Candlelights have their own special magic.
The term “candlelight romantics” has been well known for generations. The special shades of the candlelights color the scene with something dim, warm, sweet and sensual.
What is so special in the light of the candle?
Except for the natural dimness, which connects us to the age when man was not immersed in bright neon lights, the warm color spread by candles spreads its own aroma all around.
Our eye has difficulty to separate details in the red area of the spectrum. As the light wavelength is longer, small differences in the wavelengths that compose the red light become blurry to our eyes.
Our camera does the same – its separation capabilities in a red-orange light are lower than in the green region. These colors also sometimes flood in colorful “snow” to the picture, especially in high-iso pictures.
The mystery that is derived from the eye’s incapability to separate in dim light, especially in the red-orange range, creates a special romantic, sensual and desirous atmosphere.
How can we use all of this for photography? Can we really use it?
The tool – the candlelight – is easily available. What we need is a shooting location (a studio is preferable but it can be easily done at home), a camera and a tripod.
I let the camera set the white balance (WB) so I set it to automatic WB. Any change in the WB might spoil the effect.
Exposures to candle light only are long (sometimes even a few seconds), and they cannot be done manually, even if we stretch the camera’s iso to a four-digit value.
Since the exposures are long – a camera releasing cable is recommended as well as a tripod and a patient model! Any movement of the model when the picture is taken may “smear” the result.
In addition, a speedy lens is highly recommended – a lens with a large maximal aperture (2-2.8) that will provide a shallow depth of field, which is needed for obtaining a mysterious effect on the one hand, and on the other hand a clear eyepiece for precise focusing.
This is not an easy job and it requires many hours of practice. I also recommend manual focusing – because of the shallow depth of field required – so one can focus on what one wants and not on what the camera wants.
My favorite lenses for candle light shooting are the 85/1.4 (by Nikon), the 35-70/2.8 that can shoot from very close range, the 17-55 lens and the 135/2 – the DC (Defocus Control) lens which lets you control the blurry area. I’ve also had great success with the Tamron 28‑75/2.8 lens.
The optimal range is between 40-80mm.
Candlelight shooting requires certain closeness to the object, especially when shooting body parts – so lenses that can focus from close range are preferable.