Shot in the dark

The darkest hours can result in dazzling portraits if you know how to find the best light, or create your own - James Paterson offers illumination...

We often think of twilight as the most atmospheric part of the day. But after dark can also be a terrific time to head out with the camera, especially in an urban setting. Coloured lights from shop windows, passing traffic and neon signs can make for a marvellous backdrop when shooting portraits. So, in this project we’ll explore a few ideas and techniques to create unique portraits after dark.

You don’t need any fancy lighting kit for this, there will be plenty of spots of ambient light that can be used. But, if you do bring along your own lighting you will have the freedom to shoot almost anywhere. We’ll begin by looking at how to use the lights around us, then go on to explain how to supplement the street lights with our own lighting equipment using a single LED.

The biggest hurdle on a shoot like this, is the darkness. The camera will need to be set for low light photography. If our subjects were static we could use a tripod and elongate our shutter speed. But with portraits there are going to be a few restrictions – a person can only stay still for a moment.

This shooting scenario calls for high ISOS and wide apertures. As such, it helps enormously if you have a camera that performs well at higher ISOS (most modern DSLRS do) and a lens that offers a wide maximum aperture. A shoot like this will test your gear, but there’s potential all around.