There are many photography tips on how to use good natural light to create beautiful lifestyle pictures. But how about using low light for a stunning dark house aesthetic? In this article, we’ll share with you some simple tricks you can use to create low light photographs that will amaze everyone.

A lack of good natural light occupies the minds of photographers with more regularity than we care to admit — except to other photographers!

And that truth is felt most keenly with indoor lifestyle photography. Why? Because we can’t control the location and, therefore, the light. Every lifestyle photographer knows the fear that comes with each booking, as we worry… “will their home have enough light”? Followed up with visions of crap photos and universal scorn! (or is that just me? 😆 )

Lauren Kennedy is a Click Love Grow Enthusiast course grad and lifestyle family photographer. At a lifestyle newborn session early in her career, she was faced with the most light challenged home she’d encountered to date.

But rather than curl into the fetal position, she embraced the situation as a challenge and a learning opportunity for dark house aesthetics. And the resulting images are a credit to her skills and determination to create art regardless of the conditions.

Lauren approached the session in a way that ensured she got beautifully exposed shots and variety. So if you’ve ever struggled to capture beautiful lifestyle pictures in a low light situation, read on for some great photography tips.

1. First Step – Master Your Camera

When my daughter Evie was born, it awoke the budding photographer within me as I now had a muse.

Before I had my son Harry 18 months later, my husband bought me my first DSLR. I enrolled in the CLG Enthusiast Photography Course, which was exactly what I needed to finally start using my camera properly. It was the beginning of producing the work I strived toward.

Shooting in manual mode is the natural first step when learning photography. Without that skill, you simply can’t deal with challenging light situations.

Related: Getting Out Of Auto Mode

2. The Key Challenges

Your priority in a low light lifestyle session is:

• Finding the best lit area in the home
• Making that area work in terms of aesthetics
• Getting variation of shots
• Lastly, getting good exposure in your chosen location

Luckily for me, although this house had barely any natural light other than one set of French doors —  all other windows were narrow and high — it had been beautifully renovated, so I didn’t need to worry too much about what else was around or could be seen.

3. Finding The Light

Most photography tips involve the use of light. Look around windows and doorways as these will be the best lit areas in any home, no matter how dark the interior.

If the windows aren’t offering any joy, open up the front door, and prop everyone in the hall. You could try sitting them on the floor, backs against the wall, not too far from the open doorway, and shoot with the open door behind you.

Keep an open mind with regard to location. If the surroundings aren’t ideal in the area with the best light, rearrange the room. If you want to use a sofa that’s backlit, turn it around. Remove anything that doesn’t need to be there.

Think about your angles, perspectives and framing to crop out anything that can’t be moved.

Related: Doorway Light

4. Make The Most Of The Light You Have

I loved this session for its moody light. When photographing at home, I’m always looking for the best natural light, but when forced into a situation where there isn’t a lot, you have to work with what you have. A great photography tip is…to embrace shadows! 

Shadows add depth and form, mood and drama, and emotion. There’s no need to attempt to eradicate them! Shadows are your friend, understand that, and you’ll shake that monkey off your back.

5. Dealing With Clutter

In this specific situation, the fact that the rest of the house was dark helped to really focus and draw the viewer’s attention to my subject.

Clutter doesn’t necessarily mean mess. It could even be the laundry being directly opposite the good light. Look for things like that and close the door.

Lifestyle photography is conducive to the objects of daily life being in the background, and the pictures help tell the family’s story. 

However, not everything needs to form part of the story. Move anything in the background that isn’t adding anything to the shot and is working to distract. I’m talking about stray toys, this morning’s breakfast dishes, and last week’s newspaper pile.

6. Variation Through Perspective And Angles

The lack of available light forced me to think more about angles, specifically high and low.

Varying your angles, framing, and perspectives is a great way to get variety when locations are limited. I am always looking for new perspectives to try, and there’s nothing like being forced into a corner to produce them.

Without even having to move your subjects, you can get so many pictures by doing this. Some photography tips:

• Up high, shooting down
• Down low, shooting up
• Straight on, side on, from behind…multiple positions
• Take wide shots and close-ups of all of the above
• Plus, capture multiple expressions and moments.

If the baby’s bed is at all portable, move it to the good light. If not, perhaps they have a bassinet you can style and put under the good light. That right there is a whole new range of varied photos.

7. Details

Don’t forget to capture details. They’re important to the story and another easy way to get variation without needing loads of good light.

CLG Photography Tip: A macro camera lens is perfect for getting in close to those small details and another great way to ensure variety.

Related: Macro Newborn

8. Gear

Camera: Canon 5D Mk3

Lens: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art

A fast lens is essential in lifestyle photography for all the times you unexpectedly encounter challenging light.

35mm is a great focal length for lifestyle photography for its ability to capture more in the frame. But it’s also a lifesaver when you find yourself trying to take pictures in very small spaces.

9. Exposure

Just because you’ve identified the best light in the house…doesn’t mean it’s a great light! For that reason, your gear and camera settings are particularly essential.

CLG Photography Tip: Regarding your settings, in low light situations you will be forced to very carefully consider your balance of settings. You will probably have to make sacrifices, so a thorough understanding of the exposure triangle is crucial.

ISO

It’s well worth learning to embrace high ISO. As this session was so dark, my ISO ranged from 640 right up to 2000 when in the bedroom, with the majority shot at around 1000 ISO.

They are grainier than I like to provide, but I have definitely come to embrace the grain and make it work for me in my editing style.

Related: Embracing ISO

Aperture

My aperture was usually around f/2 to f/2.8, but you could go even wider if you needed to.

Shutter Speed

My shutter speed was 250, which is quite slow for a family session. But as there were no older kids and the motion that goes with them, it was a safe gamble I took.

CLG Photography Tip: If you’ve got toddlers in the mix, you’ll need a shutter speed of at least 320. If your light is such that 320 is pushing your other settings too far, try poses that minimise motion as much as possible. Sounds impossible? Check out the guide below, it’s chock full of ideas for capturing a toddler with a newborn. A lot of the poses and prompts could be applied to older siblings too.

Related: Toddler & Newborn Photography Guide

10. Lifestyle Newborn Photography Tips

My tip for a lifestyle newborn photography session is, firstly, don’t get flustered. If you get flustered, the baby and parents will all feel it and then become on edge as well.

There is always something to capture. Even if the baby is unsettled, there are plenty of tender moments to capture the parents calming her.

My general advice for anyone learning photography is to just keep shooting. Whether it’s your kids, pets, landscapes, daily life, or friends…just practice. The more I shoot, the closer I get to finding my style — as much as you can anyway, as it is an ever-evolving process.

Also, never be afraid to try something new. It’s a great way to learn, and there is always something to learn in photography, whether it be a technical camera setting, light, posing, or creating connections to capture.

Related: Lifestyle Newborn Photography Guide

If you have low light indoors or you’re faced with it at another location, give these dark house aesthetic tips a go and let us know how you go in the comments!

Many thanks to Lauren for her generous photography tips and stunning lifestyle pictures! Lauren is a family photographer based in Sydney, Australia. Check her out over at Lauren Kennedy Photographer.

Join my new workshop and learn How to Shoot Pro-Quality Photos With Your DSLR… and it’s totally FREE to join! Register here…

 

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