Street lights photography
Street Light Photography Tips (Rainy Days to Sunshine)
By Heather Joy MilneA- A+
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Your privacy is safe.In this article, I’ll show you how to work with tricky light conditions in street photography. You won’t miss those decisive moments in street photography again.
The golden hour, the blue hour, light quality and sunbursts – we know what to look for. But mother nature doesn’t always deliver for our ideal street photography lighting conditions.
Here’s how to use the light available to capture stories and people on the street.
How to Plan For All Street Photography Lighting
If you’re working with sub-optimal light, there is some gear that will make your life easier.
And your street photos better!
I always bring a:
- Shutter release cable
- Camera with a gutsy ISO and timer
- Lens hood
- Piece of A4 card (more about that later)
- ND filters
I didn’t start out with all these.
I started with an old camera restricted to ISO 100, and I lugged a kitchen stool around as a tripod.
But they are useful pieces of equipment that reduce the need for post-production.
They also keep your images as sharp as a tack. And make the difference between a fantastic photograph or a photograph to delete.
Taking Photos on Grey and Rainy Days
Photographing in rain or low cloud is uncomfortable. Low light causes colour in your photographs to appear dull and muted. You get distracted by cold feet and wet gear. This is when black and white photography is your friend. Although the light is dull, at least it’s even so there are no strong contrasts to worry about.
Black and white reflects the sombre nature of the weather. It’s great for showing emotion in faces of passers-by. It also emphasises lines, shadows, and textures. These replace the punch that colour provides.
A black and white photograph in gloomy weather can show emotion. Even without people in the frame.
Look around for subjects that include these dynamics. You’ll convert to black and white and adjust clarity in post-production.
Street Photography Lighting Options for Overcast Days
Regardless of your colour choices, your camera sensor still needs adequate light.
You’ve got a few technical options for dull weather street photography:
- Slow the shutter speed and use a tripod and shutter release cable to avoid camera shake. Bear in mind that passers-by will have a bit of blur to them which adds a whole new atmosphere to your story.
- Increase the ISO and maintain a quick shutter speed and medium aperture. This will result in increased noise in your final image (grainy effect). The added texture can work well in black and white photography. It all depends on the look you’re going for.
- Lower the aperture and keep the shutter speed fast and the ISO low. This can be tricky if you’re including several subjects and details in your frame. You’ll end up with a very shallow depth of field.
This technique is great for capturing close-up detail with a bokeh-effect background. It looks particularly great in the rain.
Don’t completely disregard colour photography in doom and gloom weather. Look for bright colours such as oranges and reds – particularly if they’re shiny from rain.
A burst of colour in a dull weather photograph can lift spirits and tell a great story.
Photographing in Bright Sunshine
A bright sunny day makes my heart sink. I can expect strong contrast and harsh shadows. Also a demanding white balance that needs regular adjusting, and people blinking.
It’s difficult to reveal detail in the shadows without blowing out the highlights. And colour is flat and washed out.
But loads of photogenic things happen on the streets in this weather. And I don’t want to miss out on them. This type of light allows you to get creative with shadows in photography.
Some tricks I use with bright daytime street photography are:
- A lens hood! Sometimes the lens hood isn’t enough.
I also hold a piece of card in the path of direct sunlight hitting the lens so that the lens flares disappear - Keep the ISO low (100). Don’t be afraid to increase the shutter speed and aperture. This reduces the light entering the camera sensor
- An ND filter to further decrease the light entering the camera sensor. They range from 1 stop to 10 stops, so do some research about what works for you and your style of photography
- Adjust shadows, highlights and tones in post-production
- Work on individual colours in post-production
- Convert a photograph to black and white in post-production if the colours are too washed out
- Point your camera lens downwards to find shadows and texture.
Consider using a zoom lens in bright weather. Focus on details and small scenes where you control the light.
Explore subjects under shop front verandas or awnings. Try photos in alleyways and doorways, or under the shade of large trees or shrubs.
Night Photography and Low Light
Darkness and semi-darkness (blue light) on city streets at night make for great photos. You can use the artificial light shining around you.
Understanding manual night photography settings is important for low light photography. You need a tripod and a shutter release. That way you can slow the shutter speed right down without camera shake.
A tripod will also enable you to keep the ISO at 100. This produces clean and noise-free photographs.
Some tips and techniques to try:
- Get busy with street light photography. Include some artificial light, but not too much. You need enough light to show your subject, create an ambience, and tell the story. But you’re not pretending it’s daytime. Include contrast between the artificial lights and some negative space of the night sky or dark buildings
- Experiment with white balance settings on your camera and/or in post-production.
Different sources of artificial light will affect how you use the white balance. A street light will produce different results to a shop window light or car light - Embrace colour! Illuminated colours look stunning at night
- Photograph movement at slow shutter speeds. Vehicle lights become streaks of white and coloured lights
- Explore contre-jour techniques. People walking past lit shop windows become eerie shadowy ghosts. Create a street light silhouette with shapes underneath a light street lamp
- Keep yourself and your gear safe and trust your instincts.
Conclusion
Don’t feel disheartened with poor weather and light. You can tell a great story through your street photography. Even when mother nature is against you.
Practice in sub-optimal light conditions to increase your skill and confidence.
And when you do have that perfect light day, you’ll be even more prepared to capture great photography.
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Street lamps for summer cottages - photo options for ideal lighting of a country house
Until the 15th century, people had no habit, and, probably, there was no such object through which the streets would be illuminated at night.
When a decree was created by the British mayor that lanterns should be hung out on unlit paths in winter, guiding lights began to spread more actively throughout the world.
Today, few people imagine how it is possible to live in impenetrable darkness, as our recent ancestors had to live before. Previously, the flame, bred in a dark and safe cave, was a lifesaver, because it scared away wild animals, uninvited strangers. Perhaps that is why a modern city dweller feels more comfortable if a “ray of the sun” burns on the street?
In the conditions outside the city, it becomes increasingly necessary to install a lantern, because there is no usual neon lighting, and the appearance of a light source both ensures safety and protects to some extent. The lighting design, or rather its correct location on the site, creates a comfortable atmosphere.
Types of fixtures for summer cottages
All devices for street lighting can be divided according to the purpose of use.
Lanterns perform two functions - they illuminate dark areas and are used as backlight in landscape design.
If we consider the first situation, then the lamp is a landmark on the site, protection from falling, from injury. If we talk about the second situation, then thanks to such lamps, the dacha becomes not just a dacha, but a work of art, and has a special energy.
Lanterns are divided according to the method of their attachment: wall, ground, floating, mobile or portable, as well as floor lamps.
According to the type of main light source used, they are LED, incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, and even already powered by solar energy.
Wall lanterns give the home and interior first of all refinement, but at the same time the staircase at the entrance is functionally lit. Such a lamp is distinguished by its original design, compactness.
Today you can buy a wall-mounted spotlight and use it to protect the site.
How? The light of such a spotlight covers the entire surrounding area.
Floor lamps are more common. Their design is simple, they are easily attached in the right place, they play the role of a lighted place in an unobtrusive place, they can become the contour of alleys, decorative paths, and recreation areas.
Mushroom lantern - a type of floor lamp. Thanks to him, a fabulous, very beautifully creeping light can be created - the rays are reflected from the inner, usually mirror-like surface of the mushroom cap.
Cabinet, like a cylinder or a pole - all fixtures are similar in design to a floor lamp. Outwardly, they are more concise and rather original.
Ground lamps are used for contour designation of the walking path. Place such lamps along the edges of the road surface.
If the gazebo has a fixture, then you can install a "street chandelier" - dark evenings will be held in a comfortable and cozy atmosphere.
The choice of external lighting elements is extremely wide and therefore it is not difficult to choose a lantern made in the required style.
Selection of lighting devices
When choosing street lamps for a summer residence, you should initially understand the type of lighting device. But this is not enough. You can not do without studying the technical possibilities, at least the basic ones. The climate in which the lantern will be used in the future, how often precipitation falls, how sharply the temperature changes, how often there are gusts of wind, is of utmost importance.
In order to have a long service life of the lantern, choose a luminaire made from quality materials. The safety of using the lamp on the site is important.
Remember to use a light lamp - the price of the lamp is cheap, but during operation it consumes a lot of electricity, and moreover, it is impossible to achieve a soft glow from it.
Solar street lights are gaining popularity because they are easy to use and economical. Light bulbs, though expensive, but justify their name during use.
LED street lights allow you to achieve the desired glow pattern, emphasizing the designer's idea. Increasingly, these lamps are used to create night lighting.
Which is better - a little or a lot?
Consider lighting when designing a garden. The use of any light and color accents, path lighting, flower beds - everything requires wiring. When using all the backlighting in the country, you can be very surprised at the bill for the consumed electricity.
Alternatively, use rechargeable lights. Their minus is an extremely rapid discharge in frost, poor lighting in rainy conditions.
There are no norms for garden lighting, everything depends only on the preferences of the owner of the house, on the size of the plot, its configuration.
The photo of street lamps and different ways of placing them on the site shows that it is the placement of color and light accents that makes dark areas more attractive.
