How is blue tinted light created in nighttime photography?

mara_ce

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Hello,
I am fascinated with the photography of Patrick Joust. In his and other photographers' work, I am noticing a beautiful blue tint to some of their nighttime shots (see below). How is this done? Is this a special type of film (I know Joust generally doesn't use DSLR cameras)? Can this effect be achieved with a DSLR camera? Is it the light itself? A filter?
Thanks in advance for all info!

by Julian Thunig Untitled | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Patrick Joust Untitled | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
 
There are literally so many ways to tint a photo, whether directly in a film camera (usually with a filter on the lens, but also could be a film type choice interacting with the type of light in the environment), in a DSLR (filter again or just a color temperature balance) or in post processing (too many ways to start listing them), that it's kind of like having us look at pictures of toast and asking us which brand of toaster we think was used.

Try emailing the photographer and asking. Lots of photographers are very open and even proud to share their knowledge and methods about such things, rather than treating it like it's their own secret recipe. There are no guarantees, of course, but it doesn't hurt to try.
 
The blue "tint" you seeing in the photos you linked to is simply from the white balance.
 
Is it the light itself?

Basically yes. Different light sources will have different color temperatures.

Understanding White Balance

With film you should pick a film that has a color balance that matches the lighting conditions you are shooting in. If using digital you can set the white balance on he camera.

If the person you mentioned is using film then they probably used daylight balanced film but since there is no daylight and he lights in he scene have a different color temp then daylight you get a color cast.

The same can be done with digital by ether manually setting the white balance to something other then what the white balance really is for the scene or you can adjust the white balance on the computer later.
 
Night sky is not black. It's still blue, and for the exact same reason it's blue when the sun is up.

You just cannot see the blue because it's so faint your eyes cannot detect it.
 
TY so much, everyone! Going out to play with the white balance!
 
Mara, if you set the white balance to "fluorescent" (when the light is natural or something other than fluorescent) you will get a blue tint. And the other posts are also correct--you can use post processing, you can use filters or gels. For instance, put a blue gel on your speed light when shooting in low light. You can also surround the subject with "blue" (like blue walls or a blue scrim or a blue service) and it will add a blue tint.
 
I know these answers are accurate, however, i'd like to add that some cameras do better in night time photography, in regard to blues, and I'm not sure if this is a processing issue, or something in the sensor, since color is technically extrapolated from most camera sensors, by the cameras processor, rather than recorded directly by the sensor, if i remember correctly. regardless, my Pentax cameras tend to offer more night sky blues than my Canon or Nikon stuff, though this can indeed be changed in post as previously stated
 
Thanks so much, everyone! If I get brave someday, I'll post my pics!
 

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