Shooting in Low Light

There's multiple situations where you may be shooting in low light and don't want to (or can't) use a flash. These may be in either interior or exterior settings. Knowing a few basics of low light photography is key to capturing the image you want, without the blur.

To capture a single moment with a faster shutter speed, you will need to: bump up your ISO, and open up your aperture. In fairly dark settings, you may need to take your ISO as high as it will go, and your aperture as low as it will go (for example, ISO 1600, aperture of F1.8).

To capture a longer period of time with a slow shutter speed, you will need to: use a tripod and a shutter release. This will ensure that your camera is held steady for your longer exposure. Also be sure not to bump the tripod!

Since both long exposures and high ISOs typically add noise, you may also want to think about shooting in RAW, and then post processing your images with a noise or grain reduction action.

PS- This coming Sunday 11/7 is when Daylight Savings Time ends (US). Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour!


images © Jenn Fletcher