Available light

Light sources that affect the scene and are included in the actual frame are called practical light sources, or simply practicals.

[2] Available light is an important factor in candid photography in order not to disturb the subjects.

This will limit the selection of shutter speeds, and may require the use of shades or reflectors to manipulate the light.

It can also influence the time, location, and even orientation of the photo shoot to obtain the desired lighting conditions.

While it is possible to make decent images of night scenes in streets or in rooms without flash even with the cameras of standard smartphones of 2022, this was virtually impossible with the former photographic film, with the only exception of highly sensitive black and white film which had various drawbacks.

Available light used in a picture of a karaoke event in an Irish pub in Hamburg
Example of photographic use of available light in the early 20th century
Photography of the sound reinforcement system prior to a pop concert, wherein the room was mainly dark except the blue spotlight. Though the exposure time of 1 ⁄ 4 second at 180 mm focal length (equivalent to 35 mm film) would typically result in a relatively strong blur , the image is quite sharp which is the result of the image stabilizer of the employed camera .