Pixiq

 As light is fundamental to a photograph, the principle of shooting in a low light environment primarily involves making specific decisions about exposure. If you are not using any actual lighting equipment, you will be making decisions about the settings of the camera itself, which involves a combination of opening up the aperture, increasing the shutter speed, or increasing the ISO. If you are shooting with lighting equipment, then the possibilities open up further.

Because one of most important considerations in low-light photography is the shutter speed, it is of basic importance that the camera is as steady as possible to avoid camera shake. As a general rule, for sharp images you should use a tripod when the shutter speed is greater than the inverse of the lens focal length (for example, if you are using a 50mm lens and the shutter speed is 1/50 or longer). A tripod is also important when shooting multiple images of the frame when you might want to give yourself the option to incorporate several exposures, as described further below. 

Playing with speed - of the shutter and of the subject

In my work I don’t always want the obtain ‘correct’ focus/sharpness and I often purposefully shoot at a slower shutter speed than the norm for the context, to obtain a painterly effect of movement within the camera, as in Her Fleeting Imprint below, where the dress fabric’s brushstroke-like effect was achieved with movement. It also gave a soft look to the edges of the figures, which is common in any kind of relatively long exposure, and can instantly create an interesting look.

Of course, you will notice that lot of my tips reflect my taste for experimentation and breaking the rules. Open creativity can often yield better results than sticking tightly to the regimented norms of what typically constitutes a ‘safe’ and well-exposed image. I love creating images that are more painterly in appearance, whether that be subtly 'painterly' or overly pictorialistic.

Experiment with improvised light sources

If you are using only ambient light it can be fun to explore the different ‘improvised’ lighting sources that can be incorporated into an image, a term I use to refer to light-emitting objects that aren’t technically studio lights or natural light: candles, lamps, and torches for example. An Impromptu Performance, above, was shot only with the light from the overhead ceiling fitting in a dark corridor at home. The final composite was created by bringing together three figures all shot in the same spot, and processing the whole image to make the whole surroundings appear darker, giving a final result a similar look to the figures in a Degas painting.

Choose a light outfit

When you are shooting with any kind of low lighting, especially if you are making use of ambient light or ‘improvised’ light sources, it is interesting and sometimes wholly necessary to shoot with outfits that are pale or white, and that will effectively reflect that ambient light available. The same principle can apply to (pale/white) flesh, which is why it is interesting to experiment with nudes in low light. In The Aura above, I was wearing a white flowing dress which suited the extreme dark setting, lit only by headlights, streetlights, and the torch shone directly at the camera. The sense of movement in the unusual image which would not have been so possible with a darker outfit, let alone as dramatic.

Use motion selectively

Slow shutter speeds combined with motion (either subtly or more dramatic to really distort and fragment a person) is a vastly intriguing terrain to explore, in all kinds of lighting. Motion can also be used as one composited part of an image, and not always to dominate the entire frame. In Something Moved Her, above, I had the model move her dress on both sides and then I shot her standing still so I could bring together the static body and moving skirts into one frame, as layers in Photoshop.

Use a reflector

A source of light in a low-key situation could be a waning sunset, or a beam of light from a skylight, which can be transformed with the strategic use of a reflector. A reflector can take that small amount of uneven light entering the scene and point it back at the subject, even and diffused, making the subject stand out against a dark background even more, exaggerating the light falloff. One situation that I found effective was when I was shooting a nude in a sheltered piece of woodland that had light entering thinly from the treetops straight up ahead (Fuelled, above). Bouncing the light back at the body had a dramatic effect on the tone of the flesh and really emboldened the whole image.

Shoot HDR

Shooting more than one exposure to bring together into the same image is the crux of HDR images, where shorter and longer exposures are combined to make an even distribution across shadows and highlights in the frame. This is particularly appropriate when shooting high-contrast situations with dark areas in the frame, rather than a completely dark scene overall. Set your camera to auto-bracketing mode and use a tripod. The exposures can be merged in Photomatix or in Photoshop’s ‘Merge to HDR’ function. In Moored, above, three exposures were taken to fill in detail of what was a rapidly darkening sunset scene at Dungeness.

Use a 'custom' HDR approach

This is a technique to being able to sustain a sharp portrait in low light, which also has nice background detail, but where HDR becomes too tricky. Suspended, above, uses a simpler version of HDR to tackle a difficult lighting situation. I was shooting a trick image of a girl hanging, under a spotlight on a theatre stage, which was very bright in comparison to the dark auditorium around. However, shooting three exposures resulted in too much ghosting around the hanging girl. Instead, I simply shot the model Bella in one shot exposed for the spotlight, and shot one longer exposure for the background, with my camera mounted on my tripod between the shots. I merged the background into the final image as a layer mask in Photoshop.

Split-lighting with flash

One of the ways I use flash lighting in a low-key image is to position the flash to one side of the subject, in a split-lighting technique, which has the advantage of heightening their stature and giving a cinematic atmosphere, but with relative subtlety. I shot Conduit (above) in this manner, positioning a Photoflex TritonFlash light inside a room to the right in this abandoned building, so that it entered the dark corridor in the same manner of the dim natural light that was coming in from that doorway. It is a way of injecting enough illumination into the scene to give the subject’s eyes catchlights without appearing too overly lit.

Constant lighting

I consider constant lighting to be an exciting continuation of all those improvised tungsten sources I’ve liked to use in the past, but a more controlled way of illuminating a scene by eye. I shot Hook (above) with a constant light positioned to one side, which dramatically lit model Sophia in a high-contrast fall-off from one side of her to the other. One side of her remained almost in shadow, with a distinctive gleaming blue eye, which complimented this eerie fashion portrait well. I make sure that I change my white balance to ‘tungsten’ when shooting with the warm constant light.

I've also been playing with a HMI spotlight (the kind used for films) which gives a daylight-balanced constant light.

In the same vein, I also like to shoot some images with the modelling lamp (of a flash) alone, as in Stuffed Birds, below. By choosing not to change my white balance and instead exaggerate the Kelvin level, and the colours through Curves afterwards, I achieved a purposefully warm image reminscent of the Dutch masters. This particular image was darkened further in Photoshop and then simply lightened selectively in areas by erasing through a layer mask to a lighter exposure in parts: her face, body and the bird cases.

Some last words

You would normally never hear me saying this, but if you want to take better pictures in low light, getting a better camera is a very good step. As an illustrative example, the difference in the quality of my low light images when shooting with my Sony R1 camera in 2006-8, to now shooting with a Canon 5D MkII, is immense, being able to shoot at higher ISO settings without noise degradation. Also, if you get the chance to shoot with a medium format camera you will enjoy the wide dynamic range from the larger sensor that allows excellent range of shadows and highlights within one image.

However, I'd never end an article telling you to buy/loan more gear. With my tips above I want to show how choice of camera settings, your image intent, lighting sources  (whether they are studio lights or headlights), your techniques in using the lights, and even choice of outfit can make for compelling low-lit images. I never think of there being any obstacle to achieving a brilliant image: always be determined that you can effectively use what you have to hand. My mind has always been on 'anything is possible' mode.