There’s something magnetic about the hours when the light starts to disappear. The colours shift. Shadows stretch. Details fade, and mood takes over. It’s the perfect moment for panoramic film photography—where atmosphere becomes everything, and even the quietest scenes feel cinematic.
Low light isn’t a limitation. It’s an invitation. It strips away distractions and puts the focus on the light that remains. Blues deepen, warm tones glow, and contrast gives your frame a real sense of place. The Hasselblad XPan and Fujifilm TX-1 are ideal tools here—wide, immersive, and beautifully suited for the challenge of twilight.
In this post, we’ll look at what makes low light such a powerful tool for storytelling, how to get the most out of your panoramic film camera in these conditions, and the techniques and films that can help you make the most of every shadow, glow, and glow-reflection.
What is Low light film photography
“Low light photography” is a very broad. Generally, it refers to situations where you are taking photographs at dusk, dawn, nighttime or dimly lid interiors. Where the norm is often that you photograph well lid situations, in low light photography it often means the opposite, majority of the photo is exposed to very little light and the sources of light are very dim as well.
Due to the lack of light some of the common issues that you will face because of the dimly lid scenes is a low shutter speed. With low shutter speed you will often experience motion blur. Either the subject that is moving or you are intentionally or unintentionally. If this is unintentional, it makes avoiding blurry photos in low light film an ongoing experiment.
Film stocks can be limiting here. Many don’t handle high ISOs well without introducing excessive grain. Personally, I prefer less grain and more control, so I often shoot with slower films and compensate with careful exposure and a steady hand. Meaning I can’t deal with fast moving subjects or environments unless I deliberately want motion blur.
Despite the technical challenges, film photography at night opens the door to something more expressive. In the panoramic format, especially, it channels a low light cinematic street photography feel rich with atmosphere and storytelling potential.
Why you should be Photographing panoramas in low light
My most favourite moody images, where a single frame tells an entire story often stem from darker movies, where the mood is perfectly set by little to no light available in the scenes. It leaves much for interpretation. Naturally things in the scene are more hidden, therefore I can more easily focus on the things that contribute to the story of the image I am trying to depict.
It involves asking whether your artistic expression aligns with darker scenes. With low light cinematic street photography, less often means more. The darker atmosphere tends to give more depth to the image. The less can be perceived by the human eye, the more drama you tend to introduce. The darkness adds emotional weight. Instead of focusing on the shadows, you tend to focus on the highlights. Where should light be added or removed to not eliminate too many details, yet highlight only the things that are relevant. Tension becomes the heart of the photo.
In brighter conditions, we’re often trying to remove light selectively. In low light, the challenge flips: is there enough light to tell the story? This reversal sharpens your sense of composition and intention. Photographing panoramas in low light forces you to simplify, to isolate, and to focus.
How to do Film photography at night
When you have decided to explore film photography at night, there are a few thing to keep in mind. Next to the obvious, which camera are you using, there are is also something that might be less obvious which you really need to consider before you go out.
Selecting the right film
The most important decision starts before you even leave the house: what film will you bring?
For darker scenes, I usually pack a variety. I tend to head out just before sunset and shoot well into the night, so versatility is key.
Ilford Delta 3200: Excellent for black-and-white work with beautiful grain structure. Great for pushing even further.
Kodak Portra 800: A reliable colour film that can handle low light relatively well.
CineStill 800T: Ideal for urban environments. It renders tungsten light beautifully and handles artificial lighting with a cinematic look.
No matter the film, you can always choose to push the film for better low light results. For instance, shooting a 400-speed film at 800 or 1600 ISO and adjusting development accordingly. This “push” increases contrast, accentuates grain, and reduces shadow detail. While pushing film vs. using high ISO film is a creative choice, the result will depend on your artistic intention. Black-and-white films tend to be more forgiving here.
Tripod (or not)
A tripod will definitely help when shooting in low light situations. It eliminates the possibility of camera shake whilst shooting. For panoramic cameras like the XPan, it also helps keep your frame level. Which isn’t as easy given the extreme horizontal aspect ratio.
However, the tripod can be a bit cumbersome, therefore smaller alternatives might be good enough in many situations. Just to keep in mind, even when using a tripod, pressing the release button can still make the camera move. For that reason many people use a release trigger in combination with a tripod. When you don’t have either of the two, you can always use your bag or jacket as tripod. It will stabilise the camera a bit. Myself, I often don’t use a tripod or shutter release, I am either too lazy or too rushed to go through the trouble of setting up the tripod. Luckily after trial and error I roughly know at what shutter speed I can still get a decent picture.
Lenses
When it comes to gear for low light cinematic panoramic street photography, lens choice matters. A lens with a wide maximum aperture (f/1.4 to f/2.8) allows more light in, making it easier to shoot handheld in dim conditions.
When shooting with a panoramic film camera like the XPan or TX-1 there are less lens options available. This is also due to the fact that the entire width of the film needs to be exposed properly. Each available lens for the Hasselblad Xpan and Fuifilm tx-1 dont go further down than f4. Vignetting is noticeable at f4, but not disturbing.
Using a Panoramic Film Camera in Low Light
When discussing low light photography with the Hasselblad Xpan and Fuji tx 1 there are two things to definitely take into account.
Center weighted metering - The camera uses a centred weighted metering system, which evaluates the entire frame but gives greater emphasis (or weight) to the center area of the image. The exposure decision is typically about 60–80% based on what's in the middle. It doesn’t completely ignore the edges, but it assumes your subject is near the center, which is often true in portraits, street photography, or when you’re recomposing after focusing. One con of this system is that it can easily underexpose or overexpose your subject if it isn’t centered or when the lighting is uneven (e.g., strong backlight)
Width of the frame - The width of the frame is deceiving, twice as wide as a normal 35mm photo. Any degree of level will be more visible than you expect it to be. When any horizontal line is visible in your frame, you will instantly notice the weird angle of your photo if you had any. In low light this becomes even more difficult as the horizon is often not as perceptible as during the day.
Next to these two essential items, any successful image shot in low light will look like they came straight out of a movie. In combination with an artificial light you can have great fun shooting in low light. Use available lights in your advantage and add artificial lights where necessary.
Showcasing one of my fav low light film panoramas
My favourite low light panorama shot has to do with light and light reflections. I wish I had included a person in the photo, but unfortunately this was impossible due to the fact that it was way beyond twilight. The sun had set and the moon was not visible behind the concrete walls of the skyline of Manhattan. I used Kodak Portra 800 film for this, because simply it was loaded in my Hasselblad XPan. This film gave me enough leeway to still shoot handheld at night, but too little to include people unless they were stagnant. Metering was tough. The light sources were so bright compared to the rest of the scene that any reading felt unreliable. I ended up spot metering a few different areas, averaging them, and trusting my intuition. After have done so, I looked for composition that broke the pattern. An composition that was not too obvious, one where more was shown than only the neon signs. I tried a lot of different angles and eventually found a car on which I could find the perfect reflection to fill the frame with something interesting, without distracting too much from the sign. Still, it remains one of my favourite examples of pushing film for better low light results without going too far.
Final recommendations
Low light panoramic film photography is challenging and that’s where the magic starts. Experimenting with minimal light opens up a world of creative depth. Think differently, don’t think only think about what’s visible, but more about what’s felt. Highlights become the story, shadows the mystery. The mystery is a story to be uncovered by the viewer.
In low light it is key to try things. Switch up your films, push a roll, shoot at dusk, trust your eye over your meter. Try experimenting with artificial light in film photography. The XPan and Fuji tx 1 thrive in these in-between hours. So can you, if you challenge yourself. Don’t wait for perfect light, because in low light situations, perfect can be found or created. Go find what happens when there’s almost no light.