How to Get Better Photos in Any Light

Miracles in Low Light

The realm of romance
Christian Tsotras' Parisian scene evokes the quiet anticipation of looking down on mysterious, winding streets -- whose beauty lures lovers and photographers out into the mist. If there's a time to use black-and-white, it's this: To capture both the detail in the wet, cobbled streets and the muted glow of the streetlamps, without the intrusiveness of color.

For the ghostly figures, Tsotras (christian.tsotras.free.fr) waited for pedestrians to wander into the scene and then used an exposure of about 1 second. "An exposure of one-half to 2 seconds is good for capturing people moving," he explains. "Above 2 seconds, people are invisible."