If you prefer to shoot your muse in an environment like night, you may have some difficulty. With flash, it can also create night in daylight. This way, it becomes much easier to capture your muse without all the difficulties you have when shooting in the dark. Best of all, it’s not difficult at all.
I like moody photos. That’s why I got the idea to shoot a model in a dark forest. I took my model, Lisa, into a nearby forest just before dusk, and we started shooting until it was completely dark. It quickly became clear how difficult this kind of photography can be.
Of course, I used flash for this shoot. Since I used a simple flash without a sample light, focusing was nearly impossible. My camera was too dark and I had to ask my assistant to light model Lisa with a simple torch. However, it is difficult and time consuming to shoot in these situations.
On the second occasion, I took my children out to the woods for Halloween. Again, with nothing more than a tripod and an off-camera flash, I ran into the same issues. The autofocus had trouble focusing if it could. Also, this time, my girlfriend, came to the rescue with a torch.
But there is another annoying problem of exposure to the dark forest. There was almost no light, so I needed a long exposure to be able to see the forest in the image, or the ISO was ridiculously high. Or both.
How exposure works with flash
Of course, I used a flashlight to illuminate my muse during these photo sessions. As you probably know, when using flash, the camera’s exposure has to be set for ambient light. Flash is then used to get the correct exposure for the subject.
This flash basics is the answer to the difficulties I face in my photography sessions. There’s no rule that says ambient light exposure has to be correct. Ambient light can also be underexposed without losing the correct exposure of the subject.
When I set the exposure for ambient light during a wedding ceremony, I tend to underexpose between one and two stops. It gives a good balance between the exposure of the surroundings and the couple at the wedding. But why not go further and dim the ambient light by three, four, or even more stops? In this way, it is possible to imitate the night, even in daylight.
Change day to night with flash light
It sounds ridiculous to use flash to change day to night. But the separation between ambient and flash exposure makes this possible. The funny thing is, on my first night photo shoot with Lisa, I did the same thing.
I took a few portraits just before dusk started. For this I used Lastolite softbox for my flashlight and even used CTO gel to make the flashlight warmer. By changing my camera’s white balance to tungsten, the CTO gel was corrected, but at the same time, the ambient light became a cool blue suitable for evening lighting. With ambient light underexposed by nearly three stops, the result is a dark twilight forest.
Benefits of this technique
Since I know this technique, I have used it many times. No need to shoot in the dark anymore. So I went out during the day and changed it to night with nothing more than a flash.
Shooting during the day instead of the darkness of night offers a lot of benefits. Forests are usually limitless after sunset in the Netherlands, where I live. But it’s also easier to work with in daylight. You have light available to see what you’re doing, set up your gear, and see any unwanted elements in the frame. And the autofocus will kick in, making it easy to get a nice, sharp photo.
Another benefit I’ve noticed is the ability to get multiple shots in one shot. If you’ve traveled to a great place, you don’t need to go back. It saves you time. In the image below you see the ambient light settings and the result by adding two off-camera flash units. The time to take this photo is during the day.
Using flash gives you the ability to light up the scene however you like. This is the strength of flash light, it gives a lot of flexibility to control the atmosphere of your image. Use flash to bring night into day or something in between. It can also provide better quality light as the ambient light is less flattering. Adding gel to your flash allows you to use the overall color of your photo by adjusting the white balance accordingly.
Of course, you don’t always need to dim the ambient light when using the flash during the day. With correct ambient exposure, flash can also be used to cast shadows. Just a light kiss is enough to bring out better light quality. Off-camera flash will be preferred, but if needed, on-camera flash can also help.
For the best effect when going to the polar regions, as I explained in this article, the flash should be placed outside the camera. Perhaps even extra lighting can help you add interest to the background. After all, only darkness is not so attractive. Just start with a blink, and start from there.
One small drawback
There is only one small downside to this technique. There are usually lights at night and during the day, they are turned off. Especially when shooting in places with a lot of artificial light, this technique will not produce a realistic photo. In that case, you need to go out at night when the lights are on.
But if there is a lot of artificial light, it will be much easier to shoot at night. After all, it’s not completely dark. Autofocus should work in most situations and there’s enough light to see what you’re doing. However, it is still possible to use ambient exposure to determine how bright the background is in the frame or how dark it is.
Bring a tripod with you
Putting a handgun inside a picture frame is sometimes unavoidable, especially if you’re using a less powerful pistol. In that case, a tripod can help. Take one photo with the shotgun in the frame and the second without the shotgun. These two images can be combined in Photoshop or similar photo editing software to remove the flashgun. The tripod will help you keep the frame in place. I have a before and after example of an underwater fairy-themed photo session.
Have you ever used these techniques to photograph night scenes during the day? In that case, I invite you to share your pictures in the comments section below. If you have more tips or tricks, feel free to share them.
