by Fashion photographers go through a lot of things when they are shooting with high-end fashion models and brands. As we all know, photography is not an easy job but when practiced right you can make every impossible thing, possible. Fashion photography is an art which when practiced right, can turn into something very beautiful and worth watching.
One of the major hurdles in the life of every fashion photographer is to get the perfect shot in the low or dim light. Not everyone is capable of capturing pictures in low light. There are many people out there who usually tend to confuse low light with late evening light. No magic can happen in a fashion photographer’s life without a camera. Just use your knowledge of DSLR camera and put everything in place and make things work.
Low light photography can result in pleasing and attractive pictures. This genre of photography is hard to practice but the results are beautiful and completely worth it. If you are a fashion photographer facing troubles with low light photography, we are here to guide you on the right path to get mesmerizing results. By the end of this article, you will not be an expert in the low light photography but still, the fear and struggle of working w dim light will be far gone.
Let us have a closer look at the low light photography
First Things First
What is necessary to get the fashion photoshoot done? Right, your shoot essentials, pack all your gears and equipment necessary for the shoot. Pack everything right from a tripod, flash, cameras, etc. Do not forget to pack the foremost important thing that is the faster memory cards. As if you do not have those you won’t be able to shoot faster and store your data. Also, carry a small flashlight with you, so that you do not fall and get hurt in the dark. We asked you to carry tripods along with you so that you are ready to tackle the camera shakes and take sharp pictures with ever slower shutter speed.
Noisy Over Blurry
You are a photographer and you obviously know when we say ‘Noisy over Blurry’. Just increase your ISO for the low light fashion photography as you all know the higher the ISO, the better light captured by the camera sensors. The noise reflected in the images with higher ISO can be further reduce post-processing. Sometimes, the extra grainy images add to the uniqueness of the capture.
Aperture Is The Key
While you are doing a low light photography, the aperture of your camera lens is the key. It is said so because when you shoot at a wide open aperture, the intensity of the light entering the lens is more and shallow depth of field. This results in a better image. But, this won’t be possible with your standard lens kit that comes along with your camera as you can find that your maximum aperture is somewhere around f/3.5. We suggest you buy a cheap yet good-quality prime lens with a maximum aperture of about f/1.8 (Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 ii).
Experiment With Exposure
Exposure can be handled with shutter speed when adjusting right according to the aperture and ISO setting. For a low light photography, you might require more light for making your pictures better. The faster the shutter speed, the more light will enter. If you do not have a tripod while shooting, there are high chances that you end up with blurry images. So in order to avoid that, do not choose a slow shutter speed. If you have a tripod with you, its well and good as after you set your camera on a tripod, you can adjust the shutter speed accordingly in order to avoid blurry images.
Use Of Flash
When you are shooting a single fashion model in a low light it is all good but, when you are shooting a group of fashion models, it is better to use flash. Because the wider aperture gives a shallow depth of field and not every subject is in focus in this situation. Using an inbuilt camera flash may leave you with limited options but when you put everything in place no one will recognize the use of it. You should not lower your ISO just because you are using flash if you do so you will lose the details of the background. Having an external flash can give a lot of options like you can bounce the light on the walls or the ceiling or you can even make use of a diffuser to reduce the harshness of the light.
Be Creative
The field of fashion photography as so much to do with creativity. Just being a great photographer is of no use, you need to be creative and think out of the box. Think how you can create a beautiful scenario with the low light and the fashion model. Your creativity is what going to make you stand out from all your competitors.
Practice Makes It Better
As we say always nobody in this world is a born perfectionist, ‘perfection comes with practice’. Photography is a creative art form, you just need to practice it right. And when you are very familiar with every term, function, and gear, you would be a step ahead of everyone in your field. The more versed you are, the more chances of being recognized. The low light photography might be a difficult genre but just keep one thing in mind ‘Practice makes it better’.
These are few low light photography tips from our side but, at the end what really matters is how you put these tips to use and make the best out of it. You should know how to explore yourself to get the best out of you as a fashion photographer. If you have any tips regarding the low light photography, do let us know in the comment section below.
