Verity Milligan
Verity is a professional urban/landscape photographer based in Birmingham. She has worked on campaigns for international organisations, leads workshops for Light & Land and is an ambassador for LEE Filters. She’s happiest when outdoors at dawn. www.veritymilliganphotography.com
Supportive kit
Shooting in low light can be tricky, especially if you’re new to the process, but the rewards are often worth the early starts or late evenings. For more considered landscape images, I recommend using a tripod if possible. If that’s not an option, I used to adapt by using a bag of rice on static objects such as railings to steady the camera and ensure there is no camera shake. Using a tripod will mean you have more time to set up and consider the shot and will allow some creativity if you decide to use filters to enhance the look of the image.
The blue hour
The blue hour is my preferred time of day for capturing urban scenes in low light. It occurs during what I refer to as ‘civil twilight,’ the brief period between sunset and the onset of darkness (or the reverse at sunrise). It’s a magical phase when the city awakens, and the soft ambient light blends with the artificial lights emanating from shops, office buildings, and homes. Photographs taken at this time lean towards the cooler spectrum, allowing the blues to contrast with the warmer oranges of the illuminated urban landscape. Civil twilight is fleeting, and once dusk transitions into night (or dawn becomes day), the mood shifts, resulting in a somewhat less impressive visual experience. I recommend exploring this time of the day, especially during the summer months where civil twilight can stretch out for hours
