Abi Coop
Melissa Richard
Kristen Ryan
When I first started photography, I wanted my images to be light, bright and airy. They were the type of images I saw online and loved. I mostly took photos outside when I first started. I didn’t think I had enough light indoors, especially over the winter, to create good photos. As I learnt more, I realised I was much more drawn to the drama and mystery of darker, moodier, low key images. I live in the UK and we have a lot of dark days over the winter months. Even during the summer, my house doesn’t have lots of huge windows so light can still be limited. When I discovered low key images, I knew that images using low light at home was what I wanted to create.
I love dramatic light and shadow and the contrast between them. It can be moody, dramatic and atmospheric. If you live in an area of the world that has lots of dark months, you don’t need an abundance of bright light to take photos. You just need to know how to work with the light that you do have.
Using soft light from a window, is an easy way to create low light images. Spend some time looking around your home at different times of the day. See how the light comes in from different windows. Observe how the light falls, and whether it is harsh or soft. It will vary depending on the time of year.
Place your subject close to a window where there is soft light coming through. Avoid direct sunlight though, as this will be too harsh and not flattering. I mostly photograph my children but this will work for whatever subject you choose. If you expose for the brightest part of your subject, they will be well lit but the surroundings will be full of shadow and mystery. It will be clear to the viewer where the focal point of your image is.
The walls in my house are painted in light colours. But using the light in this way will give the impression that the walls and surroundings are much darker. This hides distractions in the room and creates that sense of mystery. Don’t be afraid to increase your ISO. You will need a higher ISO in low light situations. But grain can be minimized with good exposure. And grain really isn’t noticeable unless you zoom right in. A lens that allows you to shoot at wide apertures can also be helpful for maximizing the amount of light in your image.
You can create low light photos using pockets of light. On sunny days the sun will come through windows in my home at certain times and create a small pocket of sunlight on the floor or wall. There is not enough light for the whole room to be bright but you can use these pockets of light to create photos with lots of shadow and drama. This won’t work so well for close up portraits as the light is much harsher and more direct but with your subject further away in the frame and not directly facing the camera, you can make use of the stronger pocket of light and the surrounding areas of shadow.
Make sure you expose for the brightest area of the photo. I find the light changes quickly and the light soon disappears so I have to be quick! I often set up an activity for my daughter to do where the light is. In the image below, I moved her doll and tea set into the patch of light and then took the photo while she played.
Another way to play with pockets of light is to take advantage of the shadows and light patterns that can be created by the light coming through blinds or banisters, creating light patterns on the wall or floor. This image below of my son was taken late in the afternoon just as the sun was going down. The last bit of light of the day coming through the bedroom window created this pattern on the wall just for a few minutes before it disappeared.
You can use low light situations to highlight details too. I like to use light and shadow to help tell my story. In this photo, my daughter was lying with her feet resting on the back of the sofa next to a window where there was soft light coming in. The rest of the room was quite dark due to it being an overcast day. I wanted to highlight the details of her little toes as she was relaxing without including all the surroundings which would have been distracting. Shooting in this way is a great way to draw the viewer’s attention to what you want them to see. It also hides anything you might not want to include or would distract from the story you are trying to tell.
In this portrait of my daughter, the soft light from the window has highlighted her. But the room behind is almost completely in shadow hiding distractions I didn’t want to include. This created a moody portrait with lots of depth.
If like me, you live in an area where lack of light can be a struggle for much of the year, I hope this has given you some ideas on how you can still capture photos of your everyday in a beautiful way, embracing all the mystery and drama that low light at home can provide!