From dusk till dawn: low-light photography tips

For Finnish photographer Valtteri Hirvonen, low-light photography is an integral part of his image making. It's in his bones. Brought up on a diet of long, dark Finnish winters, young Valtteri honed his photography skills in the dark. It led to a specialist skillset forged in the twilight.

"We have sunlight all summer, but the whole of the winter is really, really dark in Finland," he explains. "I love the cold weather and the snow, but in the winter, if I wanted to take photos, it had to be at night when my day job finished. So I had to come up with ideas for how to do my hobby. It happened naturally – basically, there was no light but I learned how to take photos." Despite Valtteri's subsequent success in commercial photography, his passion still remained in the ethereal world that occurs as the sun descends.

Armed with his Canon EOS R5 and Canon EOS 5D Mark III (now succeeded by the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV), a wireless remote control and a carbon-fibre tripod, Valtteri is well placed to capture atmospheric images that require vision and determination. In an eclectic career spanning two decades, his fascination with low-light photography has resulted in an inspiring body of work. This includes romantic low light travel and adventure photographs, and most notably his series The Darkest Hour. Here he shares some choice nuggets of wisdom that can help anyone setting out to photograph at dusk.

Similarly, Valtteri has always shot on Canon and says it's crucial that his camera feels right. "I'm outside so much that I usually wear gloves, so my camera's ergonomics are really important," he explains. "It's not all about megapixels – there are things you can't measure, such as does the camera feel good?"

Don't aim for technical perfection at the expense of creativity and interest, Valtteri advises. "The most important thing is not to worry if your photo is shaky or not technically perfect. If you think about iconic photos from the past, you don't really see the technical side – it's about the moment and the content. If you've taken a good photo and it's shaky, it's still a good photo. If your photo is really sharp but you don't have anything interesting in it, it's not a great photo. It's not the end of the world if you're not getting the sharpest shots."

Valtteri's low light and night photography stands out thanks to his strong compositions incorporating natural and man-made elements. Points of interest in his images may be an eagle sweeping into the centre of a scene, light trails amid a lonely landscape, the first rays of dawn stretching through cloud cover, or the simple elegance of a full moon bathing the forest floor in its light. By shooting at different times of the night and in different seasons – from pink summer sunsets to deep midwinter darkness – and playing with exposure lengths, Valtteri also shows that low light and night photography comes in many colours, not just shades of blue.

Of all the ingredients that make a great image, Valtteri covets one above all else: “I'm always searching for that special light. Even in the most ordinary location you can get beautiful results in the right light, and using a distinctive composition."

Valtteri says: "If you're going for two seconds or more, turn off the stabilisation. Stabilisation makes a huge difference when you're shooting handheld and at quicker speeds, but if you're going for a second or more and shooting from a tripod, image and lens stabilisation can have limited benefits."

Valtteri often adds artificial light in order to create a point of interest or to accentuate the palette in his images, whether it's by adding light trails or an illuminated tent that perfectly matches the hue of a full blood moon. For this reason, one of Valtteri's most prized pieces of kit is his headlamp. "I always have a powerful headlamp with me, to see where I'm going and also to paint with light. If it's pitch black, the headlamp also helps me to see the edges of my composition – I can use it to see the right-hand and left-hand sides of my frame."

Valtteri says arriving early is key to creating a great composition. "I usually go to the location before it's pitch black so I can see the landscape and compose the image through the viewfinder. I then play the waiting game. I have a flask with me, filled with tea or hot chocolate, and I wait and enjoy the scenery. I start taking photos at twilight, but you never know before taking a picture if the best light will be just before it's really dark or when it is really, really dark. There is a weird twilight within the twilight. It's the same if you're shooting at sunrise. I go with the moment, see how the situation and the landscape evolves, and then just go for it. That waiting game can last two to three hours."

The effects of light pollution can severely impact low-light photography, so Valtteri avoids them at all costs. "If you live in the city, there will be a lot of light pollution," he says. "If you have a chance to get away from the light pollution you'll see a dramatic improvement in your night-time photos. It's magical when the stars actually light your landscape after a five-minute exposure – you can't see that with your bare eyes. The camera sees something you don't, and it's a really nice moment."

Valtteri doesn't fret about image noise. Not only do his Canon EOS R5 and Canon EOS 5D Mark III's low light capabilities minimise this issue, but more importantly working at high ISOs enables him to get the shot. "Don't be afraid to use your sensor's higher ISOs and to push it up as far as you need to get the photo. Use whatever you need to get your photo. Of course, go as low as you can, but if that's ISO 12,800, that's it then. If you have to use a high ISO, you have to use it. It's a no-brainer."