VARY THE LIGHT

Capture the many moods of a city by shooting in a range of times and conditions

If there is one aspect which sets apart professional photography from the tens of thousands of images visitors to a city create every day, it’s lighting. Shooting during the middle of the day definitely has a place in our photo schedule, but there are creative reasons why capturing images early or late in the day is preferable. Firstly, sunrise, sunset and the blue hours of pre-dawn and twilight offer fantastic colour variance, which gives images depth and contrast. Beyond this however, there are narrative benefits of shooting outside of regular business hours.

As we mentioned earlier, our aim is to introduce an emotional connection between the viewers of our image and the setting in which we created it. If our goal is to tell a story about life in a city then capturing it at a time of day when tourists are less likely to see it regularly is a great start to this process. The vast majority of tourist images are shot during the daylight hours, as this is when most visitors are exploring. Conversely the natives of a city are probably locked away, at work, during these times! Early morning or late in the evening are times when the inhabitants interact with their surroundings the most, travelling to or from home, visiting shops and restaurants and going about their daily life. For this reason, capturing a full range of lighting conditions, through the whole day, offers a complete picture of the city and its many moods.

There are some big considerations though. Firstly be mindful of the style of architecture in the area you are shooting and how this will pick up the colour of light. Older stone structures absorb more light than modern glass buildings, changing the exposure balance and colour reflectivity. Next, consider the contrast of natural and artificial light, and how this will impact your white balance choice. Time of day, building style and how much light of each is present will dictate how cool or warm your image should be.

Knowing the city you are shooting well has many advantages, not least your ability to revisit many times, where it is local, and to know where it is safe to stay shooting after dark. Being able to predict the weather is also useful. FAMILIARITY ADVANTAGES Above MIXED LIGHTING Timing a shoot during the blue hour will enable you to capture a pleasing mix of artificial and natural light sources in your urban scenes