Take fantastic creative photos in low-light

A hint of flash

The key with flash photography at night is to try and make it look as natural as an artificial light source can. Switching your flash to the slow-sync setting will enable the ambient light to register on the CCD and blend in the flash accordingly.

If you're shooting in an environment mostly lit by tungsten or fire, you might consider placing a warming gel over the flash, so that its burst of light blends with the scene. Sheets of colour adjustment filters are made by Lee Colour Magic in a variety of strengths (available from www.speedgraphic.co.uk).

You can always shoot a single RAW file, then save it out with a different white balance setting and then blend them together, but save yourself time and do it in the field.

The best slow sync shots work when there's colour and brightness in the background and the subject's silhouetted. Take an exposure reading from the background using centre-weighted or spot metering and lock that reading in. Add a little underexposure to saturate the colours if you prefer. The flash will then take care of the exposure of the main subject, with any movement being rendered as a blur.