Homework Due 4/16/10 - Night Shoot

HOMEWORK - NIGHT SHOOT
1 Shoot a portrait in very low light.
2 Time of day on a clear day 630-830PM shoot a full two to three hours.  Begin just before sunset and
work until after sunset.  Tip - if you are using flash slow your shutter speed as it gets darker outside.
If it is a stormy, rainy or dark day, start shooting earlier as it will get darker earlier. 
3 Choose your location carefully.  Look at content and composition, color, texture, ambient light. 'composition is the bones of your image' -Greg Heisler
Shoot a frame you like. Your exposure should be mid grey to dark in tone.
4 Place your subject in a strong place in your frame compositionally.
5 Shoot a frame with no light on your subject.  Subject should look too dark.
6 Add your light on the subject.  Shoot another Frame.
7 Adjust your exposure - experiment first with shutter speed, then fstop, then iso, in that order. 

8 Tip - your main set up time is before sunset.  Your main shooting time is just after sunset.
Around sunset your exposure will change dramatically.
9 Tip: bring and use a light meter on ambient and constantly track your ambient light
and adjust your shutter speed.  Technique with a minolta or sekonic flash meter, set your meter mode to ambient (sun icon) and hold your finger down on the 'reading' button 

as you shoot, at a certain time notice the exposure will change before your eyes

minute by minute.  Note this time of day as '# of minutes before sunset or after sunset

when my light changed the most dramatically' in your lighting journals.  This is valuable to know

when you plan your next night shoot.
10 Tip: use a tripod and cable release
11 Tip: Bring a flashlight to see your camera settings. Bring a lupe to study your preview screen on the camera back.
12 Tip: Bracket +/- 1/2, 1, 1, 1/2 stops on both shutter speed and fstop.
Also consider bracketing ISO.  Remember high ISO is faster and more sensitive
but will produce more noise.  Shoot as low as possible with your ISO while getting the exposure
you need for a good histogram. Reminder: expose to the right of your histogram.
 Last Tip -  Because the light will be changing rapidly at sunset - FEEL the light.
Feel it’s direction, Feel its color, Feel its quality,  let your feeling control the light.
For example -
Make it lighter or darker to suit.  Move your subject, camera, and light to control direction
to create strong shape or shadow. Think of ways to alter lighting ratios or contrast.
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Homework -Final presentation - deliver one frame with subject but only the background light showing well. deliver a second shot with the subject well lit.  Try to show me your best tests and up to 8-10
alternate shots.

Here are shots done in a previous class below.  These were done during the daytime

but illustrate the basic concept:  Shoot a good dark exposure of your scene, where your subject is in a strong position compositionally but dark, then use your supplementary light to light your subject -

Sample set up test shot.  We like the blue sky and background. Subject is positioned

so that most ambient light does not light up our portrait subject.  Composition has not been adjusted yet.

Final shot: Our subject is boldly bleeding off the left and bottom edges.  Her scarved head meets the top frame edge.  Dancing figure is stategically placed on lower right of background.  Architectural elements critically meet the top left and right corners.

With the composition or 'bones' of the image in place we may now 'paint' with light.

Essentially we maintain our exposure to keep background consistent and focus our light

only on our subject with a strobe head to the right of camera position.

Your homework is similar in many ways.  Please reference this blog post by the 

Bui Brothers to see inspiring shots done at night using a similar one light balanced with

background/ambient light.  Their approach and advice is the same - determine your 

background then light your subject to complete the image.

http://blog.pictage.com/?p=3575