Low Light by Robin Fox

INTRODUCTION:

Hello! My name is Robin Fox (@robinclairefox) and I am thrilled and honoured to be included in this month’s theme: Low Light. I am a mother to four children, living in Ontario, Canada. I began my photography journey 3 years ago with the purchase of my first ever camera. I made an initial goal to get my camera out once each day to photograph an image and it has now become part of my daily routine. Ever since I began my photography journey, I have been drawn to low light. I love the contrast, the shadows, the mood and the way that all of these elements can draw a viewer into an image. One of the things that most inspires me to pick up my camera is a desire to capture emotion. I am most satisfied when I feel something when looking at my photographs. I love the way that low light can highlight and accentuate emotion.

GEAR:

I use a Canon 6D body. My lenses of choice are the Sigma 50 mm f1.4 Art lens and the Sigma 35 mm f1.4 Art lens. I most commonly use the 35 mm lens, as I find it to be most versatile, especially when photographing in small spaces. I recently began using the Lensbaby Sol 45 and have found that the creative effects can add some wonderful interest in a photograph. I use Lightroom for the vast majority of my editing, however I am starting to learn more about Photoshop and am enjoying the process. 

One of the things that I love most about photography is the fact that there are always so many new things to learn. I am nowhere near where I would like to be as a photographer and that is what keeps me motivated to get my camera out each day. Here are some of the things that I have learned about low light photography thus far:

MANUAL MODE

Photographing in manual mode is ideal when the ambient light is minimal, as it allows you to maximize all of the means of getting light into your camera to properly expose an image. In manual mode, you can control all aspects of the exposure triangle: the aperture, the shutter speed and the ISO. In order to correctly adjust each of these components, I use my in-camera meter to expose for the brightest portion of my subject’s skin. As a matter of personal preference, I often underexpose my images to achieve rich tones and emphasize contrast straight out of camera. 

WIDEN YOUR APERTURE

When photographing in low light, the aperture is the first setting that I adjust. A wide aperture is beneficial, as it increases the amount of light entering your camera. Most commonly, I like to photograph with my aperture at f2. This aperture allows for me to have my subject in sharp focus and for the depth of field to be shallow enough to separate my subject from their foreground and background.

SLOW YOUR SHUTTER SPEED

Photographing in low light means choosing between the noise from a high ISO setting, or the blur from a slower shutter speed. Unless it is the artist’s vision to create an intentional blur, a noisy, sharp image is better than a blurry one. Noise can be reduced to some extent when editing, but sharpness cannot be reconciled during post processing. I prefer to err on the side of noise over blur. The vast majority of my photographs are of my children, who move at a frenetic speed. Ideally, I like to keep my shutter speed close to 1/500 to avoid any likelihood of motion blur. When photographing in minimal light, I try my best to keep my shutter speed at this same setting, however sometimes slowing my shutter speed cannot be avoided. The lowest that I set my shutter speed when photographing my children is 1/250. 

INCREASE YOUR ISO

Photographing in low light requires a higher ISO to increase your camera’s sensitivity to the available light. The trade off is that the higher the ISO the more digital noise will be introduced into an image. I typically adjust my ISO last, after I have maxed out my aperture and shutter speed settings, to make sure that I can keep my ISO as low as possible. 

Knowing the ISO at which your camera produces noise that you consider to be unacceptable can be very helpful when selecting your settings. With my camera, my threshold ISO is 1600. At this setting I am comfortable with the amount of noise, as it can still be resolved easily during post processing.  

Making sure that your exposure is correct can help to minimize noise, especially in the shadowed areas of an image. Photographing in RAW is recommended, as this format will save more shadow detail than in the compressed format of jpg. 

FOCUS

To help my camera grab focus when light is minimal, I make sure that my subject is as close to the light source as possible and use back button focus to select a specific focal point in the frame. 

LOW LIGHT IN MY OWN WORK

One of my favourite ways to photograph my children is to situate them beside a window to create a traditional portrait. A subject illuminated by some window light can create quite a compelling image. The windows that I most often use are in the bedroom of our home. They are west facing and so they are perfect for capturing the setting sun. I commonly wait for the last light of the day when using window light, as the light is warm and softly illuminates my subjects. During this time of day, I need to make sure to work fast, as the sun sinks quite quickly. 

All of the windows in our bedroom are covered with a combination of blinds and curtains, which provide me with the ability to manipulate the incoming light. I can use these window coverings to create pockets of light or to filter light coming in, should it be too intense. 

I am always inspired to capture my children’s eyes and love the detail offered by catchlights. The presence of catchlights is also an indication that a subject is adequately illuminated. I typically minimize clothing and textiles when creating these portraits, as I love the way the light hits the skin. I am very minimalistic by nature and so I love the way that low light really helps to put the focus on the subject and the remainder of the frame falls into shadow. 

On occasion, I will use a harsh pocket of window light to illuminate my subjects. When exposing for highlights on the skin, this will create the illusion of low light as the remainder of the frame will appear in shadow. 

Low light images often work well for black and white conversions. The directional nature of the light can be quite dramatic and also helps to create a great deal of contrast in an image. Contrast is ideal for strong conversions, as it helps to make an image dynamic and adds depth. Adding in some lines and/or framing can really help to further draw the viewer into the image and create interest. 

Thank you so much for following along. I cannot wait to see what you create. I welcome you to ask any questions that you may have!