lighting conditions Archives - Sleeklens - Tools and Training for Photographers

Being a sports photographer requires some patience and practice, no matter what time of day or lighting conditions you’re dealing with. But, photographing sports at night demands even more. If you’re interested in shooting sports like baseball and football, it’s likely that you’ll have to capture images under the lights, after the sun goes down. While this can be challenging, there are some tricks to ensure you get awesome action shots, even your first time out.

There are several reasons nighttime sports photography is so difficult. You’re dealing with limited lighting conditions and a subject that is usually quite far away, moving at a fairly fast pace. As with most other types of photography, the key to mastering sports photography at night is to experiment as much as possible.

However, there are some things you can do to guarantee a better result. These tips will help you prepare for the challenge of night sports photography. We’ll talk more about the kinds of settings and techniques you can use to approach it.

Use the Right Equipment

Shooting a fast-moving subject in low light will be especially difficult with an entry level camera, particularly if you’re hoping for a high-quality result. You’ll want a camera with a digital sensor capable of shooting usable images with an ISO of at least 1600.

A kit lens also won’t yield the results you’re looking for. For this kind of photography, you’ll want a fast lens. This means a lens with a wider aperture – a smaller f-number, like 1.8 or 1.4 – that will let in more light with each exposure. You’ll be able to use faster shutter speeds at a lower ISO, which will give you much cleaner images. If you have one, use a lens with an aperture of at least f/2.8.

Artificial lighting can create all kinds of color temperature issues. Before you start shooting, you should take the time to read up on setting your camera’s manual white balance. Set the white balance so that your camera knows what white should look like. This will save you time correcting white balance in post after the game is over.

Use the Right Techniques

Besides knowing how to use the light, there are some things you can do to get great action shots.

1. Stay Low

Find a good angle and stay as close to the ground as you can, either sitting on kneeling on the sidelines or at the end zone. This offers a better perspective on the action. It also lets you fill more of the frame with the action happening on the field. Your resulting images will be a lot more dynamic than if you had been shooting upright. Plus, it’s a lot more comfortable than standing for several hours while you photograph the game.

2. Learn to Predict the Action

If you don’t understand how the sport is played, you’ll have a much more difficult time capturing interesting shots of the action. You want to figure out which direction your team or players will be moving, and what their ultimate goals are so that you will be ready with your camera when the action happens.

Get to know the players and the way they play to have a better idea of where the ball will go. Keep your eye on the ones who score the most goals or get the most penalties. The best thing about shooting digital is that you can take as many photos as your storage card will allow. So, if you keep at it, you’ll end up with at least one great action shot.

3. Enjoy the Atmosphere

Things like parents watching their kids on the field, cheerleaders or excited fans celebrating on the sidelines, and coaches and trainers calling out plays are an interesting part of the game. These moments can make for some great, unique sports pictures. Don’t be afraid to look around the crowd and see what else you can shoot.

Also, try to keep from looking through the images on your LCD screen. Not only does this risk you getting hurt if you’re not paying attention, you might miss out on the perfect shot. Use the LCD to ensure you’ve got the exposure and white balance set correctly, and then leave it alone while you shoot.

Add Finishing Touches in Post-Production

Whenever you can shoot in RAW to capture as much detail as possible. This will allow you to correct things like exposure, contrast, and color without losing image quality. Note that using the sliders will likely increase noise in your images, though, so be careful that you don’t over-do it.

You’ll probably have tons of images to go through, so choose the best ones to spend time on in post-production. Most of them will probably need a crop to focus in on the action and create a pleasing composition, but try to maintain the original aspect ratio to make printing easier in the future.

Shooting landscapes mean giving up a bit of the control that comes with studio photography, but it can often produce some spectacular results. With landscape photography, especially with rapidly changing light conditions, like low light, time is of the essence.

That’s why it’s important that you know how to work quickly and understand how to make the light work with your camera to get the best photo you can in as little time as possible. Having a solid game plan in mind before you go out shooting can keep you from getting frustrated and ensure your final product is an impressive capture.

The directional light coming at a low angle, like when the sun is dipping below the horizon, can fool your camera’s light meter and make it hard to adjust your setting correctly. But when you’re shooting on the edge of light, there are some tips and tricks you can apply to achieve a solid image.

1. Timing is Everything

Golden hour

is how photographers refer to the 60 minutes after sunrise, and the 60 minutes before sunset. Blue hour is the time right before morning golden hour begins and just after evening golden hour ends. Both these times offer ideal low light shooting conditions.

The ideal time for a low light landscape, though, is the half hour before sunset to the half hour after. That’s when you’ll find the beautiful colors in the sky – pink, purple, red, and orange before they eventually fade into the rich, velvety blue that becomes a blanket of blackness and stars. This time of day also offers a flattering light temperature, giving images captured during this time a particularly emotive atmosphere.

Shooting at night offers some unique challenges as well, but landscape shots benefit from a bit of color in the sky. This helps keep exposure times lower and adds a bit of contrast and definition to help viewers see the subjects within your composition.

2. Plan Your Attack

Try to visit your location ahead of time, to find a position where you’ll make the most of the available light and create a satisfying composition. Some landscapes work best at a distance, but some can benefit from the addition of dramatic elements included nearer to the camera. This will depend on the scene you’re shooting and what your light actually looks like.

Take some test shots to find the right balance of scale, context, and aesthetics. Once the sun starts to sink, you’ll only have about a half hour to shoot your low light landscape with the conditions you’re looking for.

3. Hold Steady

It’s always better to have a tripod when shooting in low light because a long exposure is necessary to get as much detail as possible, while reducing blur and noise. If you can’t haul around a large tripod on everyday trips, consider investing in a portable and flexible GorillaPod, which can help you achieve some especially unique angles and perspectives.

However, you might be able to get away with using some other form of support. Try shooting with your camera balanced on a wall, garbage bin, a fence, or even the ground. If you can’t find anything to rest your camera on, find something to lean on and brace yourself while you shoot.

4. Go Hands-Free

A remote shutter release is a key tool for shooting in low light. Once you’ve set your ISO, exposure, and white balance to capture the scene as accurately as you can, use a remote to shoot without having to touch the camera with your hands. This way, you’ll be able to eliminate any camera shake caused by physically pushing the shutter release.

Alternatively, you can use your camera’s timer, but a remote trigger is a sound investment for any photographer, especially if you plan to do more low light projects.

5. Use Your Technology

One of the most valuable things about digital photography is that it provides you with instant feedback. By checking the image on your camera, you can use the histogram to get an idea of how balanced your exposure is. Feel free to adjust your settings and experiment to achieve the result you’re hoping for.

Note that you may see that some parts of the image are over or underexposed, which is what you’re looking for with low light landscape photography. A perfect capture will show a richly exposed sky with dark shadows, but still highlighting important details in the foreground.

Now that you know how you can work with your camera and your landscape to get a gallery-worthy scenic shot, get out and find yourself a photo. No matter where you live, you’re never far from a spectacular location, and scouting one out is part of the adventure!

With these tips, you’ll always be prepared to shoot a stunning landscape, whatever lighting conditions you might encounter.

Tag: lighting conditions

Night Sports Photography Tips