34 28 September 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
SHOOTING AND EDITING A DAY TO NIGHT4 Keepaneyeout
Asyoushootkeepwatchforinteresting
happeningsin thescene.Youcanalways
bypassyourcamera’ssettimingsandshoot
a framein betweenthescheduledexposures
if therightelementcomesintotheframe.In
thiscasethegirlplayingwithherfatherin the
foreground made a lovely moment to capture.
5 Checkexposures
Finallyasyouoryourcamerais shooting,keep
checkingthehistogramasit flashesuponthe
backscreentoensureyourhighlightshaven’t
blown.If yourcamerais overexposingturn
theexposurecompensationdowna touchto
compensate.It’sveryimportanttokeepan
eye on this element throughout the shoot.6 Getorganised
Reviewyourimagesin anorganiserprogram
suchasAdobeBridgeandhighlightanyimage
thatyouthinkhasa pointof interestandgood
light– youwanttohavea rangefromdayto
night.Weselectedninetoworkwithin theend.
Onceyou’veselectedyourfinalimagesto blend,
ensure you label them in the correct order.Althoughwedidn’tcome
anywhereclosetocapturing
1,500framesforourfinal
resultwestillgotagreat
result!Here’showwediditForourdaytonightinterpretation
wetooka slightlydifferentapproach
toStephenWilkesanduseda
ghostingeffecttoblendourimages
together.Thismeantthatsomeof
ourfiguresoverlapped.Whilstwe
don’tdenythetechnicalexpertise
it tookforWilkestocompletehis
amazingdaytonightimagesandfully
appreciatetheamountof timeheput
in at theeditingstage,wethinkours
is stilla greatresultif youwanttotry
thistechniqueasa dayproject and
have limited resources.together,oftenovera periodof
severalmonths.Whenyoulook
closelyathiscityscenesyoucanseethe
sameperson/peopleindifferentplaces
throughouttheday,andevendetails
suchastheirshadowsmoveasthelight
changes.Thesesmalltouchesreallyadd
tothefinaleffect.
If you’rethinkingofdoingsomething
similarandtothesamehighdegree,then
thistypeofprojectrequiresmuchpatience
andtechnicalexpertisenotonlyatthe
shootingstage,butalsointheplanning.
InfactWilkeswaitedmorethantwoyears
togainpermissiontophotographPope
FranciscelebratingEasterMassatthe
Vatican,andin2013,hewasluckyenough
to capture the presidential inauguration of The Eiffel Tower in Paris changing from day (bottom half) to night (top half)
© STEPHEN WILKES