Night and Low–Light Photography Photo Workshop

Minimal light. Maximum magic. Master low–light photography

Star trails. City lights. Fireworks. The winning touchdown under the lights. To preserve these images, you must learn to manage light and exposure. This book explores lighting basics, exposure settings, and useful accessories,helping you take advantage of various low–light situations. Experiment with low–light portraits, freezing the action at an outdoor event, capturing the moon and stars, or creating artistic images with moving lights, then get feedback on your work at photoworkshop.com.

Photograph people in low–light situations, create unique cityscapes, and explore light painting

Understand white balance and the color of light

Capture the magic and mystery of a nighttime landscape

Preserve the beauty of the night sky

Use image editing software to reduce digital noise and get the most from your images

Chapter 1 Night and Low–Light Photography Overview 2

Shooting Challenges 4

Light 8

What Gear Is Important 10

Choosing Your Subjects 15

Chapter 2 All About Light and Exposure 20

Direction and Intensity of Light 22

Measuring the Available Light 25

Exposure Settings 27

Equivalent Exposures 34

Multiple Exposures 36

The Color of Light 40

Chapter 3 What Gear Is Important 46

Understanding the Camera s Capabilities and Limitations 49

Lenses 51

Flash Units 58

Tripods 61

Monopods 64

Shutter Releases and Remotes 65

Timers 66

Chapter 4 People and Places Indoors 70

Photographing People Indoors 72

Building Interiors 84

chapter 5 Weddings, Concerts, and Other Events 94

Weddings 96

Photographing Concerts and Events 108

At the Fair 120

Chapter 6 Shooting Sports 128

Sports Venue Lighting 130

Freezing the Action 133

Know the Sport 136

Chapter 7 The Nighttime Sky 140

Sunrise and Sunset 142

Shoot the Moon 147

Time–lapse Photography 152

Star Trails 158

Photographing Fireworks 163

chapter 8 City Lights 170

Street Scenes 172

Light Trails 176

Neon 181

Cityscapes 186

Chapter 9 Light Painting 192

Light Painting Basics 194

Lighting Tools 197

Painting with Light 202

Abstract Images 209

Chapter 10 Low–Light Landscapes 214

Photographing Landscapes in Low Light 217

Long Exposures 223

Chapter 11 Digital Postproduction 232

Software Options 234

File Types 235

Noise Reduction 238

Adjusting the White Balance 246

Adjusting for Color and Exposure 252

Glossary 262

Index 270

Alen Hess is a professional event and concert photographer whose subjects have included Billy Idol, The Grateful Dead, Bruce Hornsby, John Legend, Marilyn Manson, Robin Williams, and many more. He is also the author of Exposure Digital Field Guide and the Composition Digital Field Guide as well as iPad Fully Loaded, all published by Wiley.