Low-light photography requires special equipment and knowledge to be done properly. The combination of fast image stabilized lens and high ISO range are really helpful in some occasions. Sometimes photographers want to take low-light pictures without the use of an external or internal flash in order to create special creative effects in their images. The flash can be useful in many circumstances, but to keep the original color atmosphere, shooting without flash is really the way to go. I remember one time shooting in a club with and without flash. The difference between the pictures was very clear. I really like the effect of the ambient lighting that really adds significance and impact for the overall atmosphere.
In order to shoot high quality low-light images hand-held, you probably want to buy a fast image stabilized lens and have a camera with excellent low-noise capabilities. The Nikon D7000 DSLR + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 can be a great combination. I've seen some amazing Nikon D7000 ISO 6400 images that had low noise. Buying the D7000 with a fast lens can really make a big difference for low-light photography.
I had experience working with noise reduction software and it can really do miracles in removing noise. Neat Image is one of my favorite noise reduction software, and I it is highly recommended for this purpose. Other recommended noise removal software are: Topz Denoise 5, Noise Ninja and Nik software Dfine 2.0 plugin.
If you can afford yourself Fast lens + Nikon D7000 + Noise removal software, you can really produce great low-light images. Some photographers will probably prefer shooting in RAW image format to have better freedom in tweaking their images on their computer. A tripod can really help when you need to shoot long exposure photos. It's all depends on the type of pictures you want to shoot. Digital Photography School dot com has some amazing long exposure images that I recommend checking them out. Look at the stars trail image, the photographer has exposed the sensor for 60 minutes! - Personally I prefer long exposure photos over HDR ones.
Contrast images is probably the main reason I love shooting in low-light. When done right, you can really add a dramatic effect to the image that makes it really stand-out. Low-light photographers can achieve amazing images when understanding how light behaves. In order to take great low-light photographs, you need to learn several techniques that are crucial in shooting pictures in available light.
Light & Night Photography Top Rated Books
There are several must read & best sellers books that I can recommend for low-light photography, which can help you out in your journey. I didn't buy all of them, but I went to Amazon, searching for the top rated low light photography books to find out what books low light photographers recommend.
Light: Science and Magic: an Introduction to Photographic Lighting - This book is not devoted solely to low-light photography, but it is the best book for learning about photographic lighting on the whole. The main principle of this book is to teach you the behavior of light, and learn to predict the results prior to taking your pictures. If you are a committed photographer, you must give yourself this essential book as a gift. It doesn't matter if you shoot in studio or outdoors, you have to to understand what gear to use and how to solve subject's lighting difficulties when you encounter them in the first time. I won't be the first person who will tell you that photography is all about light. In every photography course you will discover the basic of lighting and how to work with the light to achieve your objectives
You have probably seen some awe-inspiring professional images on the Internet and thought to yourself: "How can I accomplish this effect?". There are no hidden secrets here, just the photographer's knowledge and experience. Don't take my words for it, go through Amazon buyers' comments and see what they think about this book. I bought this book for myself three months ago, and I can't recommend it enough. You won't understand everything at first, so be patience and read it in slow paste, make sure you understand every chapter before moving on the other. Best book ever written on photographic lighting!
Written by Fil Hunter, Steven Biver and Paul Fugua.
The Complete Guide to Digital Night & Low-Light Photography - This is a brand new book regarding low-light and night photography. This is actually a comprehensive guide to night and low-light photography in the digital era. In order to achieve the best results, photographers need to acquire different techniques that will help them achieve their goals. When you first try to shoot low-light pictures, you will soon find out that it is not simple as shooting in daylight. You will come out front with many obstacles which will require you to approach them with different camera gear. In some occasions, you will find that you will need to enhance the images in photo editing software for best results. In this book you can find a large variety of tips, hints and expert techniques that will guide you to become an experienced low-light photographer. This is a very up-to-date practical book that take the new photography gear and software into account. Every book that I mentioned here, including this book, was written by most experienced photographers in their field.
This book was published on July 30 2010.
Written by Tony Worobeic.
Night Photography: Finding your way in the dark - Written by Lance Keimig, this book is an inspiring must-have book for Night-Photography. Capturing pictures in available light is a big challenge, especially if you are just starting out. Lance Keimig is one the world's best experts when it comes to night-photography. This book is both inspiring, educational and practical at the same time. The first chapter will teach you about the history of low-light photography. You will be familiar with the following subjects: HDR imaging, the history of night photography, choosing the right lenses, tripods and cameras for the job. You will learn about how to dress properly for night photography, learn about optimal exposure, using histograms, working with RAW, apply noise reduction to long exposure images and much more.
Ever wanted to know how to shoot Moonlight or star trails? - This book is the perfect guide for night photography that will open up your imagination to a whole new world of artistic possibilities. A Highly Recommended Book!
Written by Lance Keimig.
Night and Low-Light Photography: Professional Techniques from Experts for Artistic and Commercial Success - A long name for a book that comes a long way to teach you about low-light photography. This 196 pages book was published in 2008 and got some excellent reviews across the web. The Author of this book, Jill Waterman, goes through the work of the top professional low-light photography projects, examining every project in details and add his tips, hints and practical techniques. In the first chapter, you will learn about special equipment like available camera formats, lenses, filters, metering systems, tripods and lighting accessories. You will become familiar with terms like Color Temperature, painting by light, Cross lighting, White Balance and Mixed lighting. Every subject is practically connected to the main subject of the book, low-light photography.
You will learn some useful techniques on how to shoot images in different weather conditions (clouds, mist and fog, wind, rain, extreme weather, etc.). If you are a passionate photographer, you won't allow yourself giving up the 12hr in our 24hr day cycle. The opportunities are endless and I am sure that you want to jump right in to night-photography. In order to shorten that time, there is nothing better than learning from the experience of others. This low-light and night photography book will really help you achieve your goals faster.
Written by Jill Waterman.
Creative Night: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques - I can't end my low-light highly recommended books without mentioning this phenomenal book about night photography. Written by Harold Davis, "Creative Night" is one of my favorite best books about low-light & night photography. Harold Davis is not only a reowned low-light photographer, but also understand how to teach this material to photographers who are brand new to this type of photography. I've seen images taken by Harold Davis and I must tell you that I was blown away by his creativity. This brilliant book will inspire you to keep shooting low-light pictures. It takes into account that you are familiar with the basics of photography so it can focus on what really matters to achieve the desired results. This 240 pages book will give you hints, tips to improve your low-light photography techniques. The main advantage of this book is that it won't drag you to tiring technical details. It is very easy to understand and followed with practical and useful techniques that you can utilize right away.
The book contains lots of compelling illustrations. It also contains a short discussion on how to use artificial light sources to illuminate your subject in the dark. There are truly amazing effects that you can achieve with artificial and natural ambient light. This book will make you love low-light photography even more. Highly Recommended!
Written by Harold Davis.
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