measured individually. The camera determines an exposure level based upon these readings. Some…

In the first edition of Photo Review’s Low Light Pocket Guide we outlined the various ‘Scene’ pre-sets that are provided in just about every camera from simple point-and-shoot models up to interchangeable-lens cameras for enthusiasts. Since most readers will probably be familiar with these settings, we’ve decided to use this chapter to examine some recently-introduced shooting modes that can be useful for low-light photography. Panasonic led the way with its 4K Photo modes, which recorded a burst of frames at 30 frames/second using the camera’s 4K video recording capabilities. Initially designed for recording motion, this mode included the ability to start recording when the camera’s shutter button is half-pressed for capturing unpredictable events. Each frame in a 4K burst was only eight megapixels and bursts were in JPEG format, so…