BY: Lucky Thusi
Christmas trees with lights and the exterior of buildings with Christmas lights have many of the same challenges.
- You’re dealing with a very bright object (the lights themselves).
- You’re dealing with a very dark object – the tree and the building (plus surroundings in both cases).
- You’re dealing with low ambient light.
The main difference between the two scenarios is the location. One is inside, and the other is outside.
But your primary task is the same.
You must balance out the light sources.
Let’s talk about what happens if you don’t balance out the light sources.
- A camera with manual mode and adjustable shutter speeds, including bulb.
- A sturdy tripod.
It’s also helpful to have:
- A cable release
- An 8×10 inch piece of flat black cardboard
You could also introduce a lot of lighting gear. But to keep it simple for everyone, attempt these shots without that.
Tackle this problem in slightly different ways – depending on if you are photographing indoors or outdoors.
The best window of opportunity is from sunset until approximately 30 minutes after sunset.
Of course, this window of opportunity can vary based on location. If the home is buried in deep woods, your best time might be an hour to a half-hour before sunset. You must always take into consideration the environment.
This is your goal. You want enough light left in the sky to illuminate the background to an exposure level approximately equal with, or slightly under, the exposure value of the lights.
Now again, there are factors to consider. Is the house white? Is it a dark colour? Is the house surrounded by other structures? Essentially, you’re making a determination as to when the available light will be within an exposure of one stop compared to the lights. If the available light is too bright, your holiday lights will not stand out. If the available light is too dark, your background will go black.
- Put your camera on a tripod and frame your shot.
- Set your metre pattern to centre-weight. (If you use the matrix or evaluative mode, the dark background can throw your exposure off.)
- Set your camera to f/5.6 in aperture priority mode at ISO 400 (resist the temptation to raise up your ISO).
- Attach your cable release. (If you don’t have one use the camera’s built-in timer to fire the camera. You don’t want to jiggle the camera when the shutter is fired.)
- Watch the scene as the light changes. Don’t be afraid to fire a lot of frames, especially if you’re new to this type of work. (The image above is a great example of balanced light between sky and Christmas lights. Eventually, you can train your eyes to “see” this balance of light.)
Courtesy: Kent DuFault https://photzy.com/how-to-photograph-christmas-lights/
