17 March 2024, Exmouth, Devon
Course location: Exmouth beach and harbour, plus Budleigh Salterton, near Exmouth.
Times: 4.00pm to 9.30pm approx
Price: £100 per person
What does this low light photography workshop involve?
This Low Light (and long exposure) Photography workshop will cover the skills of photography during the final hour or two of daylight, through sunset and dusk and into the night. In doing this, we will photograph during the ‘golden hour’, when the sunlight is at its most attractive, and will then photograph the same views as daylight turns into sunset and then dusk.
Most of the workshop will be based around the harbour and river estuary at Exmouth, on the south coast of Devon. Here, harbour, architectural and shoreline views create a wide variety of subject matter that lend themselves to the skills needed in this Low Light Photography workshop.
Once it has got dark, then we will do some night sky photography of the stars. This will probably be done at nearby Budleigh Salterton, where light pollution is a lot less than in Exmouth.
This promises to be a great afternoon and evening of photography, where you’ll be able to hone the skills needed in low light levels.
The course will aim to teach the following skills
- How to make the most of late afternoon, sunset and dusk light to create atmospheric landscapes and travel photos;
- The use of a tripod and long exposures to capture subjects in low light;
- Photography of star trails and stars as pinpoints of light;
- How to spot potential image compositions among beach, harbour and rural scenes under decreasing light conditions;
- Controlling and making use of the balance between shutter speed and lens aperture to gain the best exposure, and to control depth of field (ie the amount of the image that is sharply in focus);
- Making the best use of some of the camera’s most important features;
- Executing the image, using positioning, perspective, focus control, use of light, and lens focal length to create simple, strong compositions.
Participants should have at least an understanding of what shutter speed and lens aperture mean, plus a knowledge of how to operate their own camera in order to get at least basic images. Beyond this, the main requirements are enthusiasm, an open mind and a readiness to learn!
Note: Since we’ll be working outdoors, what we are able to do during the day is very weather-dependent. Weather conditions may make it necessary to vary the itinerary.