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| Blue Lagoon |
Day for night is a technique often used in motion pictures until the 1970s. Movie film was quite slow, ASA 100 or less, and shooting at night was not as practical as it is today.
The goal was to shoot during daylight but make it look like night. Since the light is bluer at night, a blue gel was used over the lens. Underexpose a couple of stops and the result looks something like night.
You can do the same thing today in still photography, and with digital it's quite a bit easier. You get the best results by not underexposing in the camera; instead, crank it back in editing software such as Photoshop or Lightroom.
Getting a good exposure in the camera allows you to control detail where you want it, even in the shadow areas using dodge/burn tools. I did a bit of this in the shadow area of the large cypress tree (click to enlarge.) If I had underexposed, this detail would have been lost forever.
The blue tint can be added by either shifting the white balance toward the blue, or by using duotone effects.
"Blue Lagoon" uses duotone. Here, you tell your software two colors, one for highlights, one for shadows. I used two shades of blue for this picture. The shade you see depends on your monitor. It’s critical to calibrate your monitor to see what you're getting in post processing your images.
This cypress pond photo was shot in fairly bright morning light. By using a day for night approach, I hoped to increase the spook factor.
Happy Halloween!
