Indoor Scenes | Bad Ambient Light with Natural Light
On the occasion that you find yourself photographing a subject indoors in bad ambient light and modification is not possible, maybe because of time restraints or other factors, we recommend taking the following approach:
- Position subject for the best ambient light
- Anchor = story/emotion (get great expressions)
- Think in black and white (if you must)
- Don’t get lazy
- Don’t miss the moment, regardless of how bad the ambient lighting is
Exposure goals for shooting in bad ambient light with no modification:
- Maximum dynamic range
- Bias: preserve shadows
- Allow highlight peak
- Match the dominant temperature (ambient vs. natural)
- White balance shift/tint + magenta
