January is known as the low light month for our p52clicks project. It's a great way to start the year and study how to use light in our photography. One photographer we've noticed that has really embraced low light into her work is Emma Davis. Here what she told us during her Artist Spotlight Q&A.
Tell us about your photography journey...
My dad bought me my first camera for my eighth birthday, a Kodak 110, and I took it everywhere
with me, filling roll after roll of film with images of places we visited, my favourite soft toys, my
younger siblings... I took photography in high school, and it was there that the love affair really
began. Twenty years on, I can still remember the mixture of anxiety and exhilaration that came
with hiding in the blacked-out cupboard under the stairs near the art room unwinding spools of
film ready for processing.
At uni, I worked part time as a merchandiser for Kodak, which helped support my addiction to
film and when my first baby arrived a couple of years later, I took literally hundreds of photos of
her with a little point-and-shoot. She’ll be 18 next month, and she still loves poring over her baby
albums!
I got my first DSLR when my youngest daughter was born eight years ago, but I didn’t really get
serious about photography as an art form until after our son was born in 2018. By this stage, I
was a stay-at-home mum looking for a creative outlet and some ‘me time’, and photography was
the answer to both!
Tell us a bit about your style...
Those who know me best (including my children!) describe me as a bit of a drama queen, so it’s
really not surprising that my photography style tends towards the dramatic! Art really does
imitate life! I love directional light and moody shadows, and I’m forever stalking pretty shadow
patterns and delicious little pockets of light. It was during the very first month of my p52clicks
project last year that I really fell in love with low light images, and now, I’d estimate around a
third of what I shoot is low light - which is just as well considering how dark my house is!
What gear do you use?
My first SLR back in high school was a Canon, and brand loyalty dies hard, so I still shoot
Canon now. I recently made the switch to mirrorless so I shoot with a Canon EOS R, and my
backup camera is my trusty 6Dmkii DSLR. I prefer primes to zooms, so my lens collection
includes a 35mm, an 85mm and a 200mm, as well as a Lensbaby Sweet 35 and Lensbaby
Omni system which I love for the creative flair they add. I recently bought a GoPro Hero 9 and
have been having fun playing around with that at the beach too!
What's your go to lens and why?
Without question, my Sigma Art 35mm 1.4. It pretty much lives on my mirrorless camera. It’s a
super versatile focal length for both inside and out, the wide aperture is great for low light
shooting, and also for selective focus which I love, and it’s tack sharp.
Who and what inspires you?
Without a doubt, of course, my children! I love documenting all the little moments that make up
our everyday lives - their unique expressions, the toys they are obsessed with right now that
they will have forgotten next week, their relationships with those around them... My big kids are
always on at me to take photos for their Instagram feeds, and my eight-year old is a total diva
who loves putting on a show for the camera.
As well as being inspired by my kids, I’m also inspired by light. I’m drawn to all different kinds of
light, and I love watching how light transforms the world around me, from the way the sun hits
the dandelions in the paddock across the road at golden hour, to the long, soft shadows that fall
across our hallway from the bathroom light left on for the kids of an evening. I always feel as if
the light is trying to tell me a story, and it’s my job to document that story.
What tips do you have for shooting low light?
Look for little pockets of light - my fave low light images usually involve a small patch of good
quality directional light and lots of dramatic shadows.
Always, always, always expose for the highlights. If you can get your subject’s skin exposed
correctly in camera, it will make editing SO much easier.
Don’t be afraid to bump your ISO! If I’m working with really low light, I tend to bump my ISO to
the point of slightly overexposing (but don't blow those highlights!) because that generally
results in less grain than if I underexpose and try to bring my exposure up in post. Both my
6Dmkii and my EOS R can cope just fine up to ISO 4000 with a little noise reduction in
Lightroom.
What low light image are you most proud of and/or love the most and why?
Oh my goodness, this changes week to week! I do have a few all-time faves, but I'm always
adding to the list as I find new pockets of light to explore. One of my recent faves is a low light
self-portrait I took during p52 Clicks self portrait month. I usually avoid being in front of the
camera, but that prompt gave me a bit of a push so I found a little patch of window light as
inspiration and I'm really happy with the end result.
