If you like photography, which I understand you are doing because you are reading this, I am sure you have had more than once (and more than two) to photograph a person at night. There are many events or meetings between family and / or friends that take place at night and that we want to immortalize (or be represented on these occasions for posterity). But of course it is dark, there is no light, does the camera flash have an unflattering effect? The thing is, the portraits you take at night don’t convince you at all and you’re not sure how to fix it, and you may even have read our guide to mastering portrait photography. If this is your case, you have come to the right place because in this article I will try to give you some tips and tricks so that you can improve these types of photographs. Some tips that you may already know because they are general, but we cannot forget them for this reason, so a little reminder is never useful, what if you have not heard or read them before? Well now is the time. I’ll start with the most general and basic ones and later in the article I’ll focus on specific tips for night portraits. Will you accompany me
This is fundamental in a portrait and as far as you know, we can’t ignore it because if you forget this point, you will almost certainly ruin the result, unless you want another creative effect, of course (in this case, you have total freedom). to free your artistic and creative mind). But if you’re looking for a “conventional” portrait, keep in mind that your eyes should be very well focused. And in the case of such a small depth of field in which you focus only on one eye, don’t forget to focus on the one closest to you.
- Of course.
- It is not mandatory and you will not go to jail for not complying; However.
- If you do not know it and do not apply it out of ignorance.
- The portrait is most likely not as natural as you expected.
- You can play with the space in front of the eye as much as you want.
- But always with a purpose.
- Typically.
- You leave more space in the area where your model’s gaze is directed.
- To go one step further.
- Don’t miss this article.
As the ultimate basic and general advice that you can apply to any type of portrait, whether day or night, indoors or outdoors, I’ll tell you to tell something about your model’s personality. Don’t just photograph a mannequin, do you have in front of a person who has feelings, fears, expectations, past experiences?Your mind and heart are overflowing, and your body and face are the means by which you express yourself. Never forget this and try to talk a little bit about it. person with their camera, why have photographers earned a reputation as “soul thieves”?
Use your camera’s manual mode, if you use automatic mode, no matter how much you use portrait or night portrait mode (if your camera has it), the result will never be better than what you can do in manual, setting all the parameters to your liking Auto mode can be used when you have no other option, but not as a rule.
Use a shallow depth of field or, the same, a large aperture, in this way you will blur the background, which works for all types of portraits, but you can also capture much more light, very useful especially when you take a night portrait and get the well-known Bokeh effect with lights background.
Autofocus tends to work worse in low light conditions, so I recommend manual focus. If you need to represent someone on the move, manual focus is complicated, try autofocus and AF-C/AI Servo mode (Nikon/Canon).
I’m sorry to tell you that the flash built into your camera won’t do you much good not to say anything. If you don’t have an external flash, it’s best to look for other resources because otherwise all you’ll get is a “flash” all over your face, like the famous “wham, all over your mouth. “By that I mean that all this flash does is illuminate exactly what is in front of you (your model is close, if not more) and leave the background completely dark. Apart from temporary blindness, not pleasant, the resulting effect is usually not, especially when the ambient lighting is very poor. To solve this problem, you can use a bounced or faded external flash, if you want a smoother effect, or directly if you’re looking for more drama, such as the following image:
You can also use the available lights around you, a floor lamp, a projector, a shop window light, a lamp if you are inside. Any light that can illuminate your model continuously and without glare will be much more comfortable for both of you and will allow you a much closer and direct connection without interruption of the light. Is it very important when it comes to “stealing” your soul?
We are very afraid to increase the ISO value by the noise it can cause in the photo. This has its justification many times, not so many others. When it comes to a macro, a photo where sharpness is important, a professional job, or just that you think noise can spoil the photo, it’s important to keep this in mind. However, there are other occasions when you may be wondering what you prefer, whether it’s putting on a flash, using the external flash (with what that entails) or simply uploading the ISO and being able to shoot relaxed, in the middle of a conversation. Who you’re with. You stand in front of yourself, without having to suffer the flashes and feel photographed or “besathed”. The image may have more noise, but in return you can also gain soul. Look at this photo, according to its author, in the eyes the figure was hardly distinguished by the lack of light. I’m not going to ask you to download up to 12,800 as in this photo, are you the one who should know your camera and how far you can go and when?
The lights around you can be used both to illuminate your subject to represent and to give it a creative and aesthetic touch, play with them and include them as the main element of the image, you can make bokeh or use them as natural framing, as in the following images, or you can do whatever you want, but don’t forget them!
Whenever you can, use a tripod. This way, you can open the shutter longer, not too long so your model doesn’t move!, but enough so you can capture more light from the environment.
Finally, I’ll leave you some tips that I hope will help you
As you can see, not only is the day the right time to make portraits, but the magic of the night can also help you realize them and give them a point of mystery, fantasy or whatever you want. Use the resources around you. (lights, backgrounds?) And unfold all your art to steal your model’s soul in the moonlight or neon?
If you think this article can help someone else, be sure to share it on Facebook, Twitter, or Google (or all three?). It’s not the only favor I’m going to ask you today, the other is that as soon as it’s dark, take your camera and hold the arm you have to practice, because if you don’t do everything you’ve read it, in a few hours (or less) you’ll have forgotten it and you won’t have used anything to read this full text. Thanks for coming here next time.