http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukKingsley Singleton
Kingsley Singleton is an experienced
photographer, tutor, and writer with decades of
experience in shooting technique and image
editing. Specialising in landscapes, nature and
travel subjects, he lives in Lincolnshire but likes
to travel to hillier places. @kingsley.photo.WHETHER it’s your fi rst low-light shoot, or
your hundredth, there’s a particular thrill to
photographing after dark that never really goes
away. All the well-worn maxims are actually true:
yes, it can make dull daylight scenes into something
spectacular; yes, it’s a great way to improve your
exposure skills; and yes, non-photographers
genuinely do wonder how you do it. But once
you’ve got a few low-light excursions under your
belt, it’s natural to wonder how you can make your
pictures more creative and impactful. I fi nd that
these lamp-lit scenes benefi t from the same ideas
that can improve regular landscapes, so once you’re
comfortable with the basics of long exposures, try
to fi nd new angles, for instance, by getting up high
above your town, using creative framing, or mixing
things up by shooting with telephoto instead of
wideangle lenses. You’ll soon fi nd new ways of
enjoying shooting in the dark.
Follow the light
There can often be too much going on in a low-light shot – too many
lights, too many colours, and too many focal points – and that can lead
to a confusing mess. It’s a bit like all the instruments in an orchestra playing
at once. Less is often more, so if you can nd a strong subject that dominates
the scene, then try to frame up with that as the focal point, and minimise
distractions around it. Preferably when shooting in low light, your focal point
will be the strongest light source in the scene – or even the only light there is,
as with this shot of the famous Burgh Island Hotel, near the Avon Estuary in
Devon. Just make sure you expose correctly. As it was so small compared to
the dominant shadows which the camera’s meter wanted to brighten, in this
four-second exposure I underexposed by two stops in order to keep the hotel
from burning out.Lamplight