Night photography can be challenging because it’s the light that illuminates the entire scene in the first place, like they say - light is a photographer's best friend. The play of light on the subject's face reflects on the skill of the photographer. But what happens in a situation where there is not enough natural day light, lets say during night photography events - which are quite common in Dubai. Knowing a few good night photography tips will definitely help out here and allow you to take stunning pictures of night events the first time around:
Adjust Camera settings, shutter speed and aperture
The first thing you need to ensure is that your camera mode is set to RAW. Event lighting can often cause people to turn to weird shades of pink or even green, hence if you shoot in RAW you can fix that afterward. is the first thing you should be doing when the light goes down. The next thing you need to do is decrease the shutter speed, this will allow the camera’s shutter to take more time to click. Which in turn allows more time for light, this gives you a lighter picture. But lowering the shutter speed compromise the sharpness of your picture.
To make up for the decreasing shutter speed, you should increase aperture size and your camera’s ISO setting. You might need to experiment with the different settings to get the one that gives you the best result for your event.
Night-time Lenses
If you are planning to cover a lot of night events, we recommend investing in a night-time lens for your camera. This is by far the most important piece of equipment worth investing in, a lens with a fast aperture, ideally f/2.8 and faster. They offer fast focusing, excellent sharpness and magnificent low-light performance as well as image stabilisation, which in turn allow you to increase the aperture size and lower shutter speed yet still get sharp and crisp images.
Try the Bulb Mode
If experimenting with different shutter speed, aperture, and ISO setting doesn’t give you the optimal result, you could try out the bulb mode. You have probably seen photographs that give the impression of light traveling, those are taken in the bulb mode. It packs energy in your pictures. With the bulb mode, you can program the shutter to remain open as long as you are pressing the shutter button. You will probably have to use the remote shutter button to avoid any shakes.
Invest in a Tripod
The chances of blurry pictures generally tend to increase during the night. Add a little camera shake, and even Lightroom won’t be able to give you the results you want. With the steady presence of a tripod, you can improve the sharpness of your pictures.
Work with the available light
So the sun is out of the question if your event is at night, but there will definitely be another light source - we recommend going to the event an hour early to set up and identify all possible sources of light. Then again there is also your camera flash, however i do not recommend using that because it leads to uneven light exposure on your subjects and can create a shiny, caught-in-the-headlights sort of look. Try to work with the available light sources. Walls will also become your friend, as you will want to bounce the light source off them. Take it as a challenge. Snap pictures closer to the light source. You might even want to take an additional light strobe to improve your chances of getting great photographs for your night event.
Get Closer To Your Subject
When you move closer to your subject, this will allow you to capture more detail. I personally love close-ups in low lights. You end up with these beautiful silhouettes where only some parts of the subject’s face are visible. The mysterious charm brings your viewer closer and makes the photography more appealing.
Explore new angles
The best pictures often have the most uncommon angles. Even in your daytime photography, you should always be experimenting with new angles. Look for angles that give you access to the best light. Low angles with the light directly above the pictures often work in giving you a picture that brings out the action. If night photography isn't your thing, you should consider hiring an expert event photographer in Dubai to help capture and highlight your event.
Looking for an event photographer in Dubai for your corporate or family event? Check out The Photography Co's portfolio of top event photographers. We would be happy to discuss your event photography needs to help you cover your special event.
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