Alternative Lighting

This project is designed for you to practice using an alternative light source. This means you can use any light source that is NOT Daylight Sunlight. Even though long exposures utilize sunlight that is reflected in the atmosphere, it is permissible to take night photos. Other types of alternate lighting can include flashlights, lamps, fluorescent lights, on or off camera flashes, candle light, camp fire light, city lights, tungsten lights, neon lights, black lights, etc.

While you are shooting:

Think of the Quality of the light in relation to the Quantity of the light.
(just because there is enough light doesn't necessarily make it photo-worthy)

Remember that flash usually looks like flash when it becomes the primary light. Using it as the primary light will always give you unpredictable shadows and can make your backgrounds go completely black. It can also give your subjects more pronounced wrinkles and even outline them like a cartoon. Flash is best used as an additional light source or accent light source.

Try using your night shot settings or long exposure settings. Most of these allow for flash, but also allow for a longer shutter speed. This allows the background to expose longer while freezing motion in the foreground with the flash.

If you have the option of 1st curtain and 2nd curtain, try playing with it. This determines if the flash fires as the shutter opens, or right before the shutter closes.

Utilize your "B" setting (Bulb). This keeps the shutter open for as long as the shutter release button is depressed. Get a cable release to really take advantage of this function.

Set the camera down or use a tripod.

Remember that everything is relative in long exposures, so with a long enough exposure, celestial bodies or trees in the distance might move or leave trails.

On cameras that have manual settings, try making the aperture smaller to lengthen the shutter speeds.

Turn OFF Vibration reduction and Turn ON noise reduction.
Vibration reduction has motors that actually cause blur during really long exposures.

Shoot many images, edit and choose 5 to turn in.