What difference does it make if i do a shoot in daylight or at night?

We hope you’ve found the photo/videography you need by following the steps we laid down in the previous article. On this issue, we’ll be taking you through the difference between daylight and night shootings.

Although basically the same challenges are faced when taking a shot in daylight or at night – such as the common obstacles of shutter speed, light sensitivity and aperture – these obstacles are more extreme with night photography. The fundamental requirement for photography, lighting, is the cause of the major difference that occurs between shots taken in daylight and those take at night.

For daylight photography, especially those shot outdoors, there is no problem of inadequate lighting, as the sun provides adequate illumination. However, it is important to pay attention to the sun when taking a daylight shoot, as the seemingly available lightning may become a disadvantage. The available lighting may become a disadvantage, in times such as the harsh mid-day light, which cause deep, dark shadows to be cast on the subject of the photograph. This problem can be minimized by using prime lenses, flashes and polarizing filters. Also, with daylight photography, more equipment are needed to make adjustments. The most favorite time for daylight shooting is referred to as the Golden hour, which is the hour just before sunrise.

On the other hand, for shooting at night, there is no much lighting available. However, when done right, taking a shot of an ordinary location at night can transform it into a beautiful, magical and mysterious landscape. In the past, taking a shot at night with films was a daunting task, because of white balancing issues that produce unwanted color cast in images.

Today, digital photography technology has provided solutions for most of the problems associated with taking a shot at night. However, Night photography is a more contemplative process than daylight photography and take a lot of shooting time. Just as it is important to pay attention to the sun when shooting in daylight, night time shooting also require paying attention to the moon. Low laying moons tend to cast long shadows, while an overhead moon cast downward shadows on the subject of the photograph. Moonlight also has an effect on the degree of intensity, thereby decreasing or increasing the time of exposure.

Most cameras today have the necessary controls needed to capture images at night. However, proper adjustments have to be made to these controls where possible to achieve great results. For instance, there are different exposure modes that may work with night photography, but the best exposure mode is the manual mode, as it grants total control of the shutter speed.

Other problems encountered when shooting at night includes the generated noise that accompanies the use of a high ISO setting which makes the camera to be more sensitive to light; the use of a wide aperture to capture every bit of light, causing a shallow depth of field, unlike in daylight shooting when a small aperture is used; and extreme contrast issues especially when the source of light is visible.

In any case, night photography also has the advantage of needing less equipment than is required for daylight photography. However a tripod is a must have accessory to avoid blurry images.

Wynn Zhou - Web design & Seo expert in Singapore. She helped people get more business through digital marketing.