Night and Low-light Photography Photo Workshop

    ■   Photograph from eye height. Shooting at a

height of 5 to 6 feet from the ground lets the

viewer see the room from a natural angle.

(Figures 4-14 and 4-15 were shot at normal

height.)

    ■   Watch for reflections. This is especially true

when shooting in rooms with large windows

or actual mirrors, but it can also be caused by

televisions, artwork under glass, and even

framed artwork hanging on the walls. This is

really important when using a flash or flashes

to add light because you can’t see the reflec-

tion until the flash fires. Make sure that you

Once you have the right lens for the job, the next
part is to place it at the proper spot and angle.
Because each room is different, there is no hard-
and-fast rule for exactly what to do because the
furniture, architecture, and other features need to
be taken into consideration. But there are general
guidelines that can help:

■   Compose the image showing only two walls

to give it a sense of being big. The minute the
third wall is shown in a room, the space seems
to be a little smaller than it really is. This also
allows you to place any extra lighting off to
the side and out of the image if needed.

ABOUT THIS PHOTO Using a wide-angle lens — in this case, 24mm — gives the room a sense of space that is wider than the nor-
mal view lenses. That makes items in the foreground seem a little larger and makes the background recede into the distance. Taken at 1/20
second, f/8.0, and ISO 800.

4-14