Taking pictures in low light with dslr

Take Great Pictures Without a Flash – Posterjack

It’s not always desirable to use a camera’s built-in flash, as doing so can create images that appear flat, unnatural, overexposed, and contain harsh and unwanted shadows. With that being said, photographing in low light situations without a flash can be a challenge if you don’t know what you’re doing and can result in photos that are too dark, blurry, or grainy. Lucky for you, there are several things you can do in order to get excellent shots in low light situations without the need for your camera’s flash.

1. Increase ISO Settings

Adjusting the ISO on your digital camera will determine how sensitive your camera’s image sensor is to light. For example, if you increase the ISO to 400 or 800, you will allow more light to reach the camera’s sensor than if the settings were at ISO 100 or 200. So then, why not have higher ISO settings all the time? A lower ISO will produce sharper images, and the higher the ISO, the more image noise (grain) will be present. For low light photography, try setting your ISO to 800 and adjust accordingly.

If you end up capturing a photo you love but it includes a lot of image noise, all is not lost! Try printing it on a product that has a unique and artistic feel to it, like a Wood Print or a Classic Silver Metal Print. Because your photo is printed directly onto the wood or brushed aluminum, the raw material your photo is printed on will show through in areas where the image includes white or low saturation, helping to soften the imperfections in the photo.

Related: How to Print Low Resolution Photos and Get Results You Love!

2. Use Slower Shutter Speeds

A longer exposure time will allow more light in. However, in order to get a crisp, clear photo in low light using a slow shutter speed and no flash, it is crucial you keep your camera as still as possible. Any sort of movement will result in blurry images, so be sure to follow tip #4 if you plan to use slower shutter speeds.

3. Adjust the Aperture

While ISO determines the speed of which light reaches your camera’s image sensor, the aperture determines how much light it allows in – because if this, a wide aperture (small f-stop number) can also help you capture decent low light photographs without the use of a flash.

4. Reduce Camera Shake

When dealing with slow shutter speeds, in order to get sharp photos in low light situations, it is imperative to eliminate camera shake entirely. You can do this by using a tripod and either setting your camera’s timer or using a shutter release cable. You can also eliminate camera shake by using your camera’s built-in stabilization features. Depending on your camera, this option may be found on the camera body or the camera lens. What brand of camera you use will also determine what the image stabilization features are called: Nikon is Vibration Reduction (VR), Canon is Image Stabilization (IS), Sony is SteadyShot INSIDE, and so on.

5. Use Other Light Sources

Low light photography doesn’t mean no light photography. To get as sharp of an image as possible without the use of a flash, try to incorporate as much light as you can. If your subject isn’t stationary, position it near the light source or, if possible, move the light towards your subject. Do not, however, position the light behind your subject if it’s the only source of light unless your goal is to create a silhouette.

6. Use a Faster Lens

If you’re shooting with a DSLR camera and are considering purchasing a new lens to help accommodate your low light photography, you’ll want to buy a fast lens. A fast lens is that which has a wide aperture—typically f/1.4, f/1.8, or f/2.8—and is great for low light photography because it enables the camera to take in more light. A wider aperture also allows for a faster shutter speed, resulting in minimal camera shake and sharper images.

7. Adjust the White Balance

Shooting in low light conditions can result in your photographs looking washed out, or lacking in detail and colour. By customizing your digital camera’s white balance, you’re essentially telling your camera what white should look like in your image, so the camera can adjust accordingly to try to capture colours as accurately as possible. To prevent your images from having a yellow, orange, or blue shade to them, adjust the white balance to coordinate with the type of light you’re using.

8. Shoot in B&W

If you want to get great low light images without a flash but you really don’t feel like messing around with your camera’s white balance, you can capture your photos in black and white, which will do away with poor colour issues all together.

9. Shoot in RAW

Of course, shooting in RAW will create higher quality, sharper images than shooting in JPEG format, so if you can shoot in RAW, do it. Also, you’ll have more post-processing options if you shoot in RAW.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Photo Enlargements

10. Post-Processing

Using photo editing software can help enhance your low light photography, but don’t expect miracles. You can post-process your images to reduce image noise caused from shooting with a high ISO, to convert to B&W, to adjust the contrast, brightness, shadows, highlights, sharpness, etc. Just keep in mind that if it’s a bad photo to begin with, you’re not going to be able to edit it to be something amazing.

11. Experiment and Practise

Unless you’re some sort of prodigy, you’re not likely to master low light photography immediately. Like anything, to become great at something, you need to experiment and practise. Start by shooting non-moving subjects (to reduce your chances of getting blurry images) and take all of the photography tips listed above into consideration. If something doesn’t work for you, try again with different camera settings. With a lot of practise and experimenting, you should become fairly comfortable shooting low light photos and will have crisp, clear shots—without the use of a flash—in no time.

Let’s See Your Low-Light Photos!

We would love to see how you’re working your low-light photography skills. Feel free to share your photos with us on Facebook or Instagram! If you’ve already turned your photos into Posterjack art, sharing your photos can win you $150 in free prints every month!

Still trying to decide how you’d like to print your photo? You can see a summary of all our photo art product here, or check out some of the following blog post to help make your decision.

Matte vs. Glossy: Deciding Which is Best for Your Pictures
HD Metal Prints vs. Canvas Prints
Metal Prints vs. Acrylic Prints
What is An Acrylic Print
7 Creative Ways to Include Canvas Prints in Your Decor
Better Than Vinyl: Personalized Your Space With Peel & Stick Prints

As always, we’re more than happy to answer any questions you have. Please feel free to get in touch with our amazing support team!

The Best Camera Settings For Low Light Photography

The amazing thing about your camera is that it can literally see in the dark. Your camera can capture things in low light situations that you wouldn’t think were possible. When you find yourself shooting in a dimly lit situation, that doesn’t mean it’s time to pack up the camera. It means that it’s time to take a new approach to your camera settings! With the right settings for low light photography, you’ll be able to capture beautiful photos no matter how dark your scene is.

The Best Camera Settings For Low Light Photography Are:

Mode: Manual
Shutter: 1″ – 1/60
ISO: 1200 – 1800
Aperture: F/2.8 or wider
Focus: Manual Focus (MF)
White Balance: AWB
Drive Mode: Single Shot
Image Type: RAW
Tripod: Yes

Now let’s break down the reasoning behind these camera settings to help you get better exposed photos in low light conditions.

What Is Considered As “Low Light” Photography?

Low light photography is considered as any type of situation that has a lack of available light. This could be while outside right after sunset or in a room with only one light source. Low light environments are where you can see a small amount of detail with your eyes, but aren’t yet completely dark.

Whatever the situation, low light photography offers a unique set of challenges with camera settings. This style of photography often requires a wider aperture, a slower shutter speed, and a higher ISO setting.

Since you need to let exponentially more light into the camera compared to mid-day, it can be tricky to get the settings you want. Especially when taking pictures of movement, getting a fast enough shutter speed is difficult. To help your camera out, you need to alter your settings to let as much light in as possible. For example, if you needed a faster shutter speed, you could compensate by increasing your ISO and opening the aperture.

Although more challenging, the types of photos you can capture in low light are always worth the effort. There’s a totally different feel to low light photos that you can’t capture in any other lighting conditions. With a solid understanding of the right camera settings to use, you’ll never be limited by the times of day you can shoot!

Breaking Down The Best Camera Settings For Low Light Photography

If you’re a beginner photographer, your first reaction when shooting in low light might be to use a flash. Whether that be the one built into your camera or an external flash, it seems like a reasonable option to brighten your scene. The problem with a flash is that it can wash out and completely change the look of your photos. To make things look as natural as possible, you can use the right camera settings and never need to rely on a flash again! Let’s break down each of your three exposure settings and how they play a role in low light photos.

Best Aperture (F-stop)

The aperture is one of the most important exposure settings for low light photography. Since it only changes the depth of field, it’s ideal to use your aperture as your main attack against low light conditions. Unlike ISO, which increases noise and shutter speed, which can produce motion blur, your apertures effects aren’t as detrimental. That’s why it’s the first exposure setting to adjust when shooting in low light.

Although I’ve talked about this setting extensively in my guide to aperture settings, let’s go over a bit of a review. The aperture is a small donut-shaped hole inside your lens that becomes wider or smaller, depending on your f-stop (aperture) setting. As the aperture changes diameter, it also affects how much of your photo can be in focus at once. This is known as depth of field. With a wide-open aperture, you will get a shallow depth of field that will limit how much is in focus. When you want to blur your photo’s background, this is the easiest way to do it.

For low light photography, the wider the aperture, the better. After all, it’s creating more space for light to pass through your lens. Although every lens will have a different aperture range, an optimal aperture to use in low light is F/2.8. With this wide of an aperture, you can let in twice the amount of light compared to F/5.6. Whether you’re shooting a dimly lit scene or in complete darkness, F/2.8 will get the job done for you.

Now it’s important to note that F/2.8 is a very wide aperture, which, in turn, means there’s a shallow depth of field. When you’re shooting in low light conditions, you don’t always have the luxury of having the perfect depth of field for your photo. Since you need to brighten your exposure by any means necessary, this is your best option to do it. Luckily, if you’re shooting a wide-angle shot, you likely won’t notice much of a difference in the focus.

– Is F/2.8 Fast Enough For Low Light Photography?

Although there are many lenses much faster than F/2.8, it’s still perfectly suitable for low light photography. With the help of a higher ISO and a slightly slower shutter speed, you can still capture plenty of fantastic low light images at F/2. 8.

To give you some examples, my main lens is the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8. I’ve used this lens in countless low light scenarios and never had a problem with aperture. Below are a couple images I’ve taken at F/2.8 in a variety of situations.

Although having the extra few stops of light with F/1.8 or F/1.4 is nice, it’s not totally necessary. You can still capture fantastic low light photos with F/2.8.

Best ISO Setting

The next setting you have to combat low light is your ISO setting. In a nutshell, this setting increases your sensor’s sensitivity to incoming light. With more sensitivity comes a bright photo.

At first glance, ISO seems like the best camera setting ever created. Unfortunately, there is a crucial drawback that should make you think twice before cranking your ISO. This drawback comes in the form of grain.

Looking closely at this image, you can see the heavy amounts of grain from a high ISO.

Grain looks like static that’s built into your photo. It can look distracting and make small details harder to differentiate. As you increase your ISO setting, the grain will become more and more noticeable. That’s why you don’t want to just max out your ISO setting and call it a day while shooting in low light. There’s a little more thought required than that.

For most situations, I find using an ISO between 1200 and 1800 is suitable for many low light situations. On most cameras, the grain levels at this range are still acceptable and don’t distract from your image too much. However, depending on your camera, you may be able to use much higher ISO ranges than this without worry. My suggestion is to be used as more of a broad suggestion for any level of a photographer with any camera.

If you’re ever curious about how much grain your particular camera captures at varying ISO ranges, take a series of photos with your lens cap on. As you increase the ISO, you’ll start to see more and more grain until it eventually discolors the black of your photo.

– How To Shoot In Low Light Without Grain

If grain is a big worry of yours, you can use a wider aperture and a slow shutter speed to compensate for a lower ISO. Although you may have a harder time freezing motion, it’s a worthwhile option if your subject stays still.

Especially in extremely low-light situations or even night time, it’s not uncommon to encounter a bit of grain at the very least. It’s not the end of the world, and it won’t ruin your photo in small amounts. If you feel concerned about the amount of grain in a certain photo, you can always use noise reduction in Lightroom or Photoshop!

Best Shutter Speed For Low Light

Finally comes the shutter speed. As I talked about in my shutter speed for beginners post, shutter speed controls how motion is captured. Since it is in charge of how long your sensor is exposed to light, it also will determine whether an object is blurred or frozen in motion.

For example, if you were to photograph a speeding car with a slow shutter speed of 1″ (second), it would appear blurry. Since the car moved positions during the time your shutter was open, the car creates a streak in the photo.

If you took the same situation and used a faster shutter speed such as 1/2000, the car would be frozen in time with all its details perfectly sharp. This is because your sensor was exposed to light for a shorter period of time, giving less time for the object to move across the frame.

Now when you’re shooting in low light, you’re never going to be able to use a shutter speed of 1/2000. Since the shutter would open and close within 1/2000 of a second, there needs to be a lot of light to properly expose the photo. In low light, there’s an insufficient amount of light, which means your camera needs more time for light to hit the sensor.

That’s why a good shutter speed setting to start with should be between 1″ and 1/60. Although a relatively broad range, this gives you the option to get a good exposure even in low light environments. The shutter speed you choose will all depend on what you’re trying to photograph.

If your subject is moving, you’ll need to use a faster shutter speed. If your subject is still, like a mountain, for example, then it doesn’t matter how long your shutter is open for. Since the subject never moves, you could use a shutter as slow as 30″ without a problem.

Why Shoot In Raw?

Without question, RAW is the best image file type to use in low light photography. Since you’ll have extremely dark shadows, shooting in RAW gives you the flexibility to adjust things later in post.

A RAW file has far more dynamic range than a JPEG file, which helps it hold more color and exposure information. While working in your editing software of choice, you can push a RAW file much further without losing quality. From exposure adjustments, contrast, or color, you can completely transform a RAW file, and it will still look as crisp as it did in-camera.

Since you can push these files so much further with photo editing, it’s the best choice in low light. Odds are that your exposure will look a little bit dark while shooting in low light environments. However, after using a few basic image adjustments, you can correct your exposure with ease. Although it shouldn’t be relied on to “fix” your photo, it can definitely help solve any problem areas that appear too dark.

If you’re using a JPEG file for low light photography, you can still capture reasonable images, but you won’t have the ability to edit them as much. Since a JPEG file is more compressed with less information, a photo editing software won’t be able to nicely lift your shadows.

If you’re new to using RAW files, it’s important to note that this file type will need to be converted to JPEG before you can share it anywhere. Most websites and social media platforms don’t recognize RAW files as a valid format, which is why everything needs to get converted. Even though that sounds complicated, this is just a part of the photo editing process. Luckily it can be done in seconds no matter what kind of editing software you use.

Check out my guides on how to edit photos in Lightroom or Photoshop to get started!

Do You Need A Tripod For Low Light Photography?

Whenever you’re taking pictures in low light, having a tripod is going to be very helpful. Even though it’s not always necessary, it’s worth having with you just in case. Since you’ll be using slower shutter speeds, it’s possible that you start to use a shutter speed that too slow to use while shooting handheld. Believe it or not, no matter how still you think you’re being, the small micro-movements of your hands can translate into blurry photos. To prevent this, a tripod will keep your camera perfectly still.

As a general rule of thumb, any shutter speed slower than 1/60 will require a tripod. That means if you use a shutter speed like 1/5, you’ll need a tripod to capture a sharp photo. With the ability to keep your camera perfectly still, using a tripod makes shooting in low light incredibly easy. Rather than fussing around with your camera settings so that you can shoot handheld, just using a tripod and set any shutter speed you want. Whether it be 1/5 or 4 minutes, you’ll still get a crisp, well-exposed photo!

If you have yet to get a tripod, I share a list of my top picks on my recommended gear page!

How To Take Low Light Photos Without A Flash

Especially when you’re taking pictures of people, it can be hard to illuminate them well in a low light setting. That’s why many photographers will opt for a flash, but it’s not always necessary. By using a few simple techniques, you can better light your subjects with totally natural lighting!

– Place Your Subject Near A Light Source

One of the biggest challenges of low light photography is portraits. Since there’s already a severe lack of light, it makes it that much harder to illuminate your subject’s face. Luckily you can work around this in most situations by placing them near a light source. The light source could be anything from a street light, car headlights, a phone screen, or whatever else you can think of. By better orienting your subject towards a light, you can work with the small amount of light available to make them easier to see.

The advantage of using a natural light source is that you can use faster shutter speeds while shooting. Rather than struggling to see enough detail in your subject, the extra light helps to brighten things up. No fancy camera setting adjustments necessary!

With that said, you might be in a situation where there isn’t any available light nearby. For example, if you were on a hike and the sun had just finished setting. Even during blue hour (the time after sunset), there’s a fair amount of light left on the horizon. By making your subject face towards the brighter part of the sky, it will help to cast a little more light on their face. This is a simple trick you can use to help your exposure without the need for a flash.

– Adjust Your Camera Settings To Brighten The Exposure

If you’re not photographing people, then the shutter speed you use isn’t as important of a consideration. For this example, let’s say you want to take a picture of a mountain at dusk or the interior of a poorly lit room. In both these scenarios, the subject isn’t moving. Nothing in your frame will suddenly get up and leave. So there’s no reason why you can’t just use a slower shutter speed to allow more light into your camera! Rather than using a flash to try to illuminate parts of your scene, brightening your exposure will work equally well.

The same thing goes with any type of photos you’re shooting in low light. Rather than using a flash, there are often ways you can adjust your camera settings to brighten the photo. Whether it be slowing your shutter, opening the aperture, or increasing the ISO, you have plenty of options.

Unless you’re in complete darkness, consider how you can alter your camera settings rather than breaking out the flash.

– Use A Headlamp

The final option is to use a headlamp. Although this method only really applies to outdoor photos, it’s still worth considering. Let’s first talk about how you can use a headlamp to illuminate your scene.

When you’re using a slow shutter speed, very shadowed areas can remain completely dark. No matter what camera settings you change, these parts of your photo will still look dark. Using a headlamp, you can briefly shine a light on these dark areas to illuminate more of your frame. This works great to help improve how much detail you can see in darker areas, without the harsh hard-light of a flash.

Alternatively, when you’re photographing people, they can wear a headlamp to help shine a light on their bodies. This will only really make sense when shooting hiking photography, but it’s an easy trick that I love using. By wearing the headlamp, it helps to illuminate their face while reflecting light that will illuminate their whole bodies. In the above example, the climber would be pretty hard to see without the light reflecting on the rock. By creating some extra ambient light, you no longer require a flash!

How To Take Sharp Photos In Low Light Conditions

With all your camera settings sorted out, we can’t forget about one of the most important parts of any photo: focus. Without a sharp photo, it’s not going to matter how perfect your camera settings are. Since autofocus doesn’t work very well in low light, it’s best to switch over to manual focus (MF). Now that you’re in charge of making the photo sharp, what’s the best way to do this? Just use this easy 3 step formula for setting focus in low light!

Step 1: Go Into Live View And Digitally Zoom In

The best way to set focus is by using Live View and zooming into the image on your LCD. If you’re unfamiliar, Live View is the mode that lets you see a real-time display of what your camera sees via the LCD screen. In this mode, you can magnify the image to better see certain parts of your frame.

Step 2: Find A Bright Light Source In Your Frame

While in Live View, find and zoom into any light source in your frame. This should be anything that you can see clearly enough to get focus on. Ideally, this will be some kind of light that sits nearby your subject. That way, your focus will be set properly for your photo.

If there aren’t any light sources to zoom into, try using the flashlight on your phone to light up parts of your scene. This will help to show more details that you can use for focus points.

Step 3: Manually Set Your Focus To The Bright Area

With a light source or from the help of a flashlight, adjust your focus ring until the area looks sharp on your camera screen. Once this is done, zoom out of Live View and begin taking photos! After taking a few shots, it’s a good idea to double-check the photos to see if they are actually sharp. Sometimes your focus can be just slightly off the first time. Luckily it’s an easy fix if you catch it early in your shoot!

Low Light Photography Ideas

Your camera settings are set, your photos are in focus, and now it’s time to start taking amazing low light pictures!

But wait, there’s a problem… what is there to take pictures of? Here are a few easy (and fun) ideas to practice your low light photography with.

1. Light Painting

Light painting is created by using a slow shutter speed while moving a light through your frame. With a glow stick or a flashlight, you can move around your frame to create different shapes or even text with the light. Since this effect requires a slow shutter speed, a low light environment is perfect for this. Just make sure to use a longer shutter speed to give yourself more time to paint!

2. Fireside Portraits

One of my favorite low light photography ideas is fireside portraits. There’s nothing that beats the warm glow of a fire in portraits. It creates a feeling to your photo that’s hard to replicate in any other way. Next time you have a fire with friends, break out your camera and start snapping some great low light portraits!

3. Lantern Photos

Lantern photos are another fun idea that work well as portrait styled images or just of the lanterns themselves! Since they create such a widespread glow, they work as the perfect light source to include in your low light photos. You can find a lot of these kinds of lanterns at a local antique shop or used online. They’re definitely a fun prop to experiment within your photos.

4. Traffic Trails

If you live near a city, traffic trails are another fun, low light photography activity to try your hand at. With the help of a slow shutter speed, you can blur the headlights of passing cars into continuous streaks of light. This looks great with landscape or cityscape photos!

Learn More: Best Camera Settings For Traffic Trail Photography

5.

Capture Bokeh

Since you’re already using a wide aperture, try to capture some bokeh! Bokeh is the light orbs created by out of focus lights sources. This looks exceptionally nice in portrait photos and adds a unique look to any background.

With a solid understanding of the best camera settings for low light photography, all that’s left is to get out there and shoot! With more practice shooting in low light, it will become easier to nail your exposure in every shot. Above all else, always try new things and see what happens. That’s the fastest way to learn and is a surefire way to improve your low light photography.

Happy Shooting!

Brendan 🙂

Low Light Photography Tips

Low Light Photography Tips - Canon Ireland

LIGHTING TECHNIQUES

Learn how to get the most out of your Canon camera and how to take stunning photos from dusk to dawn.

Twilight and dawn are magical times. At these moments, the holiday comes, the city changes the mood, offering endless opportunities for photography. But capturing all the details in low light is not easy, especially if you use a smartphone camera.

In low light, use the creative shooting modes of a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or advanced compact camera to capture sharpness and detail that would otherwise take much more effort.

1. Use a wide aperture (small f-number) to capture all available light

Faster lenses allow more light to enter the image sensor, allowing you to shoot at faster shutter speeds while maintaining detail and without having to increase ISO, which is may cause digital noise to appear in the photograph. Taken on camera Canon EOS R6 with lens Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM at 1/1250 sec, f/1.8 and ISO 1250. © Ejiro Dafe

If you have a manual camera, you can control its aperture in Aperture Priority (Av) mode. Aperture allows you to adjust the amount of light that will enter the camera. In low-light conditions, you need to illuminate the subject as much as possible to get a good exposure and capture the details in the frame. To do this, use a wide aperture (small f-number). If the picture is still too dark (underexposure), using a slower shutter speed will also let in more light, but risk blurring the frame—see the section below for tips to help you capture sharp images.

However, the aperture setting affects more than just exposure. A wide aperture also results in a shallow depth of field, meaning that at small f-numbers, only a narrow portion of the scene will be in focus. This might be ideal for you if you shoot portraits in the wee hours and want to create an interesting blurred background, but if you want to capture the nuances of a cityscape at dusk, using a smaller aperture (larger f-number) will provide more depth of field, resulting in bringing most of the scene into focus. To get a good exposure, you need to use a slower shutter speed.

Naturally, some lenses have a wider aperture than others and are called fast lenses. Among the excellent compact solutions for full-frame EOS R system mirrorless cameras such as the Canon EOS R6 and EOS RP, the Canon RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM lens is a great option for wide-angle shooting of city night views and other low-light scenes. The Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM offers a more standard perspective (similar to what the human eye sees) and is ideal for spontaneous street photography at night, while the longer focal length Canon RF 85mm F2 MACRO IS STM is a great choice for portraiture in low light.

If you're working with a DSLR, the Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM lens helps you achieve natural perspective and effective handheld shooting with Image Stabilizer. The even faster aperture of the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM is exceptionally good in low light conditions. If you're using a DSLR with an APS-C sensor, such as the Canon EOS 850D, an EF-S lens such as the Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM is a great choice for shooting with a natural perspective. If you're looking for a natural but wider-angle perspective with an EOS M mirrorless camera like the EOS M50 Mark II, which also features an APS-C image sensor, check out the Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM pancake lens and fast lens Canon EF-M 32mm f/1. 4 STM.

2. Increase the ISO value to increase the sensitivity to light

If you have set a wide aperture but your pictures still lack brightness, try increasing the ISO value. This increases the sensor's sensitivity to light, which is useful when shooting at night without a flash. The higher the ISO value, the higher the sensitivity. Canon's DSLR, mirrorless, and advanced compact cameras have larger image sensors, so they can shoot better images at higher ISOs than smaller-sensor cameras such as smartphones.

Full-frame CMOS image sensors in Canon mirrorless cameras such as the Canon EOS RP and EOS R6 produce exceptionally high quality images with little noise or graininess. The APS-C image sensors in Canon's latest cameras are slightly smaller, but still deliver detailed, low-noise images even at very high ISOs, making them ideal for handheld shooting at night.

3. Take clear pictures

When shooting handheld in low light conditions, the image may be blurred. This usually happens when shooting with a camera with a slow shutter speed to capture light (shutter speed). Another benefit of using a wider aperture is that the more light that enters the lens, the faster the shutter speed can be used. This is important because the faster the shutter speed, the more dramatic movement you can capture without blurring. In good light, relatively still subjects can usually be shot at about 1/50th of a second, walking people require a slightly faster shutter speed of about 1/250th of a second, and even faster subjects should be photographed at 1/1000th of a second. or shorter. In low light conditions, a faster shutter speed is required.

In addition to subject movement, camera shake must be taken into account, and the longer the focal length, the more difficult it is to avoid camera shake when shooting handheld. The rule of thumb is to start with the reciprocal of the focal length, so when using a 50mm lens, use a shutter speed of at least 1/50th of a second. or shorter; when using a 600mm lens, use 1/600 sec. etc. Using a lens with optical image stabilization allows you to use slower shutter speeds and still achieve the same level of clarity.

The Canon EOS R6 is equipped with Image Stabilization System (IBIS), which works in conjunction with Lens Stabilizer to produce ultra-clear handheld long exposure shots. You can also use the environment to reduce camera shake by leaning against a wall or placing the camera on a static surface. If you have a tripod, use it as it will give you the most freedom of action.

4. Get the most out of white balance

Adjusting white balance is a creative way to dramatically change the final look of images. Taken on a Canon EOS 7D (now succeeded by the Canon EOS 7D Mark II) with a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens at 2.5 sec, f/11 and ISO100. © Marcus Hawkins

In this version of the same photo, the white balance has been adjusted to give the rocks a more natural tint and the sky a deeper shade of blue. Taken on a Canon EOS 7D with a Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens at 21mm, 2.5 sec, f/11 and ISO100. © Marcus Hawkins

Auto white balance on Canon cameras delivers consistently accurate results when shooting in daylight, as well as decent results when shooting in low light. However, in low light, you can apply atmospheric visual effects to images using alternative white balance presets.

For example, when shooting cityscapes at dusk, the Incandescent white balance setting generally gives areas of the frame with artificial lighting a more neutral color temperature and deepens blue skies. If you want to bring out the warm undertone of artificial lighting, try switching to the Daylight white balance setting.

Many Canon cameras, including compact cameras such as the Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II, support RAW shooting. Select this option to change or adjust the white balance when processing images in your preferred RAW image processing program, such as Canon's powerful freeware Digital Photo Professional.

5. Light Effects

Mounting the camera on a tripod allows you to use slower shutter speeds and get enough light while maintaining excellent image quality. Of course, you will need help from the person being filmed, who will have to pose in a more static position, with minimal movement. Taken on a Canon EOS 850D with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens at 1/160 sec, f/2.8 and ISO100.

Slow shutter speeds are ideal for creating light streaks when shooting cars passing through the frame at night, turning ordinary compositions into incredible images. Taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM lens at 61 sec, f/16 and ISO400. © Lorenz Holder

You can always make night photos more dynamic by creating light streaks , the basis of which will be the rear lights of cars or the lights of fair carousels. If you want to capture the movement of light in a photo, you will need a slow shutter speed of at least a few seconds, as well as mounting the camera on a tripod or stable surface. Experiment with different shutter speeds. Use the camera's self-timer or remote shooting to avoid camera shake when you press the shutter button. Many Canon cameras are equipped with Wi-Fi, allowing you to change settings and control the shutter from your smartphone using the Canon Camera Connect app.

6. Try burst mode

Burst (or continuous) shooting is ideal for capturing action scenes in low light, ensuring you always capture the perfect moment. Taken on a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens at 35mm, 1/1600 sec, f/8 and ISO3200. snapshots in a row at intervals of a fraction of a second. This is a useful feature for moving objects or very fast actions. If your camera has this feature, turn it on so you have a better chance of capturing action scenes in low light effectively.

7. Best Cameras for Low Light Shooting

We have a wide range of cameras to suit every need and budget, ideal for shooting in low light, including the Canon EOS R6.

Canon EOS R6 is the ideal full-frame mirrorless camera for low light shooting

High performance in-camera image stabilization
Best-in-class autofocus system works in near-total darkness
Impressive image quality at high ISO

Canon EOS RP is the best affordable mirrorless camera for night photography

Full-frame image sensor for stunning low-light performance
Improved AF in low light
Competitive price for full frame mirrorless camera

The Canon EOS M50 Mark II is the perfect step forward for smartphone shooters

Advantages of mirrorless cameras in a stylish and lightweight body with an APS-C format sensor
Very low light AF down to -4EV and ISO 25600
Special line of interchangeable compact lenses EF-M

Canon EOS 850D - new level of creative freedom, lightweight DSLR

Lightweight 515g body ideal for outdoor night shooting
24. 1MP APS-C image sensor delivers superior image quality
Classic DSLR ergonomics and optical viewfinder for easy composition tracking

Canon PowerShot G5 X Mark II - compact, elegant and highly technical camera

Powerful built-in 5x zoom (24-120mm equivalent)
Compact yet powerful image sensor type 1.0
Numerous night shooting modes, including Starry Sky Portrait, Starry Sky, Star Trail, Star Time-Lapse Movie and Handheld Night Scene

Check out more low light tips* from Redline Challenge mentor Lorenz Holder.

Author: Matthew Richards

^{*Only available in some languages.}

Mirrorless cameras

EOS R6

Whatever you shoot, the EOS R6 lets you unleash your creativity in new ways.
Mirrorless cameras

EOS RP

Compact, lightweight and easy to use full-frame mirrorless camera designed for travel and everyday shooting.
Standard lens

RF 50mm F1.8 STM

Compact, quiet and lightweight 50mm RF prime lens with a wide f/1.8 aperture, perfect for bringing your creative ideas to life.
RF lenses

RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM

A fast f/1.8 35mm macro lens with a wide-angle perspective, close focusing distance and Hybrid IS.
Lenses for digital SLR cameras

EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM

Innovative macro lens with a minimum working distance of 3 cm and built-in Macro Lite illumination to illuminate subjects.
Lenses for EOS M

EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM

Take your EOS mirrorless camera to the next level with this premium standard lens.

NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES

8 Supermoon Photography Tips

Learn how to capture one of the most stunning sights in the night sky.

LIGHT TECHNIQUES

Shooting in Available Light

Learn how to find and use the best lighting to create better photographs.

LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

Shooting light streaks

Long exposure light streak tips from Canon Redline Challenge winner.

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY

Wildlife in low light

Discover the hidden life of animals with our top night photography tips.

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Landscape photography in low light

Shooting in low light remains one of the most difficult aspects of photography, but when done well, the results can be very interesting. Whether it's a vibrant cityscape or a sophisticated seascape, the possibilities are endless. Here are a few points worth considering before you head out to shoot.

1. "Plan of attack"

It is worth formulating a “plan of attack” before dusk, such as deciding where you are while there is still some light available, and taking some test shots to see how it will look in the frame and get rid of distracting objects. Cityscapes look best from a distance, while seascapes look best close to the coastline. Pay attention to compositional elements to form scale, context, and point of interest. When dusk falls, you will have only 20-30 minutes to shoot, so you need to be prepared for any surprises.

2. Best time to shoot

The best time to shoot a low-light landscape starts about half an hour before sunset and ends half an hour after it, because during this period the sky is painted in beautiful shades; resonating in pinks, purples, reds, oranges, it eventually turns into a mysterious blue. Such a sky is much more interesting in terms of shooting than a night sky, since in this case we have the opportunity to reduce the shutter speed, and this also helps to highlight objects in the frame.

3. The key to perfect shots

The key to creating flawless low-light shots is long exposure, that is, slow shutter speeds, so a stable tripod is undoubtedly your biggest helper in this matter. Manfrotto and Gitzo make durable yet lightweight tripods that are ideal for landscape photographers. However, even portable and flexible tripods - "gorillapods" (from the English. Gorillapod) - will be a great boon when you need creative angles and foreshortenings. By placing the camera on a stand, you can choose lower ISO, cut down on the amount of noise, and at the same time choose as slow a shutter speed as you need without worrying about blur.

4. If there is no tripod

If you don't have a tripod but can't resist the temptation to shoot, look around, maybe there's something else around that can serve as a prop, whether it's the top of a wall, a trash can lid, a fence, dirt, a backpack, or even your boot - there are many ways to get around this problem. If there is absolutely nothing around to lean the camera on, try instead to lean on a building or something else stable, press the camera and support it with your hand from below.

Image author V31S70

5. Start by installing camera

So, start by setting up your camera on a sturdy tripod and putting it in manual or shutter priority mode if you like. Lower your ISO to 100 (on some DSLRs you will need to go to a separate menu to find this option) and choose a shutter speed between 15 and 20 seconds (it sometimes takes trial and error to find the optimal value). Speaking of aperture, you'll probably want to get a deeper depth of field so that even distant elements stay in focus, so try values from f9to f14.

6. Regarding lenses

When it comes to lenses, faster is better, and a wide-angle lens that can cover the entire scene, something like a 12-24mm or a fisheye 10.5, can provide excellent results. However, a zoom lens may be preferable when shooting cityscapes to emphasize silhouettes against the sky or play with perspective.

7. White balance

Using auto white balance may result in washed out colors, so set the white balance manually or select 5500K from the menu, this is the normal color of daylight. It is advisable to shoot in RAW, because in the future you can always easily change the white balance when processing as needed.

Image copyright kern.justin

8. Remote shutter release

Another important part of the kit is a remote shutter release, such as Nikon's ML-L3 remote control, which works with the Nikon D40, D40x, D60, D80, and D90 series, for example. There are many types of remote controls. The advantage of using this device is that the photographer can be sure not to accidentally hit the camera during the exposure, which can lead to blurring of the frame, deterioration in sharpness and clarity. If you don't have a remote control, you can use the self-timer.

9. Mirror lock

You can also use the mirror lockup function when working at bulb exposure (value B, bulb). Pre-raise the mirror can be realized by pressing a special button or by pressing the shutter button for the first time (pressing it again releases the shutter). Press the button to block the mirror and wait for the residual vibration to subside, then press the button to start exposure and keep it pressed throughout the exposure.

10. Overcoming technological limits

Camera makers are constantly playing to push the limits of DSLR technology, and this is especially evident with the Nikon D3S, which is capable of shooting from ISO 200 to an impressive 12,800. Further, this value can be increased to an unprecedented 102,400. By using such high values, photographers can shoot handheld in low light conditions, as the shutter speed can be significantly reduced in this case.

11. Noise reduction

While heavyweights like the D3S handle noise quite well, the same cannot be said for all cameras. So if you opt for high ISOs over a tripod-like support, noise is inevitable. However, there are ways to reduce this effect. Firstly, your device may have a built-in noise reduction system, after activation of which the camera will automatically look for incorrectly colored pixels in the image and replace them. It's not the best idea anyway, but it's worth considering if handheld shooting is the only option available.

There is a huge amount of noise reduction software on the market that will help you solve the problem during post-processing. Also, during processing in Photoshop, it is preferable to work with a 16-bit file, rather than 8-bit, because. you'll be able to get more information out of the file, which will increase your ability to recover detail from highlights and shadows, both of which are hazards when shooting in low light.

Photo by Paco CT

12. Bring elements to front

Bring elements to front to form the point of interest, scale, and create context in the image. For example, the combination of natural and artificial light can look very impressive in cityscapes, bright flashes of light color the night sky, and a huge amount of glowing spheres are scattered around, but if you include a bridge, highway or building in the picture, this will help bring the viewer into the frame. . If you're shooting a landscape at dusk, you can include a diagonal row of trees, a fence, a hedge, or a farmhouse in the frame. Similarly, in the case of marine views, such objects can be a lighthouse, a rock, or a pier.

13. Where to measure

Depending on the lighting conditions, it's important to understand where to measure from, so put your camera in matrix (multi-segment) metering mode, and take a few "reads" through the elements of your scene to determine the optimal value. It's best to start with the midtones rather than the highlights and shadows, and if you're working with a zoom lens, use zoom to capture some detail of your subject, then move the lens back to compose the shot.

14. Exposure bracketing

Another trick used by "low light enthusiasts" is exposure bracketing. Use aperture priority mode and measure one area of the scene (repeat this for different elements later on). Decide on your exposure and keep an eye on the histogram to ensure accurate results. Keep your aperture and ISO constant, but change your shutter speed by half a step. Later, you can compose these frames into one during editing.

15. Exposure control

What's great about "digital" is that you have "feedback" all the time. Your technique will be refined by trial and error at first, but use the histogram to control exposure. It may show that some parts of the picture are overexposed, but it's probably bright city lights in the landscape being shot, in which case it's fine. Ideally, your shot will show the sky after sunset or a blue veil of twilight, but at the same time, the details on the buildings in the foreground should still be visible. The most important thing is to experiment and have fun!

Natalie Johnson ( Natalie Johnson ) is the former editor of Digital Photographer magazine, and after seven years in the business, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a freelance photographer and writer:

Author: Natalie Johnson

27/03/2012 Views : 30709 Source: digital-photography-school.

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