Photo Feature: Low Light Pt 3 (final)

Streets, monuments and famous buildings take on a completely different atmosphere at night. During the day some monuments can look grey and dull, but by night they are lit up with dazzling colourful lights. The dark skies can also hide distracting surroundings. The easiest way to capture these night scenes is to use a tripod and take a long exposure.

If you are taking a photograph of a busy street with traffic, you will be able to capture the lights of the moving cars. The car itself disappears as it is moving too quickly and is too dark to be recorded on film, but the car lights are bright and constant so they will appear in your image. It’s a fun way to experiment with different shutter speed settings to see what results you can capture.

Working out the best exposure can be difficult, so it’s best to try a few different exposures (remember, practise makes perfect). Start by using a long shutter speed of at least 10 seconds, with a small aperture such as f11.

The amount of time you will need to leave the shutter open will depend on the amount of light that is available. If you have bright buildings, they will continue to expose throughout the entire exposure, whereas car lights will only come and go, and only those lights that are visible during the exposure are the ones that will be captured on film. Once you are satisfied that enough light has reached the film, end the exposure. Try several different exposures. Experiment with different lights and scenes until you achieve the results you want.

The glow of candlelight looks fabulous when photographed correctly. Using candles as your only light source, you will need to use a tripod to stop any camera shake. If you’re unable to use a tripod, for instance at crowded birthday parties or inside restaurants, the best way to overcome this is to use a faster ISO speed such as 800 ISO or higher. This will allow you to use a faster shutter speed needed to stop camera shake. Remember to turn off your flash as it will overpower the ambient light from the candles.

Fireworks are perfect for using Bulb exposures as the lighting will always change so you never quite know what is coming next. Bulb is an exposure setting where it keeps the shutter open for as long as the shutter button is pressed down. It is a big experiment as each image will be very different and requires a lot of patience. Choose your location to photograph from and set up your camera on a tripod. Once the fireworks start, begin your exposure and leave the shutter open for at least a few seconds. The colour of the fireworks will have an impact on how long your exposure will be. Coloured fireworks are always darker than the bright-yellow fireworks so will need a longer exposure to allow the light to reach the film. The beauty of digital is that you can take as many photos as you like without any waste! Experiment until the fireworks end.

You can also create your own fireworks by using sparklers. These are lots of fun as you can create any type of image you like. Create patterns, stars, or even write your own name. Create words and use them as titles for your scrapbooking. The options are endless!

* Always use a sturdy tripod. Some exposures may be very long so without a tripod, you will have a very blurry image from camera shake. If you don’t have a tripod on hand, use a table or other sturdy surface.

* Some cameras have a different method of using the Bulb setting. When using Bulb, these cameras need to have the shutter button pressed once, which opens the shutter. You then need to press the shutter button again to close the shutter. Check your manual for the correct way to use Bulb for your camera model.

* Use a cable release or remote control to start and end your Bulb exposures where possible. If you do need to use your finger to press the button, make sure you don’t rock the camera as you press.

* The exposure can last as long as your battery in your camera. For most cameras, this will be approximately 2.5 hours or longer.

* Using long exposures on digital cameras will appear grainier as they have more noise than usual.

* If you’re unsure of the correct exposure, try auto-exposure bracketing. This is where the camera will take several photographs of the one scene with different exposures. And with digital photography, you can always check the results instantly!

* The biggest key to successful low-light photography is experimentation. Try different lights, different settings and different exposures. You’re bound to get some excellent results!