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Sweet light.  Magic light.  Whatever name you give it, we all know it is that time of day when the light level drops from the sunlight and the night starts to “rise.”    The evening lights are beginning to come on in buildings and homes and it can be a spectacular time to take pictures.  It requires patience and an eye for detail.  But when you balance everything just right, the pictures come to life. 

The light in the sky at times like this will drop dramatically fast over a period of just a few short minutes and before you know it, your session is over and the night falls.  The desired time for many is when the time between light and dark is equally split.  Since time is of the essence, it’s a good idea to take extra cameras in order to keep up with the rapidly changing light.

Scouting the Location

Make sure you have scouted your location and that there are no annoying bright lights that will be in your frame.  A bright security light aimed at your camera can take an otherwise really great view and turn a nice picture into the average category.   Also, be aware of people in your pictures.  Some exposures will be long and people in the pictures would likely have movement.  Of course that swirling motion effect of people moving during a long exposure can also be an exciting effect.

Exposures

Shooting this time of day can be tricky in terms of exposures and everyone will have their own style.  It is always a good idea to test your exposures and vary any brightness differences at the time of exposure as opposed to the variations you might create in post-capture editing.  Always remember that it will be best to get it the way you want when you capture the image.  At least as close as you can get.  However, keep in mind anything you think you may want to enhance later and in fact, taking notes in the field is very helpful.  There are several different ways to measure the exposure for this type of picture.     

        -In-camera meter: Consider using the meter in your camera set to spot. Measure the light in an area in the sky that appears to you as  a middle gray or 18% gray. 

        -Hand held meter:  Almost impossible in the incident mode but certainly works in this situation in the spot mode (see above).

        -Standard “non-measured” exposure:  Try what a friend, Bob Gallagher, once taught me as “the rule of ones”.  Try f11, ISO 100, one second.   It’s a really good place to start. You can go lighter or darker from this standard to suit your taste and the city or subject  brightness.

Camera Technique

Remember the basic techniques we all learned when we started out.  A sturdy tripod is essential.  Personally I love to work with a quality ball-head outfitted with a spirit level.  Also, a locking cable release will come in handy for exposures when the shutter speed will be set to bulb.  A small Mini-Mag flashlight will be handy since it is always dark when you finish shooting this type of work. In addition, try to remember the basics of composition.  Usually, there will be a horizon line of some type in your picture.  Be sure you place it in the frame where you know it will generate interest and create drama.  And make sure, if water is in the scene,  it is perfectly straight and horizontal. 

Color Balance

Personal taste is a big part of this type of work.  For a picture that looks true and correct try using a daylight color balance.  This will make the sky look normal and might warm up the buildings and foreground.  However, to more creatively stylize the picture set the color balance on tungsten and look at the blue or cool look to the overall picture.  This can be a very powerful tool for creating drama. 

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There are so many variations and styles of working in this beautiful light.  I recommend lots of tests and taking lots of pictures.  When I say the time goes by very quickly, there are times when the light is gone after only three or four minutes.  This requires that special attention be paid to all of the details such as focus, camera movement, etc.  After all, your next shot at a picture like this won’t happen until tomorrow.