Brooke Martin
Candles are a great subject for photography, with their warm glow creating a wonderful atmosphere. However, candle photography can be challenging due to the low light, and it is not always easy to capture the desired effect. The biggest challenge with candle photography is the lack of light, and this requires careful consideration of camera settings and composition. Candle photography can be used to create stunning images, whether the candles themselves are the focus or they are used as a lighting source for still life or portrait photography.
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What You'll Learn
Use a reflective surface
Candlelight photography can be challenging due to the low-light environment. A great way to enhance your photos is to use a reflective surface. This will create interesting visual effects and add more light to your images.
One way to do this is to use a table with a black glass top, which will reflect the candles and create a slightly mirrored image. Transparent glass will also reflect the candles, but be aware that shooting at low angles may result in two reflections that blur the image. You can also use a white reflector to fill in shadows and create more light. This can be a piece of paper, cardboard with white paper taped to it, foam board, or styrofoam.
If you're using a phone to take your photos, you can set up a ring light to illuminate the candle and create a clear image. You can also use a sheer curtain or white bedsheet to soften direct sunlight coming through a window.
In addition to reflective surfaces, you can also use multiple candles to increase the amount of light in your photo. This will give you more flexibility with shutter speed, ISO, and aperture settings.
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Adjust shutter speed
Candlelight photography comes with the challenge of a lack of light, which means slower shutter speeds are almost always required. This increases the impact of camera shake on your shots. To compensate for this, you can use a tripod to keep your camera secure and still. You can also use a remote shutter release to eliminate any vibrations from physically pressing the shutter.
Slower shutter speeds allow more light to reach your camera sensor, resulting in a brighter image. However, decreasing the shutter speed increases the chances of capturing movement, both from your subject and the flickering of the candle flame. If you are aiming for a shutter speed of 1/15th of a second, you will need to ensure your subject and the environment are as still as possible.
You can also increase the ISO settings on your camera to compensate for low light, but this will result in grainier images. It is recommended to keep the ISO under 400 to get reasonably clean shots.
If you are using a DSLR with multiple lenses, choose the fastest lens to allow more light into your camera. You can then use a faster shutter speed and lower ISO. A faster aperture setting can also help in this regard.
Shutter Speed Priority mode is a semi-automatic setting that allows you to maintain consistent shutter speeds without manually adjusting each time. This is useful for candle photography, where you may want to keep your shutter speed slow to achieve a soft and dreamy look.
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Play with lighting
Candlelight photography is challenging due to the lack of light. To compensate for this, you can increase the ISO settings on your camera. However, higher ISO settings will result in shots with more grain or noise. It is recommended to keep the ISO under 400 or between 400 and 500 to avoid this issue.
Another way to let more light into your camera is to use a slower shutter speed. A shutter speed of 1/15th of a second can be used if the environment is completely still. However, slowing down the shutter speed increases the chances of capturing any movement, resulting in blurry images.
To capture the warm glow of candles, avoid using your camera's flash. Instead, consider using a warm-coloured gel over the flash to reduce its impact and project a warm light.
When shooting portraits, a faster shutter speed of 1/100 is recommended to keep the subject sharp. Using a wider aperture and lens can also help provide enough light.
If you are using natural light, direct sunlight can be softened by using a sheer curtain or white bedsheet.
To add more light to your shot, you can simply add more candles. Spreading the candles out will create a more even spread of light, while positioning more candles on one side will create a side lighting impact.
When shooting at low angles, a table with a reflective surface such as black glass can create interesting reflections. However, be aware that this may result in two reflections that blur part of the image.
Experimenting with exposure times can help capture the different colours in the candle's flame. Overexposing by a stop from the camera's recommendation can also be tried, but be careful not to overexpose the flame and lose all detail.
Shooting in RAW format is recommended as it provides more flexibility with white balance adjustments and no quality loss during post-processing. You can then adjust the white balance on a computer to match the true colour of the candle, as candlelight tends to emit a warm light that your camera may try to get rid of if set to auto white balance. Settings like \"indoor\" or \"tungsten\" can help achieve the desired warmth.
Using a tripod is always recommended when shooting in low-light conditions to avoid camera shake.
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Try different compositions
When it comes to candle photography, there are many ways to get creative with your compositions. Here are some ideas to try:
Firstly, consider the number of candles you want in the frame. Using more candles will produce more light, giving you greater flexibility with shutter speed, ISO, and aperture settings. A single candle will create harsher shadows, which may be the look you're aiming for. However, if you want a more even spread of light, try using multiple candles and spreading them out. You can also experiment with grouping the candles together or positioning them at different distances from your subject to create interesting lighting effects.
Next, think about the backdrop and setting for your candles. A plain backdrop can help the candles become the focal point of the image, especially if you're aiming for a minimalist look. Alternatively, you can add interest by including a backdrop with patterns or textures. If you're photographing candles for product shots, consider realistic settings that showcase how the candles would fit into a customer's home.
Another aspect to consider is the reflection of the candles. Try placing the candles on a reflective surface, such as a black-glass tabletop, to create interesting reflections and a mirrored effect. Be mindful of the angle you're shooting from to avoid capturing blurry images due to multiple reflections.
Don't be afraid to experiment with different compositions. Try including or excluding the candles from the frame, or focus solely on the flame. Play around with lighting setups, such as using a ring light to highlight the candle wick or softening natural light with sheer curtains or white bedsheets.
Lastly, remember that candles come in various shapes, sizes, and colours, so feel free to mix and match to create unique compositions. You can also try adding props or small details to enhance the story you want to tell with your photograph.
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Experiment with white balance
Candlelight photography can be challenging due to the lack of light, but it also offers a wonderful opportunity to capture a warm and atmospheric image. Candlelight emits an orange/yellowish light, and cameras will often try to "correct" this warm light, making it appear more natural. This is where white balance comes in.
White balance is the process of adjusting colour temperatures to achieve natural-looking or intentionally artistic images. It is a way of compensating for different light colours, adding more blue or orange light until the scene appears neutral. For example, candlelight is around 1000-2000K on the Kelvin scale, which is a warm orange/yellow colour. A moderately overcast sky, on the other hand, provides a blueish light, which is colder, at around 6500-8000K. When balancing the colours, you want to ensure that things that appear white to the human eye also appear white in the photo.
When shooting candlelit scenes, it is recommended to experiment with white balance to get the right level of warmth in your photos. If you have your white balance set to 'auto', your camera may try to get rid of the warm light, resulting in a loss of the atmospheric effect. Try switching your camera's white balance setting to 'cloudy' or 'tungsten', or even indoor to achieve a warmer photo. You can also manually adjust the white balance to specific Kelvin values to experiment with different colour temperatures.
If you are shooting in RAW format, you will have much more flexibility when it comes to adjusting the white balance in post-processing. This is because RAW format retains all the white balance data, whereas other formats like JPEG strip away some or all of this data, limiting your ability to make accurate colour temperature adjustments.
By experimenting with different white balance settings and formats, you can create stunning candlelit photographs that capture the warmth and atmosphere of the scene.
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Frequently asked questions
You don't need a fancy camera to take good photos of candles. You can use a modern smartphone, or a professional camera if you have one. If you're using a phone, set up a phone holder and ring light so that the candle wick and shape are easy to see.
Candlelight is a very low-light environment, so you'll need to adjust your camera settings accordingly. You can increase your ISO to make your camera more sensitive to light, but this may result in grainier photos. You can also slow down your shutter speed to let more light in, but this increases the risk of capturing blurry shots.
Candles can be interesting subjects in their own right and don't need further scenery to make a compelling photo. You can experiment with different compositions, such as including the candle flame or leaving it out of frame. If you're photographing a subject lit by candles, you can create a nice side-lighting impact by spreading the candles out to one side.
It's best to shoot in RAW format so that you can adjust the white balance later without losing any quality. You can use photo editing software on your phone or computer to adjust the white balance and other settings.
