Winter weather is great for capturing low light and nocturnal portraits, but if you've only ever shot with natural light it can be quite a challenge! So we joined Nikon School UK for its course on low-light portraiture to pick up some tips (which, of course, apply to any camera brand, not just Nikon!).

1. Digital Camera World is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an a liate commission. Learn more
POPULAR Black Friday deals Best camera phone Best dash cams Best drones Best mirrorless cameras
    
Low light photography: shoot seasonal portraits and holiday headshots
By Jason Parnell-Brookes 7 days ago Tutorials
Don't be deterred by the dark! Get great portraits in the winter weather with these low light photography tips
Watch video: Low light photography portraits
Winter weather is great for capturing low light and nocturnal portraits, but if you've only ever shot with natural light it can be quite a
challenge! So we joined Nikon School UK for its course on low-light portraiture to pick up some tips (which, of course, apply to any
camera brand, not just Nikon!).
The rst thing to consider are the four distinct aspects of light: quality, quantity, direction and color. Even within Nikon School’s
London studio in the Centre of Excellence, we saw that there were several di erent light sources in the room – overhead spotlights,
uorescent lights, even daylight coming through the windows – giving a mix of color temperatures.
THE HOME OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
03:0
PLAY SO

2. The most attering kind of light for portraiture is soft light, and that means we need to di use the light to create a wider spread. We
used the Lastolite Ezybox Pro Strip softbox for this, which has a pair of white ba es inside to soften the light. The amount of ash
light we need depends on our camera settings.
In order to remove the extraneous mixed light, whether shooting indoors or out, we changed our exposure settings to give us a dark
frame. By doing this we're able to avoid the combination of white balances that come with having con icting light sources, whether
that's inside with bulbs and strip lights or outside with street lamps and storefront illumination.
The direction of the ash is also crucial. Flash aimed straight-on at our subject eliminates shadows, but power is important because
those shadows give us visual cues about our subject. Let’s take a look at how we constructed our nal image…
01 Get set up
(Image credit: Digital Camera World)
03:0
PLAY SO

3. First, we eliminated all other light sources by dialing in settings of 1/200 sec, f/4 and ISO200. Because we’re shooting in low light, and
using a fast shutter speed, our image is severely underexposed – giving us the black canvas we can build on to achieve the lighting we
want.
02 Trigger the light
(Image credit: Digital Camera World)
03:0
PLAY SO

4. On the night we had two methods of synchronizing the ash with wireless triggers: the SU-800 infrared ash controller that sits in the
hotshoe, and a WR-R10 radio trigger that slots into either the MC-DC2 port or, using an adapter, the 10-pin remote terminal.
03 Sync with your ash
(Image credit: Digital Camera World)
03:0
PLAY SO

5. We used manual ash and manipulated the power output via the Photo Shooting menu under the option 'Flash Control'. We set it to
Group A, Channel 1 at 1/16 power. Shooting with manual ash ensured that our power output was consistent throughout the shoot.
04 Modify the light
(Image credit: Digital Camera World)
03:0
PLAY SO

6. Putting the Speedlight into a Lastolite Ezybox Pro Strip softbox produced much softer light than the bare ash alone. A honeycomb
grid was placed on the front of the softbox to focus the light and reduce spill onto unwanted areas, preventing glare from nearby
windows.
05 Reposition your light
(Image credit: Digital Camera World)
(Image credit: Digital Camera World)
03:0
PLAY SO

7. The light and softbox were placed on a C-stand (a heavy-duty light stand), camera-left of our subject. It was raised up higher than her
face and aimed downwards for a attering three-quarters directional light, casting soft shadows on the right side of her face.
06 Include background interest
Out on the busy streets after sunset there were a lot of lights from the tra c and nearby bars and restaurants. So, with a central
position shooting down the road, we used a 200mm f/2 telephoto lens to increase the size of the 'bokeh balls' created by the lights in
the background.
(Image credit: Digital Camera World)
03:0
PLAY SO

8. Learn with Nikon School
Nikon School UK runs a variety of photography courses, both from London and further a eld. Head over to the Nikon School site
to book onto your own course. Just visit www.nikonschool.co.uk
(Image credit: Nikon School)
03:0
PLAY SO

9. The best Black Friday dashcam deals in 2019!
RELATED ARTICLES
More videos:
Photography tips and tutorial videos
Studio portrait lighting: essential tips and setups explained
Painting with light: how to paint landscapes with torchlight
SEE MORE TUTORIALS ARTICLES 
03:0
PLAY SO

10. Get your mugshot on a mug for just £3.50 in amazing Boots Black
Friday photo deal
Weekly Wash: the 5 biggest camera news stories of the week (24
November)
DxO Nik Collection 2.3 adds new black and white options to Silver
Efex Pro plugin
eWatch | Sponsored
Hypertonium | Sponsored
Incredible $99 Smartwatch is Taking Philippines By Storm
Always Feeling Tired? High Blood Pressure Can Be The Reason.
Digital Camera World
Enjoy Black Friday prices on the Samyang 14mm F2.8 AF wide angle lens today!
Save 41% on the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm F2.8 AF wide angle, full frame auto focus lens for Sony E Mount,
now just $499!
Arin | Sponsored
I restored my hearing by doing this simple thing in the morning, every day. Learn
more.
03:0
PLAY SO

11. 
RECOMMENDED
CAMERA DEALS, PRIZES AND
LATEST NEWS
Get the best camera deals, reviews,
product advice, competitions,
unmissable photography news and
more!
No spam, we promise. You can unsubscribe at any time and
we'll never share your details without your permission.
LATEST MOST POPULAR
2 Beautiful Mountains
3 DSLR vs mirrorless cameras: How do they compare in 2019 and which is best?
YourEmailAddress
SIGN M
Have your say! The Digital
Camera World forums are now
live
1 Save on LED lighting this Black Friday
03:0
PLAY SO

12.  OUR GREAT MAGS

BUY IN PRINT OR
DIGITAL

3 DSLR vs mirrorless cameras: How do they compare in 2019 and which is best?
4 FilmoraPro makes professional video editing easy
5 iPhone 11 Night Mode: Get the lowdown on low-light shooting
Digital Camera World is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number
2008885.
Powered by OptinMonster
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Cookies policy
Advertise with us
About us
03:0
PLAY SO