Low light and I had a rocky start to our relationship. It involved much angst and confusion and lacked clear judgment, not unlike a middle school cafeteria the Monday after the Valentine’s dance. About a year ago, though, something clicked and I stopped wanting the MOST light and instead began loving the LEAST light. Here are three tips for anyone else who might be struggling with low light!
1. When searching for the light, look at the floor. This will show you where the light starts and stops. It will also show you how much laundry you need to put away.
2. Low light is not the same as NO light. In this photo, the sunlight was so intense that I had to crank my shutter speed all the way to 1/1250 with an ISO of 100 in order to not blow the highlights on his face. Since it is just a small slice of light (see it on the floor?) surrounded by shadows, though, it falls into the “low light” category. So don’t get trapped into thinking that low light always means a pitch dark room requiring slow shutter speeds and high ISOs!
3. You will get the most light on the portion of the subject that is turned toward the light. See the difference in the light on my kids’ faces? The kid covered in paint is facing a large glass door. The kid trying to understand her brother’s approach to art, on the other hand, is facing a wall.
The photo below demonstrates the same concept, minus the misuse of craft paint.
Happy low light finding! May your relationship with it flourish in all the ways that middle school relationships do not.
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