Shooting in the dark not only brings its own set of unique challenges for the photographer, but the final results of these challenges can be extremely pleasing to look at. Slower shutter speeds due to low light bring on great light-trails, light painting, creative subject lighting techniques, and so much more.
However, having a sturdy tripod is key to many of these techniques. So what do you do if you do not have a tripod on hand to shoot in a low light situation? A few ways to rectify this situation include:
1. Crank up the ISO on your camera. Turning up the ISO on your camera is the first thing you can do to compensate for the lack of light. Bumping up the ISO setting allows your camera sensor to take in more of the available light, thus allowing for faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures. This makes it easier to reduce, if not eliminate, all signs of camera shake in your end photos.
Turning this setting up does come with a bit of caution. The higher you set your ISO, the more noise you will end up with. Cameras continue to get better at reducing the amount of noise at high ISO settings, but it is not perfect. This is particularly noticeable if you are producing an HDR image as the graininess really comes out when you stack multiple exposures. Do some test shots to see what acceptable ISO levels you have on your camera.
If you want that extra bit of light, try opening up your aperture a bit. This may give you a shallower depth of field, but it can sometimes mean the difference in upping your ISO setting just one more notch. This is a preference that you can only determine through testing various combinations and evaluating the end results. Read More→
This is where you would expect me to tell you about my life, how awesome I am, or why I am so superior to other people in this line of business. I would enjoy telling you how I have wrestled grizzly bears 10 feet tall. Maybe you would like hearing how I have taken on Velociraptors in my days as a young man. Even better is the story how I have traveled to the furthest reaches of space to stop catastrophic alien invasions. The problem will be that you might not believe my awesome stories.
I will keep these awesome stories for the campfire though. I’m just a man, taking pictures, trying to make a living. I ditched my education in computers in favor of pursuing my passion for photography. I enjoy a good cold beer on a warm day. I have a fondness of the outdoors.. I have enjoyed years capturing life’s unscripted moments. Hopefully, I can enjoy many more years of slacking off without fear of those grizzlies taking me out before my time.
My Philosophy is to capture those non-scripted moments. To capture the little details that this world really has to offer. From weddings to insects, I enjoy capturing the life, the details, and the moments that come and go in a flash.
