Giving Day – Photography Tips 2
Ambient lighting
Make use of your ambient light
Winter crocuses, Wadham Fellows' Gardens, morning light
Golden hour lighting
Lighting is what photography is all about, as the word's roots imply. In this week's tips, it's about forgetting flash and using the existing (ambient) light and making that a key element in the feel, warmth and richness of your images.
The 'golden hour' (there are two each day) is one of the best times to take photos outdoors . It starts roughly an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset. There are apps that can help, likeThe Photographer's Ephemeris and many others. The golden hour light is warm and directional, and much richer than the harsh, overhead light around noon. Given that it is low on the horizon, it's terrific for casting lovely shadows and patterns too. It's also a softer light, so great for portraits as it's a more flattering light.
Outside Staircase 9 – railing shadows, Wadham College
Not an amazingly composed photo, but you can see how the rich, warm morning lighting changes the colour of familiar buildings and creates some wonderful shadows.
Late afternoon light brings to life a fallen autumn leaf.
Poppies along the Oxford tow path
Power cables, beside Harcourt Arboretum
Wadham College, Chapel stained glass – using existing light
Shooting in low light situations
Care is needed to capture the ambient lighting where there is little light – dusk or evening shots, candlelight, or indoors with atmospheric lighting. For these shots the camera needs to remain steady/still, so either use a tripod or something to prop the camera against to ensure you don't capture any camera shake in your photos. If you're using a DSLR, you can increase the ISO settings to counterbalance the slower shutter speeds needed, but this does increase the 'noise' or graininess of the images – but it's usually worth it.
Wadham Carol Service, Wadham Chapel. For this photo, the ISO sensitivity was increased to get a steady shot.