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Available Light
Definition
Available light means only the light that is already available in the scene. That could be daylight, light from a window, light from candles, fireplaces or incandescent bulbs. It’s any light that doesn’t come from the photographer’s own equipment. This is also known as ambient light
Comments / Tips / Experiences
Available light can often give a more natural feel to an image. The alternative to available light is to use a flash attached to your camera or off-camera photographic lights. If well used these artificial lights can give wonderful lighting but getting them set up can be slow and intrusive. Using only the available light means being able to take a shot right away.
Available light, when it is low light can also mean needing a fast lens (lens speed). A fast lens is one that has a large maximum aperture, allowing faster shutter speeds in low light. Keep in mind that using a faster lens to let in more light, will also typically result in a more shallow depth-of-field depth of field.
