Light Photography
Take your understanding of light photography to a whole new level by ‘painting with light’ in the golden hours between dawn and dusk.
The Golden Hours between Dawn and Dusk
There is a reason why the first and the last light of the day are referred to as magic light. The quality of light during these hours is unlike any other. The reason is that the low sun produces a warm glow and long shadows that add depth and atmosphere to a scene. It also changes rapidly, so shooting the same scene over a half-hour period will result in an amazing variety of colours and moods.
Photo Credit: Mia Rose
The shorter days of winter make catching this light a lot easier. Check out sunrise and sunset times when on holiday and get to your location at least an hour or so to set up a perfect shot. Make sure to set your alarm for early morning photography – especially at the beach, where the full glory of the rising sun will take your breath away. Another benefit of photographing a sunrise is that there won’t be hundreds of people around to spoil the scenery.
Once the sun has gone down, you will notice that it doesn’t go completely dark for a while. The sky will appear as a dark, inky blue in your shots, making the perfect backdrop for shooting floodlit buildings. Take lots of pictures, and hang around until it goes completely dark.
Light Photography Tips
• Use the manual white balance. Cameras vary in this respect, but since auto white balance is designed to produce neutral results it can remove some of the warmth from dusk and dawn shots. Switch to the daylight setting to keep the colour.
• If your camera has a sunset scene mode, switch to this for best results.
• Use a tripod if light levels are very low, when camera shake can become an issue.
• Beaches are wonderful for shooting at dusk and dawn, as they offer an uninterrupted horizon, and the reflections in the water are stunning!
If you found inspiration on our ‘painting with light’ page, feel free to browse the following pages too:
Related Pages
Hope you enjoyed our light photography tips!
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