Candlelit winner

Learn how to capture atmospherically lit portraits at home as Peter Travers burns the candle at both ends

Using candles is an effective way to capture nicely lit portraits, with the warm light creating an evocative atmosphere. But you need to follow a few key techniques for the best results.

First off, we’re using a wooden floor to act as a reflective surface for the candlelight. Avoid drafty locations as otherwise the flames will flicker – like a candle in the wind! Shooting at night with the lights off is best, but shooting during daytime with the curtains closed should be dark enough. We draped black material behind our model; this area doesn’t need to be totally dark as we’re exposing for candlelight, which renders the backdrop and surroundings black.

More candles throws more light onto your subject; we found around 20 tea lights worked well, placed in a rough triangle a foot in front of our model, Nadia. They produce a cooler, bluer light than regular candles, but as we were shooting in Raw, we could easily adjust the white balance and warm up the colour temperature of our image afterwards.

A focal length around 50mm works well, as you can fill the frame without being too far back from your subject – ideal when shooting in tight spaces. It’s best to shoot in Manual mode so you can control your exposure. Even so, it’s tricky to expose in one shot as there’s a marked difference in light levels from the candlelight compared to the model’s face, but there’s a quick Photoshop fix…