55Liam Wong’s top 10
low-light shooting tips
1
Try to nd a strong light source. If you can’t nd
one, introduce one. I nd that if you’re practising
low light then the easiest place to start is to nd a
window that’s lit up at night because you’re going to
nd a way to expose that.2
Put effort into learning how to focus in low light.
Most cameras have live view mode which
certainly helps, but I also usually take a torch with
me. Some people don’t live in big cities, so nd a
window in your house that you can shoot from
outside and get used to focusing.3
The bit where I really improved was when I started
to get quick with manual focus. So I’d customise
my Sony, open up the aperture, make checks, switch
back to manual focus and take a shot.4
About 90% of my shots are with no tripod. I got
good at stabilising and locking my arms to take a
shot, which means I can shoot at 1/20th or 1/50th
of a second in low light and, with most modern
cameras, you’re not going to see camera shake.5
There are also things like bracketing, stitching
and HDR that you can do if you’re trying to get
good at low-light shots. For HDR you can take shots
with different settings, stack them together and end
up with lots of detail. It’s all about making your tools
work for you.6
Always underexpose by a stop and don’t
underestimate how much detail is hiding in that
raw le. People want to make it super bright in-
camera but you can get away with a lot if you
underexpose, especially if you have signs or different
types of lights – they’re not going to be blown out.7
Always surround yourself with people more
talented than you, because you’re going to learn a
lot from them and faster. I go out with other
photographers in every city I go to and I learn a lot. I’m
looking at what they capture and why did they stop?8
You’re going to take a good picture at some
point. It’s having that ability to think how I can
take that one photo and turn it into something more.
The biggest thing is trying to nd your voice and what
it is about you that makes you unique, and how can
you channel that in your photography?9
There’s no shame in studying big photographers- I do it all the time. Saul Leiter and his ability to
capture mood, rain and umbrellas is beautiful and
timeless – you don’t even think about when it was
taken, but the way it’s composed is just stunning. So,
just learn and practise a lot.
10
Set yourself little tasks. I used to always set
myself mini challenges like, ‘how can I freeze
the rain at night so that you just really see the rain
exposed?’ I’d try to gure out what was going wrong
in the shot, look at it, work out what wasn’t right,
change it and do it again... it’s trial and error.LI A M WONG
‘Memories of Green’
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